For the last seventeen weeks workers have been protesting in a strike which has claimed two lives, caused 235 job losses and cost the South African platinum miner Lonmin more than a third of its annual production.
Lonmin's latest half year figures show the full impact of the recent strike – caused by protests over wages – with platinum production falling by 41%, while earnings fell from $93m to $34m.
From India to Peru, mining projects have a long history of causing threats to livelihoods in the developing world. The financial implications of this episodic civil unrest has been written up in a recent report which shows that recent strikes have cost companies billions of dollars.
The impact of these conflicts on companies and civilians in developing countries can be devastating, so why do they continue to occur? "There's still a lot of conflict around mining globally because mining companies are enormously skilled in technical aspects of mining, but the sector doesn't yet value the importance of the social domain," says Daniel Franks, lead researcher on the report Conflict with communities a big cost to business, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Partly this is because mining is a technical discipline, so they are only now realising the importance of social and environmental issues."
While the logic of mining natural resources is clear for government and corporates, the report highlights the necessity of involving local communities in the planning process in order to ensure that the process goes smoothly. Failure to do so could result in opposition which will inevitably affect the bottom line.
So what are the lessons from the report for policymakers and industry professionals like Lonmin? "The key thing is to give local people a voice," advises Franks. "Develop clear policies and standards around social issues in order to resolve any potential conflicts, and involve communities in co-designing projects."
According to the research, this currently isn't happening because mining companies usually leave it too late to consult with sustainability professionals.
"Companies are best placed to listen to advice of professionals before they get to the stage of conflict. The relationship with the local community is like a marriage: it is too difficult to reconcile once you've reached large scale conflict. Community relationships need to be recognised as core components of the business."
Companies need to realise the power of local community processes, and allow them to have a voice in the design of the project. Unless companies and local communities start working together to plan and implement mining projects, conflicts such as the current Lonmin strike will continue to happen.
"Communities can affect whether a project is successful or not," concludes Franks. "They are enormously powerful, and play a really important role in shaping mining projects."
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