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Despite its numerous mineral resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) finds itself ranked among the poorest nations in the world, which fuels the paradox of 'richer but poorer'. This work aims to highlight the relationship between the evolution of the mining sector and the economic growth of the country in order to respond to this paradox while formulating some recommendations for the sustainable development of the country. To do this, we acquired data from the annual reports of the mining cadastre and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative which we used to evaluate the evolution of the mining sector. Fraud, corruption, and mining smuggling are at the root of the shortfalls experienced by the Congolese government, but also the lack of appropriate tools and technologies for the local processing of natural resources in order to give them added value. To achieve concrete results for the sustainable development of DR Congo, the ministry of mines will have to act through its technical services for the control of the mining sector in order to resolve all the problems. It will also be important to implement a circular economy policy to maximize revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource-rich developing nations continue to grapple with the paradox of abundant natural wealth failing to translate into sustainable growth—a phenomenon often dubbed the 'resource curse.' As global initiatives strive to harness natural resources for development, this paper evaluates the 'treatment effect' of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) membership on tax revenue mobilization in resource-rich developing countries. We hypothesize that EITI implementation enhances governance quality in these nations, thereby improving tax revenue mobilization. Analyzing a sample of 83 resource-rich developing countries from 2001–2017 and employing propensity score matching (PSM) and difference-in-differences (DID) with multiple treatment groups and periods, our findings reveal that EITI membership significantly boosts tax revenue mobilization compared to non-EITI countries, with a dynamic causal impact since the commitment year. Additionally, EITI compliance generates a substantial surplus in tax revenues. Our results remain robust when examining disaggregated tax revenues, such as corporate income tax non-resource tax and resource tax revenues. While the EITI is not a panacea, its rigorous implementation, driven by enhanced governance, appears to significantly bolster tax revenue mobilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the concept of penal extractivism in the punishment and society literature. We define penal extractivism as the punitive strategies that a state implements to safeguard extractive industries from citizens' contention. This concept addresses the limitations of categories like criminalization, protest policing, social control, and labour discipline while bridging the gap between punishment studies and research on extractive industries. Additionally, we draw upon evidence of the Espinar mining conflict in Peru to explain five punitive strategies the state uses to handle protests: (1) off-duty policing and critical assets legislation, (2) state of emergency declarations, (3) police or prosecutorial notes against environmental defenders, (4) criminal indictments, and (5) the transferring of criminal cases to distant jurisdictions. Based on our findings, we argue that penal extractivism is a dynamic and ambivalent project that targets marginalized rural populations. The state partially deters mobilizations but fails to address the underlying social unrest, reinforcing the conditions that perpetuate mining conflicts. This in-depth within-case analysis examines the relationship between punishment and extractivism in the global context of contemporary social mobilizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Arctic is commonly thought of as a pristine and homogeneous area. In reality, it is a diverse region experiencing growth relying on natural resource extraction. Despite local communities being primarily affected by industry activities, most socioeconomic impact assessments are conducted at the macro level. This study addresses this gap by examining the impacts of economic activities on local communities. Using secondary data and semi-structured interviews from 15 hubs in five European Arctic countries, the study draws on locally relevant insights. Findings indicate that many activities focus on economic growth, and existing strategies do not adequately address biophysical boundaries. Furthermore, alternative activities need to be developed in a more balanced manner that aligns with the needs of indigenous and local communities. Finally, participation of various actors in future developments is critical to reduce the negative impacts of industry activities.

Decarbonization of hard-to-abate industrial sectors, namely the extractive industries, has become an imperative, and thus, processes such as carbon capture and utilization (CCU) have been explored thoroughly and seem to be a promising solution. Carbon dioxide (CO2) catalytic hydrogenation employing green hydrogen (H2) to produce synthetic methanol (MeOH) aims to utilize industrial-captured carbon. A thermodynamic and kinetic analysis of a pilot scale methanol synthesis reactor was conducted by modeling the process using Aspen Plus V12 software. The methanol synthesis model consists mainly of a multi-tubular packed-bed reactor with a thermal oil heat recovery system, a product separator, and an internal recycle loop for optimal efficiency. The reactor has a 5 kg h−1 methanol production capacity, and its heat recovery system achieves an overall heat reduction of 64.1% and can retrieve 1.293 kWh per kg of methanol produced. The overall carbon conversion achieved is 80.6%. Valuable information concerning the design and profile of the reactor is provided in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on informal road networks in remote Siberian communities: their connectivity and the relations between road owners and road users. These informal roads serve both as conduits and hindrances for local connectivities. Data was collected in the villages Vershina Khandy and Tokma of the Irkutsk region, and the study describes the variety of informal roads in the region: subsistence trails and tracks, inter-settlement roads, forest roads, and oil and gas service roads. Different actors participate in the expansion of the informal road network; our research demonstrates that communities accommodate new infrastructures and negotiate their mobility and connectivity informally according to their needs and desires under uneven power hierarchies. In conclusion, we discuss the possibilities and constraints that different groups of roads users experience because of the informal character of roads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Arctic is commonly thought of as a pristine and homogeneous area. In reality, it is a diverse region experiencing growth relying on natural resource extraction. Despite local communities being primarily affected by industry activities, most socioeconomic impact assessments are conducted at the macro level. This study addresses this gap by examining the impacts of economic activities on local communities. Using secondary data and semi-structured interviews from 15 hubs in five European Arctic countries, the study draws on locally relevant insights. Findings indicate that many activities focus on economic growth, and existing strategies do not adequately address biophysical boundaries. Furthermore, alternative activities need to be developed in a more balanced manner that aligns with the needs of indigenous and local communities. Finally, participation of various actors in future developments is critical to reduce the negative impacts of industry activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate warming enables easier access and operation in the Arctic, fostering industrial and urban development. However, there is no comprehensive pan-Arctic overview of industrial and urban development, which is crucial for the planning of sustainable development of the region. In this study, we utilize satellite-derived artificial light at night (ALAN) data to quantify the hotspots and the development of light-emitting human activity across the Arctic from 1992 to 2013. We find that out of 16.4 million km2 analyzed a total area of 839,710 km2 (5.14%) is lit by human activity with an annual increase of 4.8%. The European Arctic and the oil and gas extraction regions in Russia and Alaska are hotspots of ALAN with up to a third of the land area lit, while the Canadian Arctic remains dark to a large extent. On average, only 15% of lit area in the Arctic contains human settlement, indicating that artificial light is largely attributable to industrial human activity. With this study, we provide a standardized approach to spatially assess human industrial activity across the Arctic, independent from economic data. Our results provide a crucial baseline for sustainable development and conservation planning across the highly vulnerable Arctic region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the relationship between greenwashing and information transparency in the context of extraction companies in Indonesia. A mixed qualitativequantitative approach was used, a SEM-PLS approach to test the relationship between the variables identified in the theoretical framework, then a grounded theory approach to gain an in-depth understanding of greenwashing practices and information transparency. The quantitative approach utilizes a structured survey to collect data from extraction companies in Indonesia, while the qualitative approach involves in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders. SEM-PLS analysis will be used to test the proposed hypotheses and estimate the structural model at the extractive industry company level. Contextual factors such as environmental dimension, social dimension and governance dimension will be considered in the quantitative analysis. Then the findings of SEM-PLS analysis will be triangulated with qualitative approaches inductively to identify patterns and themes. Various findings at the extractive industry company level will be drawn to form a general abstraction of these companies. The integration of findings from both approaches will provide a holistic understanding of the complexity of the relationship between greenwashing and information transparency in the extraction industry in Indonesia. This research is expected to provide valuable insights for practitioners, policy, and researchers interested in efforts to improve environmental practices and corporate accountability in the extraction industry, as well as promote sustainable natural resource management. The expected output is the implementation of transparency and accountability in the extractive industry sector without any greenwashing practices from the Company. So as to increase substantial democratization in the extractive industry sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Political Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), based on ideas about deliberative democracy, have been criticised for increasing corporate power and democratic deficits. Yet, deliberative ideals are flourishing in the corporate world in the form of dialogues with a broad set of stakeholders and engagement in wider societal issues. Extractive industry areas, with extensive corporate interventions in weak regulatory environments, are particularly vulnerable to asymmetrical power relations when businesses engage with society. This paper aims to illustrate in what way deliberative CSR practices in such contexts risk enhancing corporate power at the expense of community interests. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a retrospective qualitative study of a Canadian oil company, operating in an Albanian oilfield between 2009 and 2016. Through a study of three different deliberative CSR practices – market-based land acquisition, a grievance redress mechanism and dialogue groups – it highlights how these practices in various ways enforced corporate interests and prevented further community mobilisation. Findings: By applying Laclau and Mouffe's theory of hegemony, the analysis highlights how deliberative CSR activities isolated and silenced community demands, moved some community members into the corporate alliance and prevented alternative visions of the area to be articulated. In particular, the close connection between deliberative practices and monetary compensation flows is underlined in this dynamic. Originality/value: The paper contributes to critical scholarship on political CSR by highlighting in what way deliberative practices, linked to monetary compensation schemes, enforce corporate hegemony by moving community members over to the corporate alliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the consolidation of industrial mining in Latin America, documenting the strategies that mining companies have used to deepen and widen extractive frontiers in Ecuador and Peru. Based on original fieldwork in the Andean highlands, we find that companies deployed payments, land purchases, and small gifts – or regalitos– to destabilize important norms governing reciprocity, community, and the commons, leading to significant conflict among community members. Our analysis contributes to a contemporary political economy that examines the ways in which mining companies use land purchases and gift giving to manipulate processes of community conflict, decision making and social consent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid a global infrastructure boom, there is increasing recognition of the ecological impacts of the extraction and consumption of construction minerals, mainly processed as concrete, including significant and expanding threats to global biodiversity. We investigated how high‐level national and international biodiversity conservation policies address mining threats, with a special focus on construction minerals. We conducted a review and quantified the degree to which threats from mining these minerals are addressed in biodiversity goals and targets under the 2011–2020 and post‐2020 biodiversity strategies, national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and the assessments of the Intergovernmental Science–Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Mining appeared rarely in national targets but more frequently in national strategies. Yet, in most countries, it was superficially addressed. Coverage of aggregates mining was greater than coverage of limestone mining. We outline 8 key components, tailored for a wide range of actors, to effectively mainstream biodiversity conservation into the extractive, infrastructure, and construction sectors. Actions include improving reporting and monitoring systems, enhancing the evidence base around mining impacts on biodiversity, and modifying the behavior of financial agents and businesses. Implementing these measures could pave the way for a more sustainable approach to construction mineral use and safeguard biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comment critiques the idea of geographic regions being "left behind." It argues that the term frames the regions in question as passive experiencers of natural phenomena, in turn obfuscating the structural forces that have shaped those regions and local populations' efforts to pursue better living conditions. The comment draws on three examples from the rural United States to illustrate how the designation of being "left behind" serves to mask subjugation and struggle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diesel-fuelled vehicles used in heavy transport operations of extractive industries release an estimated annual 400 Mt of carbon dioxide (CO2), approximately a 1.1% of global CO2 emissions. To address this issue, extractive industries aim to replace diesel with alternative fuels of lower or zero CO2 emissions. Synthetic fuels such as synthetic methanol (e-MeOH) and synthetic natural gas (SNG) present significantly lesser CO2 emissions than conventional fuels, due to their production process utilising CO2 otherwise released in the atmosphere. Green hydrogen (H2) is another alternative fuel associated with zero CO2 emissions during combustion, and near zero emissions from production through renewable energy sources (RES). The goal of this study is to assess the environmental impact of alternative fuels utilised in the heavy transport operations of a marble quarry located in north Greece through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The LCA was conducted according to ISO 14040:2006 and 14044:2006/A1:2018 and the International Life Cycle Data (ILCD) Handbook, using the commercial software package Sphera LCA for Experts. The results showed the e-MeOH, SNG and green H2 utilisation result in 51%, 28% and 69% reduction in CO2 eq. emissions, compared to diesel combustion. The study offers an overview of the benefits of alternative fuels for extractive industries, to support decision makers and promote the penetration of greener solutions in the highly emissive sector.

The article analyses theexploitation of elastic rubber in BolivianAmazonia (1880-1920), which played a crucial role in the definitive colonisationof the eastern part of the country. The goal of the paper is to describe the diverseroles women played in the several stages and contexts of rubber extraction,aiming at documenting the operation of the extractive machinery from a femalepoint of view and also to reconstruct the historical agency of the Creole,Indigenous and European women left out of the historical sources by the hyper-masculinising bias of Amazonian history.

Lee argues that outbound Chinese state capital (CSC) is distinct from global private capital in terms of a greater willingness to accommodate recipient country priorities. This article uses the cases of Kazakhstan and Bolivia to explore this claim in relation to state-led efforts to foster structural transformation via upgrading in extractive industries (lithium and iron/steel in Bolivia, and petrochemicals in Kazakhstan). We focus particularly on attempts to move into domestic downstream processing. The article explores variation in the degree of accommodation with local demands on the part of CSC and proposes an explanatory framework for these differences, grounded in three axes. These are (i) mix of BRI drivers motivating a particular project from the Chinese side (export of industrial surplus, political relations with partner states and/or concern for resource security); (ii) nature of state-capital investment partnership (the mix of Chinese institutions and firms involved in negotiating and implementing the deal, as well as the time horizon implied by contract type); and (iii) a range of local contextual factors such as availability of alternative sources of capital, host state industrial capacities and local political conditions. Further research will be needed to refine and test this framework across other sectors and developmental goals beyond upgrading in extractives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the Global South, corporations and governments are displacing Indigenous and Afro-descendant groups in the name of development and economic advancement. International norms guarantee these communities the right to consultation over extractive projects that impact their traditional territories. Ethnic rights laws create spaces for communities to hold corporations accountable for their suffering; the same laws can also allow corporations to co-opt the process. Using a case study from Colombia, I argue that two Black communities filed a petition to seek reparations for a wide range of harms caused by mining yet found themselves on trial over whether they were really a community at all. Corporate officials positioned themselves as the experts on community identity and history and used the communities' lack of collectivity to discredit the communities' ethnic rights claims. This article brings together anthropological literature on the social life of corporations and scholarly critiques of ethnic rights laws to illustrate that when communities engage ethnic rights laws, they also undergo new processes of community formation in their interactions with corporations, courts, and international institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining and other economic activities are carried out on a particular territory and, thus, affect the natural and human environment in which they operate. As a consequence and in order to avoid future and eventual socioenvironmental conflicts, it is essential to guarantee that these human activities are conducted in a manner that respects both environment and society. One of the most powerful tools to achieve this balance between human activities and sustainable development is Land-Use Planning (LUP), understood as the institution charged with organizing human activities to achieve that balance. Bearing this in mind, the present article has three objectives: a) complement the literature on LUP by explaining the interconnection between LUP and the mining concessions regime, b) identify and analyze the main problems with the procedures for granting mining concessions in Peru, and c) propose the foundations for a future integrated system of mining concessions and LUP based on common principles and participatory mechanisms to reconcile tensions between the interests and values of all stakeholders, in addition to providing alternative solutions to the current problems with the mining concessions regime. To analyze the mining concessions regime and LUP a qualitative methodology is adopted, combining documentary analysis, review of official reports, and semi-structured interviews with key actors. Taking into consideration the stated objectives, this research concludes that: a) to achieve sustainable development and prevent the future emergence of conflicts, mining concessions must be granted based on territorial planning that the State (at the national, regional and local levels) should undertake prior to and in conjunction with civil society; b) the mining concession procedure lacks mechanisms of good governance, environmental sustainability and social justice; and c) as an alternative solution to these issues, this research suggests the creation of an integrated system of LUP and mining concessions, one that is binding, efficient, gradual, investor-friendly and intercultural. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate over home state responsibility for human rights has focused on how home states might use accountability mechanisms to promote respect for human rights among their businesses abroad. However, a set of activists and researchers have opened a new front on the question of home state responsibility by focusing on the activities of Canadian diplomats providing advice and consular services to extractive firms abroad. This work documents how home states can be directly implicated in business and human rights controversies and how home state diplomats can put human rights defenders at increased risk. This paper outlines the growing body of research on the hidden influence of Canadian economic diplomacy in human rights controversies, suggesting a troubling disregard for corporate social responsibility and human rights concerns in these contexts, and making the case for robust accountability mechanisms to influence the conduct of both corporate actors and diplomatic officials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extractive rubber boom in Bolivian Amazonia (1880-1920) not only reconfigured interethnic relations between indigenous peoples and white settlers but also reshaped the geopolitics of the region, as well as the way in which the Amazon rainforest itself was perceived by the national and international imaginaries. However, the historical and anthropological literature usually presents us with a hyper-masculinised view that tends to ignore or render almost invisible the role of women during the rubber era. Our aim is precisely to describe and analyse the roles played by mestizo and indigenous women in these extractive circuits, in order to reconstruct their agency as protagonists and to render their presence visible as active participants of the rubber industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the mid-19th century onwards, the acceleration of capitalist expansion in indigenous South America was driven by a series of extractive endeavors such as the rubber industry in the Bolivian Amazon, the dairy, meat and tannin industries in the Chaco, or the sugar and cotton industries in northern Argentina. These industrial enterprises advanced on indigenous territories that until then had been considered “frontiers”, “deserts” or “empty spaces”, and became key players in the final phase of their colonization. By relying on an interdisciplinary approach, the investigations gathered in this dossier aim to document and analyze the role of female wage labor in these macro-processes, aiming at questioning the hyper-masculinization of the industry’s canonical imaginary, restoring indigenous women’s agency in the extractive worlds, and to reposition it within the broader framework of South America’s general history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a critical reflection on the ways extractive industries manifest within and across place. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Mexico over 8 months in 2019–2020, this paper focuses on the experiences of residents living in a town adjacent to an underground silver mine in Valles Centrales, Oaxaca, Mexico. I argue that a focus on lived, sensory and long-term engagement between people and mining opens new avenues for geographers to consider 'what mining does'. Looking beyond the language of 'impacts', I build upon work on cultural geographies of presence and absence to put forward the notion of 'mining presence': mining's present and absent affects and materialities that interweave with residents' everyday lives, homes, bodies, and landscapes. In other words, I explore the qualities of mining that bring the San José mine into a neighbouring town and mediate spaces of daily life. In doing so, this paper contributes to the geographies of the extractive industries by showing that attention to life with mining requires a re-thinking of the spatiotemporal relations of extraction itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates whether mandatory extraction payment disclosures (EPD), a policy intervention involving Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR) in extractive industries, affects corporate tax avoidance. Based on a sample of firms listed on the London Stock Exchange over the period from 2010 to 2021, and using the Difference-in-Differences (DiD) model including firm and year fixed effects, results showed a decline in the level of tax avoidance of British extractive firms post-EPD requirement implementation, relative to U.S. extractive/British manufacturing firms not subject to such a requirement. The findings highlight one of the unstated positive consequences of the EPD regulation implementation including discouraging tax avoidance. They should be informative to tax authorities and civil society as they continue to refine existing disclosure requirements and combat tax avoidance. They also support the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)'s (2008) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s (2015) arguments that CbCR facilitates understanding of corporate tax practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern mining operates on enormous scales and quantities that go beyond everyday comprehension, which in turn has existential and metaphysical implications, and this article is an experiment in characterising 'existentially disturbing' aspects of extraction landscapes. We attempt to characterise and make sense of the Hannukainen mining landscape with regard to its deeply contradictory and dissonant – effectively monstrous – nature as an experienced place. Specifically, we explore various affective, emotional and psychological impacts of the (now closed) Hannukainen mine in Finnish Lapland. Drawing on the so-called 'new weird' fiction, we employ a 'weirding approach' into the ambivalent, unsettling and disorientating aspects of an extraction landscape in relation to the socio-ecological condition of the Anthropocene. We seek to identify how various features of the Hannukainen landscape resonate with deeper and broader cultural ideas of, for instance, aboveground and belowground and the this-worldly and otherworldly. We conclude that there is an interplay of presences and absences in Hannukainen, which generates uncertainty, disorientation and compromises the very coherence of the mine as an experienced landscape, placing it in a weird in-betweenness of non-linear spatialities and temporalities associated with monsters and the monstrous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian federal government has recently recommenced a previously paused process to select a site for a national nuclear waste storage facility despite significant opposition from Australian Indigenous communities and others. This article considers what some might understand as a contemporary issue by examining its relationship to previous events. It emphasizes how Western linear temporality facilitates disregard for negative community sentiment and the consigning of previous wrongs to the past. In contrast, Indigenous temporalities – where time is understood as immanent and space and time intermingled – emphasize positive relationships and require the remediation of past wrongs to support just futures. Thus, historical nuclear weapons testing in Australia, current plans for waste storage, and historical and ongoing ecological and social consequences of resource extraction are all related, reflecting the violence of British colonization and contemporary settler colonial governance. Using a literary studies approach, this article examines historically significant moments of Indigenous Australian protest writing regarding extractive industries, nuclear waste storage, and settler colonial governance, to show that some Indigenous communities in Australia have clearly communicated their negative sentiments. It argues for equitable relationships as a first step towards the restitution of past wrongs and the creation of just futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study offers several qualitative and mixed approaches to explore the challenges with the transition to a research-based economy in Kazakhstan. Some findings have been drawn from a doctoral study of science policymaking in Kazakhstan focusing on experts' involvement in agenda setting. According to the results of this study, despite the significant structural transformation and numerous economic development strategies, the economy of Kazakhstan remains dependent on extractive industries. It is mainly because the structure of the economy of Kazakhstan is more export-oriented than service-based. The macroeconomic situation is characterized by an unpredictable business environment. The findings of this research highlight that the business sector is not interested in R&D activities and relies most on accelerated foreign technologies. The Kazakh Government likely needs to facilitate specific subsidies and tax preferences for business enterprises involved in research and development activities. This kind of state support may encourage business representatives to invest more in scientific activities that could help the country move smoothly to a research-based economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Confluenze. Rivista di Studi Iberoamericani is the property of Universita di Bologna, Dipartimento di Lingue, Letterature e Culture Moderne and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 2017, 97,61% of the people of Cumaral, Colombia, voted in a popular consultation against having the oil industry in their municipality. However, this historical result was challenged by the government in court and ultimately overturned in 2018. By looking into the origins and strategies employed by Cumaral's environmental movement, we argue that their success involved turning a diverse, and even contradictory, collective into a singular voice that could reject the state's development agenda. We thus highlight the combination of factors that led to the consultation result showing that an effective way of resistance can be achieved through the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid worldwide increase in resource extraction is evident in Madagascar—a global biodiversity hotspot. This study examines the localized effects of operational and planned large-scale extractive investments on social-ecological systems in Madagascar and links them to the Sustainable Development Goals. The focus is on sites owned or explored by foreign investors, specifically Ambatovy Moramanga, Ambatovy Tamatave, QIT Madagascar Minerals/Rio Tinto, Ranobe, and Tantalum Rare Earth Malagasy. Employing a counterfactual approach, we gathered survey responses from 459 small-scale farming, agro-pastoral, and artisanal-fisheries-based households. The survey provided information on general household characteristics, land use, land management, livelihoods, well-being, and any perceived changes to these variables, as well as any perceived mining impacts related to the changes. Overall, respondents reported predominantly negative effects on land (and sea) use, livelihoods, well-being, and security. Mining pollution, primarily from operational sites, had reduced access to water and fisheries resources, and natural forest areas had diminished. Reduced productivity due to pollution of soils, water, and air had a negative impact on various land uses and affected people's health, particularly in the surroundings of QIT Madagascar Minerals/Rio Tinto. Although some projects, such as Ambatovy, had eventually improved healthcare and infrastructure, most negative mining impacts had occurred during both the exploratory and the operational phases of the projects. Overall, this study offers a comprehensive view of how large-scale extractive investments affect land (and sea) use and human well-being. In addition, we highlight policy implications that must be considered if large-scale extractive investments are to support progress on the 2030 Agenda.

Geoscientists are involved in both the upstream and downstream side of the extractive industries. As explorationists and field geologists, they are often the first technical people related to extractive industries that communities meet. It is imperative in an increasingly globalized and holistic world that geoscientists gain greater awareness of the socio-economic impact of extractive industries and become a more proactive part of improving outcomes for all with respect to extractive industries. When Jigme Singye Wangchuk, the King of Bhutan, first suggested the concept of 'Gross National Happiness' (GNH) in 1972, it was met with widespread cynicism and puzzlement. Was the concept meaningful in a hard, economically competitive world? A series of measures, including the Human Development Index (HDI), the Gini Coefficient (GC), and the now annual World Happiness Report (WHR), are evolutionary responses to the 1972 GNH and are widely accepted as proxy measures of holistic human progress. These measures go beyond the narrow confines of Gross Domestic Product and similar economic proxies, placing economic parameters alongside the social, environmental, spiritual, human rights, health, and holistic societal issues. The broad conclusions of the plethora of metrics are that 'happiness' links to issues and ideas such as equity, minimal economic inequality, excellent governance, human rights, individual freedom, and so forth. We ask the question: what is the relationship between extractive industries (EIs) and GNH? We present a wide range of data and analytical diagrams/text examining potential correlations and associations between GNH and EIs. We examine potential relationships using global data and case studies for Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, the DRC, and Jamaica. The conclusions of this analysis of course suggest a complex relationship between EIs and GNH. We acknowledge that in situations of weak governance and institutions, EIs struggle to make any tangible difference with respect to GNH. A counter conclusion that EIs may even be a major cause of weak governance, which in turn suppresses happiness, must be seriously considered. We document examples where EIs have made a definitive positive improvement to GNH. Data suggest that hydrocarbon-rich countries have made better progress with respect to GNH than mineral-rich countries. However, the main conclusion is that the link between EIs and GNH remains a work in progress, and that a narrow focus on profit and shareholder return is an antithetical approach to the GNH paradigm. A key recommendation is that industry must adopt a far more active role (rather than merely a passive role) with respect to translating the many potential benefits of EIs into GNH than has hitherto been the case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial development has ramifications for women's participation in labor markets and society, in the short and long run. We explore the Gold Rush that took place in the Western United States in the second half of the 19th century. The Gold Rush led to high male-skewed inward migration and created gender-specific job market opportunities, with men entering mining employment and women entering the service sector. In gold mining counties, both men and women worked less in farming. After revealing the baseline patterns, we disentangle the direct effect of gold mining from the mediating effect of the skewed sex ratio, using formal mediation analysis. The skewed sex ratio is driving lower marriage rates for men, and higher female participation in the service sector. The results are consistent with surviving written accounts from the time, suggesting a high premium for traditionally female services. Using census data spanning almost a century, we show that these differences persisted long after the initial conditions of the Gold Rush had passed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Yearbook of International Law is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The energy intensity and high emissions of extractive industries bring a major need for decarbonisation actions. In 2021, extraction and primary processing of metals and minerals were responsible for 4.5 Gt of equivalent CO2. The aluminium industry specifically accounted for total emissions of 1.1 Gt CO2 eq. per year. Reaching the European milestone of zero emissions by 2050, requires a 3% annual reduction. To achieve this, the industry has searched for innovative solutions, considering the treatment of emitted CO2 with techniques such as Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), or the prevention of CO2 formation on the first place by utilising alternative fuels such as hydrogen (H2). This study aims to comprehensively compare the overall environmental performance of different strategies for addressing not only greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction potential, but also emissions to air in general, as well as freshwater and terrestrial ecotoxicity, which are commonly overlooked. Specifically, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is conducted, analysing four scenarios for primary Al production, utilising (1) a combination of fossil fuels, specifically Natural Gas (NG), Light Fuel Oil (LFO) and Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) (conventional approach); (2) carbon capture and geological storage; (3) Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) for methanol (MeOH) production and (4) green H2, replacing NG. The results show that green H2 replacing NG is the most environmentally beneficial option, accounting for a 10.76% reduction in Global Warming Potential (GWP) and 1.26% in Photochemical Ozone Formation (POF), while all other impact categories were lower compared to CCUS. The results offer a comprehensive overview to support decision-makers in comparing the overall environmental impact and the emission reduction potential of the different solutions.

Russian resource developers operating in remote parts of the Arctic have demonstrated over the past several years that it is feasible to extract natural resources throughout the year, and ship large quantities of raw materials with regular intervals from the Arctic to international markets; this despite very difficult operational conditions in the Arctic during both winter and spring. Several resource extraction projects are currently being implemented or planned. This study examines how the extractive companies have built up enhanced supply chain resilience and transport reliability to mitigate common Arctic risks. The companies have taken control over supply chains and adopted several precautionary and innovative infrastructure and logistics measures designed to prevent or mitigate disruption to these supply chains. Preferred logistical solutions for all of these extraction projects have developed into large package deals, where long-term production and transport of commodities, icebreaking services, and state support are all included. Western sanctions on Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine, will slow down the pace of future Russian projects in the Arctic, at least in the short to medium-term, but the sanctions are likely to increase the future significance of export terminals on the NSR, as the preferred departure points for Russian Arctic commodities on their way to selective market destinations. Responsible Editor: Øyvind Ravna, Faculty of Law, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Extensive decarbonisation efforts result in major changes in energy demand for the extractive industry. In 2021, the extraction and primary processing of metals and minerals accounted for 4.5 Gt of CO2 eq. per year. The aluminium industry was responsible for 1.1 Gt CO2 eq. direct and indirect emissions. To reach the European milestone of zero emissions by 2050, a reduction of 3% annually is essential. To this end, the industry needs to take a turn towards less impactful production practices, coupling secondary production with green energy sources. The present work aims to comprehensively compare the lifecycle energy consumption and environmental performance of a secondary aluminium smelter employing alternative thermal and electricity sources. In this frame, a comparative analysis of the environmental impact of different thermal energy sources, namely natural gas, light fuel oil, liquified petroleum gas, hydrogen and electricity, for a secondary aluminium smelter is presented. The results show that H2 produced by renewables (green H2) is the most environmentally beneficial option, accounting for −84.156 kg CO2 eq. By producing thermal energy as well as electricity on site, H2 technologies also serve as a decentralized power station for green energy production. These technologies account for a reduction of 118% compared to conventionally used natural gas. The results offer a comprehensive overview to aid decision-makers in comparing environmental impacts caused by different energy sources.