IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jrpoli/v80y2023ics0301420722005815.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceptions of local communities regarding the impacts of mining on employment and economic activities in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Dikgwatlhe, P.
  • Mulenga, F.

Abstract

Minerals contribute to the economy of South Africa and social well-being of society. The consequences of any challenges to mining could result in a dire situation for the nation's economy and security including the social well-being of society. One such challenge is the need for approval of the social license for a mine to operate, and this is highly influenced by communities. This paper presents the results of a survey of the perceptions of local people on or close to mines on the socio-economic impacts of mining in their communities. The research identified and utilised four factors to assess the perceptions of the community about the socio-economic impacts, namely personal situations, employment and economic activities, community projects and environment, and settlement associated with mining operations in their vicinity in the local community. Data collected for this paper was processed using statistical analysis. Information was collected from 690 residents in different local mining communities of four provinces in South Africa. The study indicated positive impacts and benefits to the community from the mining operations in their areas, including increased direct and indirect employment and improved quality of life. However, the local community experienced negative impacts of mining such as increased migration, inadequate infrastructure and poor services. In this manner this paper has established a better understanding of mining's positive and negative impacts. The study further revealed misunderstandings and unfulfilled expectations concerning the responsibilities of the mining companies and the accountability of government to the community. It is suggested that local municipal councils should promote entrepreneurship, financial assistance and investment in the community, and establish small and medium enterprises for the informal business sector, where most of the unskilled labour is found.

Suggested Citation

  • Dikgwatlhe, P. & Mulenga, F., 2023. "Perceptions of local communities regarding the impacts of mining on employment and economic activities in South Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:80:y:2023:i:c:s0301420722005815
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.103138
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420722005815
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.103138?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kemp, Deanna & Owen, John R., 2013. "Community relations and mining: Core to business but not “core business”," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 523-531.
    2. Auty, R. & Warhurst, A., 1993. "Sustainable development in mineral exporting economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 14-29, March.
    3. Elbra, Ainsley D., 2013. "The forgotten resource curse: South Africa's poor experience with mineral extraction," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 549-557.
    4. Sachs, Jeffrey D. & Warner, Andrew M., 2001. "The curse of natural resources," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 827-838, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mvile, Benatus Norbert & Bishoge, Obadia Kyetuza, 2024. "Mining and sustainable development goals in Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chenyu Lu & Dai Wang & Peng Meng & Jiaqi Yang & Min Pang & Li Wang, 2018. "Research on Resource Curse Effect of Resource-Dependent Cities: Case Study of Qingyang, Jinchang and Baiyin in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, December.
    2. Ozcan, Burcu & Temiz, Mehmet & Gültekin Tarla, Esma, 2023. "The resource curse phenomenon in the case of precious metals: A panel evidence from top 19 exporting countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    3. Guan, Jialin & Kirikkaleli, Dervis & Bibi, Ayesha & Zhang, Weike, 2020. "Natural resources rents nexus with financial development in the presence of globalization: Is the “resource curse” exist or myth?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Yongjun Tang & Qi Li & Fen Zhou & Mingjia Sun, 2024. "Does Clan Culture Promote Corporate Natural Resource Disclosure? Evidence from Chinese Natural Resource-Based Listed Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(1), pages 167-190, June.
    5. Pereira Cabral, Bernardo & Lage de Sousa, Filipe & Canêdo-Pinheiro, Mauricio, 2020. "Assessing the impacts of innovation barriers: a qualitative analysis of Brazil's natural resources industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Li, Mengxu & Liu, Jianghua & Chen, Yang & Yang, Zhijiu, 2023. "Can sustainable development strategy reduce income inequality in resource-based regions? A natural resource dependence perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Van Alstine, James & Barkemeyer, Ralf, 2014. "Business and development: Changing discourses in the extractive industries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 4-16.
    8. Pérez, Claudia & Claveria, Oscar, 2020. "Natural resources and human development: Evidence from mineral-dependent African countries using exploratory graphical analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    9. Chen, Zhiguo & Gao, Wei & Zafar, Quratulain & Dördüncü, Hazar, 2023. "Natural resources extraction and geopolitical risk: Examining oil resources extraction in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    10. Morck, Randall & Nakamura, Masao, 2018. "Japan's ultimately unaccursed natural resources-financed industrialization," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 32-54.
    11. Achuo, Elvis & Nchofoung, Tii & Asongu, Simplice & Dinga, Gildas, 2021. "Unravelling the Mysteries of Underdevelopment in Africa," MPRA Paper 111556, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Lawer, Eric Tamatey & Lukas, Martin C. & Jørgensen, Stig H., 2017. "The neglected role of local institutions in the ‘resource curse’ debate. Limestone mining in the Krobo region of Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 43-52.
    13. Clovis Wendji Miamo & Elvis Dze Achuo, 2022. "Can the resource curse be avoided? An empirical examination of the nexus between crude oil price and economic growth," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-23, January.
    14. Timothy M. Peterson, 2017. "Export Diversity and Human Rights," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 61(8), pages 1740-1767, September.
    15. Chen, Ming & Chen, Junying, 2023. "Natural resources extraction in emerging economies: Does it promote sustainable development or crowd-out real sector?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    16. Sergei Guriev & Alexander Plekhanov & Konstantin Sonin, 2009. "Development Based on Commodity Revenues?," Working Papers hal-03461797, HAL.
    17. Xuan Xie & Ke Li & Zhiqiang Liu & Hongshan Ai, 2021. "Curse or blessing: how does natural resource dependence affect city‐level economic development in China?," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(2), pages 413-448, April.
    18. Arin, K. Peren & Braunfels, Elias, 2018. "The resource curse revisited: A Bayesian model averaging approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 170-178.
    19. Boire, Sidiki & Nell, Kevin S., 2021. "The enclave hypothesis and Dutch disease effect: A critical appraisal of Mali's gold mining industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    20. Nhabinde, Simeão & Heshmati, Almas, 2020. "The Extractive Industry’s impact on Economic Growth in SADC Countries," GLO Discussion Paper Series 656, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:80:y:2023:i:c:s0301420722005815. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30467 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.