Conflict in the Mining Industry in Argentina

Outputs 

  1. 1. Mapping of conflict and stakeholders involved
  2.  
  3. 2. Exploratory fieldwork defining key themes:

a) Social resistance and the role of enterprises

  • Distributive injustice.( Global/National. Urban/rural)
  • MNEs policies: global vs ‘adaptation to local context’
  • FDI as a bargaining relationship between MNEs and States.
  • Local companies vs Multinationals.
  • Models of democratic governance and community development
  • Indigenous people

 

b) Ethics, Integrity, managerial moral judgement and discourse coalitions.

  • Ethics , moral judgement and integrity. How internal stakeholders deal with widespread social disproval?
  • Flexible vs standardised CSR policies. Stakeholders integration
  • Drivers or obstacles for consensus-making in Sustainable Mining
  • Discourse Coalitions :(‘ ignorance ‘ vs ‘environmental and economic injustice’)

 

  • 3. Interviews
    25 x 1.5 hour semi structured -to-face Interviews with influential stakeholders have been completed.

  • Interviewees included the Minister of Mining, local Ngos, and CEOs of three large Multinationals: Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Barrick

  • 4.Report on Sustainability in the Mining Industry: trends and Conflicts

  • Literature review and framework on CSR in Mining (with RMT/UBA match funding) to be published by UBA in November.

NEXT STAGE:

Case Study 1: Xstrata ( largest mine in Argentine) conflict with the local authorities of Andalgala. Andalgala’s authorities are mentored by Nobel Prize James Stiglitz, who selected the city for his global villages’ project.

Case Study 2: Esquel. A mining project worth 500 millions investment located in Patagonia and backed by national and local authorities was halted after widespread community resistance, supported by Greenpeace, which lead to a political party ‘No to mining’.

Case Study 3: Cerro Vanguardia. Large gold mining site which applies the same technologies than Xstrata but has not faced social conflict and is supported by local communities.

Publications

Mining and Social Resistance in Argentina

Vazquez Brust, D and Yakovleva, N, Perceptions of ‘quality’ of FDI and social resistance. A case study of FDI in Mining  in Argentina., SDIMI, (Sustainable Development Indicators in the Mining Industry) Conference Proceedings , Brisbane, Australia, 6-9  July 2009

Vazquez Brust, D, Nava-Fischer, E. and Yakovleva, N,’Social Conflict and the Mining Industry: A Review of Challenges and Tool, SDIMI (Sustainable Development Indicators in the Mining Industry) Conference Proceedings , Brisbane, Australia, 6 -9 July 2009

Mutti, D, , Vazquez Brust, D, Nava-Fischer,EYakoleva, N and Di Marco, M (2008) La industria Minera y los conflictos Sociales Ambientales, Publicacion especial AAGE, 3-47

Ethics and integrity in the mining industry

Mutti, D, Yakovleva N and Vazquez Brust, D “Corporate Social Responsibility in the Mining Industry: Perspectives from Stakeholder Groups in Argentina”, ‘Resources Policy, special issue: CSR in developing Countries, forthcoming

Yakovleva, N and Vazquez-Brust, D , Multi-stakeholder governance initiatives: Addressing the challenges of artisanal small-scale mining sector in Ghana,  American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting Proceedings, Seattle,  8-12 April 2011

Yakovleva N and Vazquez Brust, D, Refining CSR Priorities in Developing Countries: the Case of Mining MNCs in Argentina, XVIII Greening of industry conference Procedings, Seoul 15-19 July 2010

 


 

 
© 2012 The ESRC Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society