Mutual suspicion has characterised the relationship between the South African government and mining companies, particularly in recent years. Resolving the current impasse would require a panoply of policy interventions because of the complexity and age of the mining industry. This briefing proposes that one such intervention could be the introduction of a structured workplace secondment programme between the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and mining companies – together identifying critical areas for co-operation and skills transfer.

Report looks at the role of diamond sales in funding of conflict situations, focusing on countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and Angola.Website includes reports from the newspaper, plus an online dicussion forum

This guidebook outlines the outcomes of the 'Building Sustainable Relationships: Aboriginal Engagement and Sustainability' conference. It looks at aboriginal engagement in the context of sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Canada’s natural resources sectors, particularly the mining, oil and gas, forestry, and energy industries.

Environmental,  social  and  governance  (ESG)  concerns  are  an  increasingly  important  factor worldwide for banks when they invest in large projects. In the Southern African region with its rich mineral deposits, this trend has added importance. Mining companies extract minerals from the ground, and their activities routinely give rise to public concerns about the pollution of water sources, adequate land for agriculture, and fair community participation in mining projects.

This report analyses all aspects of the metals mining industry, the extraction process, its products, and its social and environmental impacts.

This paper analyses the reasons why Mali’s gold economy has failed to benefit the population despite its rapid growth and the boom in the gold market. It also explores the conflicts of interests between the State and the private mining companies in the country which arose from rules designed to attract foreign investment.

Based on travel to diamond fields in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Angola and the DRC, the study examines the reality on the ground.

The Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM) company controls a 1,600 square kilometre mining concession in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Tenke Fungurume deposits make up one of the most important reserves of copper and cobalt in the world with abundant quantities of high assay ore.

This report looks at a consultation with a wide range of officials, members of institutions, groups and organisations, and other interested individuals living in the concession area about the impact of the TFM mine on their lives and livelihoods.

Natural sand from estuary and coastal land is one of South Africa’s most valuable resources. However, there has recently been a drastic increase in uncontrolled and unauthorised sand mining activities in rivers, valleys and estuaries throughout the country. The frameworks governing small-scale sand mining in South Africa lack the necessary financial and human resource capacities to support better environmental compliance, and the enforcement mechanisms to successfully deter illegal activities are weak.

South Africa is endowed with substantial subsoil mineral wealth, yet the development promise typically associated with this wealth has not been realised. Between 2001 and 2008 the South African mining industry contracted at a rate of 1% a year, while comparable mining jurisdictions grew at an average of 5% a year.1 This period marked the longest commodity price boom in recent history.

The objective of this research report was to establish whether, and to what extent, post-conflict efforts at national, regional and international levels are improving the situation of artisanal gold-mining communities in the provinces of Orientale, North and South Kivu, and Maniema in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The research proceeded from the assumption that legal and regulatory instruments and institutions created after the 2006 elections to regularise and support the DRC’s informal mining sector should now be starting to show positive effects.

The development of mining value chains is conflictual but deeply intertwined with the goal of sustainable development.  The response of mining value chains to the shift to a green economy cannot be business-as-usual and requires a proactive answer by business, Government, labour, non-governmental organisations and the research community in support of sustainable development. The transition to a green economy will not fundamentally challenge the central position of mining value chains in South Africa’s development path.