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.

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 explores how, across the world, the revenues from oil, gas and mining that should be funding sustainable economic development have often been misappropriated and mismanaged. Specifically, it analyses five major examples of this problem: Kazakhstan, Congo Brazzaville, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Nauru.The report argues that in these countries, governments do not provide even basic information about their revenues from natural resources. Nor do oil, mining and gas companies publish any information about payments made to governments.

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.

Countries throughout the world are rapidly urbanising, particularly in the developing world, and for the first time in human history, the majority of people today are no longer living in rural areas, but rather in cities. This report examines the worldwide phenomenon of urbanisation from the point of view of women’s housing rights.

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.

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.

China’s impressive inroads into Africa’s resources sectors over the past decade are explained largely by the timely match between a cash-loaded China in search of raw materials and a continent with a vast pool of underdeveloped mineral deposits, exploration of which has been hindered for decades by underinvestment and infrastructure bottlenecks. Chinese ‘infrastructure-for-resources’ loans are ultimately a product of the convergence of Chinese and African interests at the dawn of the 21st century.

This report reviews the experience and outcomes of the funding by International Financial Institutions (IFIs) of projects in the extractive industries. It presents short case studies of experiences in the Philippines, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Romania, Colombia, Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, which then uses to make recommendations.

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.