IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v22y2025i3p365-d1603652.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceived Health Impacts of Surface Mining: Local Perspectives from the Mining Communities in Libjo, Dinagat Islands, Philippines

Author

Listed:
  • Jessa Mae T. Lazarte

    (Department of Physics, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Connie Fern Miranda

    (Department of Sociology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Ruel S. Apas

    (Department of Physics, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Eulogio S. Auxtero

    (Department of Physics, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Angeline M. Atacador

    (Department of Physics, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Marco Laurence M. Budlayan

    (Department of Physics, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Ferdinand Michael B. Calo

    (Department of Physics, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Rey Marc T. Cumba

    (Department of Physics, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Gladys Edilo

    (Department of Physics, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Jade C. Jusoy

    (Department of Physics, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Felmer S. Latayada

    (Department of Chemistry, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Ronieto Mendoza

    (Department of Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering and Geosciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Edmar G. Pantohan

    (Department of Physics, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Temmy P. Vales

    (Department of Chemistry, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Mark Vincent Vergara

    (Department of Communications and Humanities, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

  • Joey Arles O. Vergara

    (Department of Physics, College of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City 8600, Philippines)

Abstract

This study examines the perceived health impacts of a mining company on residents of Libjo, Dinagat Islands, Philippines, addressing a critical research gap in understanding the perceived health impacts of mining activities in underrepresented regions. The perceived health impacts of mining operations were examined using a qualitative research approach, employing semi-structured interviews. The interview instrument was developed to investigate how mining company activities impact key health determinants, such as water quality, sanitation, income, employment, infrastructure, education, and women’s empowerment. The study was conducted across multiple sites at different distances from the mining area to further investigate the possible distance-based variations. The findings indicate that the mining company has positively impacted several areas, particularly income, employment, infrastructure, education, and women’s empowerment. However, there were mixed perceptions regarding water quality and sanitation. The majority of respondents, particularly those who are near the mining sites, perceived a significant positive impact on health service delivery, attributing it to the company’s support initiatives. Despite these positive impacts, the community expressed concerns about potential negative environmental consequences, such as air and water pollution, deforestation, land degradation, and noise pollution. This study reveals the complex relationship between mining operations and community health, emphasizing the importance of balancing economic benefits and environmental safety. The study further contributes to a deeper understanding of how mining operations affect the community’s health and well-being and their potential distance-based variations.

Suggested Citation

  • Jessa Mae T. Lazarte & Connie Fern Miranda & Ruel S. Apas & Eulogio S. Auxtero & Angeline M. Atacador & Marco Laurence M. Budlayan & Ferdinand Michael B. Calo & Rey Marc T. Cumba & Gladys Edilo & Jade, 2025. "Perceived Health Impacts of Surface Mining: Local Perspectives from the Mining Communities in Libjo, Dinagat Islands, Philippines," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(3), pages 1-23, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:3:p:365-:d:1603652
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/3/365/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/3/365/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Deller, Stephen & Schreiber, Andrew, 2012. "Mining and Community Economic Growth," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 42(2), pages 121-141, Summer.
    2. Mays, G.P. & Halverson, P.K. & Baker, E.L. & Stevens, R. & Vann, J.J., 2004. "Availability and perceived effectiveness of public health activities in the nation's most populous communities," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(6), pages 1019-1026.
    3. Dominik Dietler & Ruth Lewinski & Sophie Azevedo & Rebecca Engebretsen & Fritz Brugger & Jürg Utzinger & Mirko S. Winkler, 2020. "Inclusion of Health in Impact Assessment: A Review of Current Practice in Sub-Saharan Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-20, June.
    4. Kemp, Deanna & Worden, Sandy & Owen, John R., 2016. "Differentiated social risk: Rebound dynamics and sustainability performance in mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 19-26.
    5. Rey-Martí, Andrea & Valencia-Toledo, Alfredo & Chaparro-Banegas, Nuria & Mas-Tur, Alicia & Roig-Tierno, Norat, 2023. "Developing models to assess the social impact of mining: An exploratory study trough necessary conditions analysis (NCA)," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Deanna Kemp & John R. Owen, 2022. "Corporate social irresponsibility, hostile organisations and global resource extraction," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1816-1824, September.
    2. Bainton, Nicholas & Holcombe, Sarah, 2018. "A critical review of the social aspects of mine closure," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 468-478.
    3. Lèbre, Éléonore & Owen, John R. & Kemp, Deanna & Valenta, Rick K., 2022. "Complex orebodies and future global metal supply: An introduction," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. Yıldız, Taşkın Deniz & Kural, Orhan, 2020. "The effects of the mining operation activities permit process on the mining sector in Turkey," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    5. Sinclair, Lian & Coe, Neil M., 2024. "Critical mineral strategies in Australia: Industrial upgrading without environmental or social upgrading," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    6. Olivier Boiral & Iñaki Heras‐Saizarbitoria & Marie‐Christine Brotherton, 2023. "Sustainability management and social license to operate in the extractive industry: The cross‐cultural gap with Indigenous communities," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 125-137, February.
    7. Bach, Vanessa & Finogenova, Natalia & Berger, Markus & Winter, Lisa & Finkbeiner, Matthias, 2017. "Enhancing the assessment of critical resource use at the country level with the SCARCE method – Case study of Germany," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 283-299.
    8. Joschka J. Proksik & Fritz Brugger & Hermínio Cossa & Leonardo Chavane & Eusébio Macete, 2025. "Using Q‐methodology for policy research and stakeholder engagement to strengthen public health in large‐scale mining in Mozambique," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 1298-1314, February.
    9. Frederiksen, Tomas, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility, risk and development in the mining industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 495-505.
    10. Jennifer C Hunter & Jane E Yang & Adam W Crawley & Laura Biesiadecki & Tomás J Aragón, 2013. "Public Health Response Systems In-Action: Learning from Local Health Departments’ Experiences with Acute and Emergency Incidents," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(11), pages 1-13, November.
    11. Owen, John R. & Kemp, Deanna, 2017. "Social management capability, human migration and the global mining industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 259-266.
    12. Ruilian Zhang & Sandy Worden & Junzhuo Xu & John R. Owen & Guoqing Shi, 2022. "Social stability risk assessment and economic competitiveness in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, December.
    13. Ottone Scammacca & Rasool Mehdizadeh & Yann Gunzburger, 2022. "Territorial Mining Scenarios for Sustainable Land-Planning: A Risk-Based Comparison on the Example of Gold Mining in French Guiana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-25, August.
    14. Frank Vanclay & Philippe Hanna, 2019. "Conceptualizing Company Response to Community Protest: Principles to Achieve a Social License to Operate," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-31, June.
    15. Proksik, Joschka J. & Brugger, Fritz & Konkobo, Hermann M. & Zabré, Hyacinthe R. & Diagbouga, Serge P., 2023. "Exploring the policy space for public health in large-scale mining in Burkina Faso: A Q-methodology study," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PA).
    16. James Feyrer & Erin T. Mansur & Bruce Sacerdote, 2017. "Geographic Dispersion of Economic Shocks: Evidence from the Fracking Revolution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(4), pages 1313-1334, April.
    17. Hua Wang & Shi Wang & Cheng-Fu Yang & Sheng-Nan Jiang & Yun-Juan Li, 2019. "Resource Price Fluctuations, Resource Dependence and Sustainable Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-13, November.
    18. Naomi Pandiangan & Sukono Sukono & Endang Soeryana Hasbullah, 2021. "Quadratic Investment Portfolio Based on Value-at-risk with Risk-Free Assets: For Stocks of the Mining and Energy Sector," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(4), pages 175-184.
    19. Brian E. Whitacre & Dylan L. Johnston & David W. Shideler & Notie H. Lansford, 2020. "The influence of oil and natural gas employment on local retail spending: evidence from Oklahoma panel data," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 64(1), pages 133-157, February.
    20. Chu, Mingbin & Li, Bingwei & Gu, Weiyu & Dai, Xiajing, 2024. "Role of green finance in enhancing the sustainability in the mining sector in Asia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

    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:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:3:p:365-:d:1603652. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.