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.

This report analyses how Tanzania is failing to use its considerable mineral resources to tackle poverty, and asks: where is Tanzania’s mineral wealth going?  Gold mining is the fastest growing sector of Tanzania’s economy. Minerals now account for nearly half the country’s exports and Tanzania is Africa’s third largest gold producer.

This report highlights issues discussed in the 2002 RIIA workshop. It demonstrates the challenges faced in the creation and implementation of agreements with stakeholders on economic and environmental areas of sustainable development in the extractive industry. The report highlights key issues discussed relating to maximising economic benefits and minimising negative environmental impacts.

This Human Rights Watch report examines the misuse of public funds by local officials in the Rivers State of Nigeria’s. It is based on interviews in Rivers state with government and donor agency officials, civil servants, health care workers, teachers, civil society groups and local residents. Also state and local government budgets are analysed.Despite Nigeria’s strong oil industry ordinary Nigerians have derived appallingly little benefit from that wealth and the misuse of public funds by local officials had harmful effects on primary education and basic health care.

In Africa, mining activities are undertaken by private foreign entities, which pay taxes to the state. However, mining activities are not contributing as much as they should to national economies. Despite the increase in productivity and profits, the real benefits of mining have yet to be felt by the majority of the people, especially mining communities.

This paper shows that consultations do not only appease conflicts, but also exacerbate them as these procedures are used to negotiate broader grievances. The author further argues that narrow consultations (like those carried out in Bolivia) – rather than comprehensive ones – repress conflicts in the short term by limiting opportunities to mobilize against extractive projects.

This report explores direct action that companies can take to support improved transparency of revenue flows in the extractive industries.

Empirical studies have shown that oil-dependent countries are more likely to suffer from civil wars motivated by ‘grievances’ or ‘greed’ — and this is particularly true for states in sub-Saharan Africa.