The consequences of Mining

What are the consequences of mining in the global and local communities? When we started this project we asked ourselves this broad question and we hope that we will find some interesting facts to learn from the project.  At this stage, we have seen and witnessed various societal and community factors.  It is. Not the intention to discuss all of them here. We would like to share some points while we are analyzing the data.

The primary influence is on economic development which is prominent in all communities we explored in this project. Economic contributions come in many forms such as tax, job creation, microfinance, working with local suppliers, and improvement of basic infrastructure in the local areas. 

In Laos, for instance, most women are employed in various sectors and departments in the mining industry. Economic impacts last in the community and seem to have various impacts on the community. Status of women in the community can also be changed because of the economic empowerment. Roles they play in the community have recently changed from the receipients of income to the contributors to family's well-being.

An interesting issues also include fairness in employment and equity in the workplace. Although women have been employed by mining companies, some complained about (lack of) opportunities to participate in the recruitment and selection process. Having their voices reflected in the public arena is important and they hope to be more proactive in the community in this regard.

Thailand shuts down Australian gold mine over health fears

"We are calling for a speedy resolution as there are 1100 jobs at the mine which are in jeopardy.Loss of these jobs would have adverse flow on effects to the local communities." : Kingsgate Executive Chairman Ross Smyth-Kirk.

I found this news is fascinating since this is the area where we conducted our field research in Thailand an we spent time with the community and the company. I hope they find the best solutions for this situation real soon.

Bangkok: Thai authorities have ordered the suspension for 30 days of an Australian gold mine in northern Thailand amid concerns over the health of thousands of villagers living nearby.
Random urine and blood tests showed above-standard arsenic and manganese levels in villagers near

Kingsgate Consolidated's Chatree gold mine 280 kilometres north of Bangkok, according to Porntip Rojanasunan, director-general of the Justice Ministry's Central Institute of Forensic Science.
An order from the institute says "we are of the opinion the mining might have affected the health of villagers."

It says the purpose of the suspension "is to determine whether the health hazards were caused by the company's operation."

Thai media reported mine managers have told its 1,100 employees and stopped operation.
The mine is operated by Akara Resources Public Company, a subsidiary of Sydney-based Kingsgate Consolidated.

In a statement, Kingsgate Executive Chairman Ross Smyth-Kirk said the company was stunned by the sanction. It has hired toxicology experts to carry out a study on the causes of any elevated test results.

"We are shocked and amazed at the temporary suspension order at the Chatree Mining Complex, situated in central Thailand which is internationally recognised as one of the safest gold mines in the world," Mr Smyth-Kirk said.

"It is important to note that arsenic and manganese are not used or stored at the Chatree Mining operation now or at any time in its history.

"We are calling for a speedy resolution as there are 1100 jobs at the mine which are in jeopardy.Loss of these jobs would have adverse flow on effects to the local communities."

Chatree is Thailand's first and largest gold mine that commenced operations in 2001, producing more than 1.3 million ounces of gold and more than 5.8 million ounces of silver as at June 2013.
Akara recorded revenues of $233 million and profit of $59 million in the fiscal year ended June 2013.

Kingsgate Consolidated claims on its website it has an "outstanding occupational and health record coupled with stringent environmental controls that help underpin the existing operations."
But the mine has faced complaints and law suits filed by communities and villager groups in the past, mainly related to claims about the environment and health.
In December the Central Institute of Forensic Science said that as many as 6,000 people living near the mine may have heavy metals in their blood, the Bangkok Post reported.

Tests found manganese and arsenic in 329 of 600 blood samples collected from local livings in Thap Khlo district near the mine, the institute said.

"The results are very worrying," Ms Porntip said at the time.
Akara Resources said in December the company had co-operated with the institute while carrying out its tests.

"We are pleased to meet with Khunying Porntip as we believe she will conduct proper testing," Akjara chief executive Pakorn Sukhum said before the tests were carried out.
Mr Pakorn maintained the company operates to the best international practices in health and environmental standards.

"The fact that Chatree continues to be allowed to operate shows that we adhere to required standards and regulations," he said at the time.
Akara Resources said in December that the most recent blood and urine tests it carried out in June 2014 for 800 Akara and sub-contractor workers showed arsenic and manganese levels within normal limits.


Source: http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/thailand-shuts-down-australian-gold-mine-over-health-fears-20150114-12nrfd.html#ixzz3PXVd1GUh

Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference

The Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) was founded in 1985 to advance management education, research, and practice in Australia, New Zealand, and beyond.  ANZAM is the primary professional body for management educators, researchers and practitioners in Australia and New Zealand, with about 600 individual members and 50 institutional members (representing most Australian and New Zealand universities) as well as members from other countries.

ANZAM offers Professional and Associate Membership to individuals who are management educators, researchers or practitioners, and Institutional Membership to tertiary providers of management education and research.

The 2014 ANZAM conference is the latest forum where we disseminated our project on mining and gender equity in Lao PDR and Thailand. Our team presented two papers from the project. The main paper entitled "How Mining MNCs promote Gender Equity: Modus Operandi?" focuses on gender-related CSR strategies from mining companies in this study as well as the impacts of international mining industry on women, family, community, and the locals. 

                                                   With keynote speaker, Bob Carr

The presentation was well attended by academicians and researchers in international business, sustainability and development.  The key questions after the presentation include:

1) What will be the key strategies for mining MNCs to promote women?

2) Why MNCs need to focus on equity?

3) What are the roles of local governments in the research process?

4) What I am interested to do after this phase of the project? Why?

These questions are relevant to what we are doing and what we plan to achieve. Since we are approaching the final stage of this project, we hope that we can proceed to the analysis of the project and ways to transfer findings from this project into policies and meaningful practices.