Environmental and organisational drivers for the nature of the relationship between illegal miners and mining companies

Abstract

Artisanal and/or illegal mining occurs throughout the African continent and is affected by government institutions and their policies, mining companies and their activities as well as the communities where it occurs. Mining companies, in particular, make significant investments in the communities around their mines via corporate social responsibility (CSR). Mining companies choose to either acknowledge that illegal miners are in fact a stakeholder in the community around the mine, and manage the relationship proactively, or they choose to accept that the activity is illegal and/or opt for the government and police to get involved in managing the relationship. The research explores the possibility of mining companies and illegal miners cooperating with each other, instead of competing, and the nature of the mining companies CSR and stakeholder engagement (SE) strategies that make for a more transformational relationship. The research establishes the environmental and organisational factors that drive this relationship. Ten interviews were conducted with CSR practitioners, sustainability managers, asset protection experts, consultants and geologists working for gold mining companies operating throughout Africa. Qualitative data was collected through the use of semistructured interviews and the data was analysed using content analysis. Through this research, a stakeholder identification and engagement tool has been developed for mining companies and their managers to use throughout their global operations. This tool can be used to report and manage the relationship with illegal miners globally, as the relationship is highly dependent on the country setting and context.