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How you start matters: A comparison of Gold Fields' Tarkwa and Damang Mines and their divergent relationships with local small-scale miners in Ghana

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  • Teschner, Benjamin

Abstract

This paper argues that actions of large-scale mining companies at the early stages of a mining project establish a legacy which sets the tone for that mine's long-term relationship with the local artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) stakeholders. This paper compares the experiences of Gold Fields' Tarkwa and Damang mines and the divergent histories of each of these mines' relationship with local small-scale mining stakeholders. Circumstances at Damang during the discovery and early development of the project drove a rift between the mine and the ASM community. As the mine developed, a chain of ASM engagement strategies were enacted in an attempted to repair the relationship but which has never able to regain sufficient trust between the mine and ASM stakeholders. At the nearby Tarkwa mine, ASM confrontations have been much easier to manage. Despite early disagreements at Tarkwa, a relationship characterized by greater trust between the mine and ASM communities was established early and therefore ASM engagement strategies have been simpler and more effective. This paper will conclude that establishing and maintaining a positive mine legacy as early as the exploration phase of a mining project is critical to maintaining a positive, trust-based relationship between LSM companies and their local ASM stakeholders over the life of a mine.

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  • Teschner, Benjamin, 2013. "How you start matters: A comparison of Gold Fields' Tarkwa and Damang Mines and their divergent relationships with local small-scale miners in Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 332-340.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:38:y:2013:i:3:p:332-340
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2013.03.006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gavin Hilson & Clive Potter, 2003. "Why Is Illegal Gold Mining Activity so Ubiquitous in Rural Ghana?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 15(2‐3), pages 237-270.
    2. Teschner, Benjamin A., 2012. "Small-scale mining in Ghana: The government and the galamsey," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 308-314.
    3. Hilson, Gavin, 2002. "Harvesting mineral riches: 1000 years of gold mining in Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(1-2), pages 13-26.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Katz-Lavigne, Sarah, 2020. "Distributional impact of corporate extraction and (un)authorised clandestine mining at and around large-scale copper- and cobalt-mining sites in DR Congo," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Marcellinus Essah, 2022. "Gold mining in Ghana and the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Exploring community perspectives on social and environmental injustices," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 127-138, February.
    4. Corbett, Tony & O'Faircheallaigh, Ciaran & Regan, Anthony, 2017. "‘Designated areas’ and the regulation of artisanal and small-scale mining," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 393-401.
    5. Elbra Ainsley D., 2014. "Interests need not be pursued if they can be created: private governance in African gold mining," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 16(2), pages 1-20, August.
    6. Fritz, Morgane M.C. & Maxson, Peter A. & Baumgartner, Rupert J., 2016. "The mercury supply chain, stakeholders and their responsibilities in the quest for mercury-free gold," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 177-192.
    7. Bainton, Nicholas & Owen, John R. & Kenema, Simon & Burton, John, 2020. "Land, labour and capital: Small and large-scale miners in Papua New Guinea," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    8. Grant, J. Andrew & Wilhelm, Cindy, 2022. "A flash in the pan? Agential constructivist perspectives on local content, governance, and the large-scale mining–artisanal and small-scale mining interface in West Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. A. Cristina Ribeiro-Duthie & Líllian M.B. Domingos & Marina F. Oliveira & Patrícia C. Araujo & Renata C.J. Alamino & Ricardo S.V. Silva & James M. Ribeiro-Duthie & Zuleica C. Castilhos, 2017. "Sustainable development opportunities within corporate social responsibility practices from LSM to ASM in the gold mining industry," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 30(2), pages 141-152, July.
    10. Amoako, Kwame Oduro & Lord, Beverley R. & Dixon, Keith, 2021. "Narrative accounting for mining in Ghana: An old defence against a new threat?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    11. Holley, Elizabeth A. & Smith, Nicole M. & Delgado Jimenez, Jeison Alejandro & Cabezas, Isabel Casasbuenas & Restrepo-Baena, Oscar Jaime, 2020. "Socio-technical context of the interactions between large-scale and small-scale mining in Marmato, Colombia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    12. Smith, Nicole M. & Smith, Jessica M. & John, Zira Q. & Teschner, Benjamin A., 2017. "Promises and perceptions in the Guianas: The making of an artisanal and small-scale mining reserve," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 49-56.
    13. Essah, Marcellinus & Andrews, Nathan, 2016. "Linking or de-linking sustainable mining practices and corporate social responsibility? Insights from Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 75-85.

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