Assessing the Impact of Mining Companies on Community Well-being and Environmental Sustainability: A Case Study of Ba-Phalaborwa Mines, Limpopo

Hlologelo Herman Sekgobela, Siyasanga Mgoduka

Abstract


The mining industry has been a catalyst for economic growth in many regions globally, yet it often brings significant social, environmental, and health challenges to nearby communities. This study investigated the effects of mining activities on the well-being and environmental sustainability of the Ba-Phalaborwa community in Limpopo, South Africa.   In this study, data was quantitatively collected from 70 households, through a convenience sampling method. Environmentally, the findings revealed that mining activities have led to significant environmental degradation, including soil erosion and water quality deterioration. Moreover, the findings revealed significant health concerns, including increased respiratory issues linked to air pollution. The findings from this study also revealed that while job creation as a result of mining activities was acknowledged, the findings also highlighted the rising cost of living and uneven economic benefits across households. Furthermore, community trust in mining companies was notably low, with transparency and corporate responsibility cited as key concerns. Based on these findings, the study recommended that mining companies adopt comprehensive environmental management practices, such as proactive mitigation of pollution and land restoration efforts. It also emphasized the importance of enhancing community health initiatives by addressing pollution-related illnesses and providing accessible healthcare services. Additionally, fostering economic inclusivity through equitable job opportunities and support for small enterprises was highlighted as a priority. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers, industry leaders, and environmental advocates seeking to balance the economic benefits of mining with its social and environmental impacts.

References

Alexander, D., (2012). Mining and social change: the case of the copper belt in Zambia. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 30(3), 377-396. https://doi.org/10.1080/02589001.2012.724873

Al-maamary, H.M., Kazem, H.A. & Chaichan, M.T., (2017). The impact of oil price fluctuations on common renewable energies in gcc countries. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 75, 2017, 989-1007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.079.

Banerjee, A., (2008). Corporate social responsibility: the good, the bad and the ugly. Critical Sociology, 34(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920507084623.

Bebbington, D.H., (2018). Extractive industries, human rights and development in the context of globalisation. The Extractive Industries and Society, 5(3), 429-441.

Bebbington, D. H., Verdun, R., Gamboa, C., & Bebbington, A. J. (2018). Impacts of extractive industry and infrastructure on forests. Assessment and Scoping of Extractive Industries and Infrastructure in Relation to Deforestation. Amazonia.

Behrens, L., (2015). Environmental impact of mining: the current state of knowledge. Environmental Earth Sciences, 74(1), 1-5.

Bridge, G., (2004). Contested terrain: mining and the environment. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 29(1), 135-158.

Chin, Y. W. (2024). Environmental Health Risks and Well-being among the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia: A Review. e-Bangi: Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities21(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/ebangi.2024.2104.36

Cuvelier, J., Geenen, S., & Verbrugge, B. (2022). Governance. In L. D’Angelo & R.  Pijpers (Eds). The Anthropology of Resource Extraction. Routledge.

Dom, S. H. M., Hamid, H. A., Jamal, J. A., Dali, A. F., Saman, K. M., & Ibrahim, N. (2023). Environmental Sustainability Impacts of Improper Disposal of Domestic Pharmaceutical Waste in the Global South. e-Bangi: Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities20(4), 414-431. https://doi.org/10.17576/ebangi.2023.2004.3

Fatima, T. and Elbanna, S., (2023). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation: A review and a research agenda towards an integrative framework. Journal of Business Ethics183(1), 105-121.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05047-8

Fedorowicz, M., Schilling, J., Bramhall, E., Bieretz, B., Su, Y. & Brown, S., (2020). Leveraging the built environment for health equity. Urban institute. Environmental research, 109(3), 279-285. Retrieved from https://www.urban.org/research/publication/leveraging-built-environment-health-equity

Fisher, E., de Theije, M., Araujo, C. H., Calvimontes, J., van de Camp, E., D'Angelo, L., ... & Twongyirwe, R. (2023). The lifeways of small-scale gold miners: Addressing sustainability transformations. Global Environmental Change82, 102724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102724

Fitzpatrick, P., (2019). The social dimensions of mining: challenges and opportunities for community development. Journal of Social Impact Assessment, 14(1), 3-10.

Ghosh, S., Banerjee, S., Prajapati, J., Mandal, J., Mukherjee, A. & Bhattacharyya, P., (2023). Pollution and health risk assessment of mine tailings contaminated soils in india from toxic elements with statistical approaches. Chemosphere, 324, 138267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138267.

Gibson, J.M. (2018). Environmental Determinants of Health. In T. Daaleman, M. Helton (Eds) Chronic Illness Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71812-5_37

Govreau, J. (2024). Constraints Mount to Slow Mining Project Growth in 2024. Engineering and Mining Journal225(1), 16-23. Retrieved from https://www.e-mj.com/features/constraints-mount-to-slow-mining-project-growth-in-2024/

Hilson, G. & Murck, B., (2000). Sustainable development in the mining industry: clarifying the corporate perspective. Resources policy, 26(4), 227-237. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-4207(00)00041-6.

Hodge, R. A., Ericsson, M., Löf, O., Löf, A., & Semkowich, P. (2022). The global mining industry: corporate profile, complexity, and change. Mineral Economics35(3), 587-606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13563-022-00343-1

Jenkins, H. (2004). Corporate social responsibility and the mining industry: conflicts and constructs. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management11(1), 23-34. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.50.

Kemp, R., (2010). Eco-innovation: definition, measurement and open research issues. Economia Politica27(3), 397-420. Retrieved from https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=2672702

Kepore, K. P., & Imbun, B. Y. (2011). Mining and stakeholder engagement discourse in a Papua New Guinea mine. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management18(4), 220-233. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.243.

Kuhlmann, G., Brunner, D., Broquet, G., & Meijer, Y. (2020). Quantifying CO 2 emissions of a city with the Copernicus Anthropogenic CO 2 Monitoring satellite mission. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques13(12), 6733-6754. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6733-2020.

Le billon, P., (2001). The political ecology of war: natural resources and armed conflicts. Political geography, 20(5), 561-584. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0962-6298(01)00015-4.

Leach, M., Mearns, R. & Scoones, I., (1999). Environmental change and policy: challenging received wisdom in the context of sustainable development. Sustainable Development, 7(1), 1-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(98)00141-7.

Li S, Yu L, Jiang W, Yu H, Wang X (2022). The recent progress China has made in green mine construction, Part I: mining groundwater pollution and sustainable mining. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9):5673. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095673.

Li S, Zhang R, Feng R, Hu B, Wang G, Yu H (2021) Feasibility of recycling Bayer process red mud for the safety backfill mining of layered soft bauxite under coal seams. Minerals 11(7):722 https://doi.org/10.3390/min11070722.

Lund, C., (2013). The local economic impacts of mining in developing countries. World Bank. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/958951468191636444/pdf/Mining-Study-June-2015-wcp.pdf

Mathews, F. (2018). We’ve had forty years of environmental ethics–and the world is getting worse. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Religion and Ethics. https://www.abc.net.au/religion/weve-had-forty-years-of-environmental-ethics---and-the-world-is-/10214334 (Accessed November 3, 2024).

Mensah, A. K., Mahiri, I. O., Owusu, O., Mireku, O. D., Wireko, I., & Kissi, E. A. (2015). Environmental impacts of mining: a study of mining communities in Ghana. Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences3(3), 81-94. https://doi.org/10.12691/aees-3-3-3 .

Moyo, T., (2017). Mining and its impact on the economy: evidence from South Africa. South African Journal of Economic History, 30(2), 157-172.

Nguyen, N., Boruff, B., & Tonts, M. (2018). Fool’s gold: Understanding social, economic and environmental impacts from gold mining in Quang Nam province, Vietnam. Sustainability10(5), 1355. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051355

Ngwenya, N., Luthuli, M., Gunda, R., Gumede, N. A., Adeagbo, O., Nkosi, B., ... & Seeley, J. (2020). Participant understanding of informed consent in a multidisease community-based health screening and biobank platform in rural South Africa. International Health12(6), 560-566. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaa072.

Okereke, C. (2007). Global justice and neoliberal environmental governance: Ethics, sustainable development and international co-operation. Routledge.

Owen, J. R., & Kemp, D. (2015). Mining-induced displacement and resettlement: A critical appraisal. Journal of Cleaner Production87, 478-488. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.09.087

Pomeroy, R. & Berkes, F., (1997). Two to tango: the role of government in fisheries co-management. Marine Policy, 21(5), 465-480. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-597X(97)00017-1.

Sarkar, A. N. (2013). Review of strategic policy framework for re-evaluating ‘CSR’programme impacts on the mining-affected areas in India. In M. A. Gonzalez-Perez & L. Leonard (Eds). International business, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (217-261). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Schenck, C.J., (2003). The global mining industry and its environmental impacts. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 60(6), 789-803.

Schlosberg, D., (2007). Defining environmental justice: Theories, movements, and nature. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286294.001.0001.

Scholz, R.W.  & Tietje, O., (2002). Embedded case study methods: Integrating quantitative and qualitative knowledge. Sage publications.

Sexton, K. and Adgate, J.L., (1999). Looking at environmental justice from an environmental health perspective. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology9(1), 3-8. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500021.

Smith, K. T. P. (2018). The Value of Legislative Design: A Comparative Analysis of State Legislative Institution [Doctoral dissertation, UC Merced]. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4xw5d3v3 (

Williams, T. G. (2019). Illegal mining's effect on the sustainability of a South-African Gold mine [Doctoral dissertation, North-West University, South Africa]. Retrieved from https://dspace.nwu.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10394/33148/Williams%20TG.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Yu H, Li S, Wang X (2022). The recent progress China has made in the backfill mining method, part III: Practical engineering problems in stope and goaf backfill. Minerals 12(1), 88. https://doi.org/10.3390/min12010088

Yu, H., Zahidi, I., & Fai, C. M. (2023). Reclaiming abandoned mine tailings ponds for agricultural use: Opportunities and challenges. Environmental research232, 116336.

Yu, H., Zahidi, I., Fai, C.M., Liang, D. and Madsen, D.Ø., (2024). Elevating community well-being in mining areas: the proposal of the mining area sustainability index (MASI). Environmental Sciences Europe36(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-024-00895-9.


Keywords


Community; health; mining; sustainability; well-being

Full Text:

PDF


DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/ebangi.2025.2203.42

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


-


 

_________________________________________________

eISSN 1823-884x

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan
MALAYSIA

© Copyright UKM Press, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia