2. Mining conflicts in Africa and some other developing countries

The 1980s is described as the "decade of displacement" ([3], p. 2183). This period witnessed the largest number of people displaced by development projects, whether through mining or through construction of large dams. In developing countries, the scale of population displacement has grown rapidly over the past decade due to compelling need for development projects [4]. The following data demonstrates the magnitude of mining-induced displacement: in Indonesia, 15,000 people were displaced in the Freeport Mine; between 20,000 and 30,000 were displaced in the Ghanian Tarkwa Mine; over 37,000 people were displaced between 1996 and 2001 in Southern Africa; in South America, 25,000–35,000 people were forcefully relocated in the Tucurui hydropower complex in Brazil, which was to be used to support a nearby mining operation. Other cases of mining-induced displacement and resettlement are visible in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Peru, Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, Argentina, Chile, Honduras, Tanzania, Botswana, and Namibia [4]. Kenya can now also be added to the map of Mining-induced development resettlement (MIDR) as populations have been displaced in the titanium mining project in Kwale and in the Fluorspar mining project in Kerio Valley. The World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) policies provide standards for involuntary resettlement programs by recommending some minimum requirements that have to be met, such as the provision of housing facilities, water supply systems, schools, and healthcare facilities among others, at the host site for use by the displaced persons. Another benchmark used by governments and extractive companies for purposes of guiding involuntary resettlement is the "Equator Principles." This is a financial industry benchmark for determining, assessing and managing social and environmental risk in project financing. Members of this Institution (the Equator Principle Financial Institute), offer development loans only to institutions and/or governments that comply with the nine

The problem with mining-induced displacement and resettlement (MIDR) is that it poses a major risk to societal sustainability, and according to the World Bank's Operational Policy 4.12 of 2001 if these risks are not mitigated, involuntary resettlement projects would give rise to severe economic, social and environmental problems [5]. Social displacement in Kenya in the post-colonial era (that is, after 1963) has been in relation to several projects, notably the Kiambere Hydro Power Project, the Third Nairobi Water Supply Project, the Lake Bogoria Game Reserve, the Sondu Miriu Hydro Power Project, the Turkwel Gorge hydro-power project and the Kwale Mineral Sands (titanium) Mining Project. Of the six, Kwale's displacement bears the distinction of being the first post-colonial anti-commons (large scale displacement event) act in the mining sector for solid minerals. Due to its symbolic nature, mining breeds more intense conflict than in the other instances of displacement. It is for this reason that social provisioning to aid the displaced persons becomes very critical. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been suggested as one way through which conflict between the local community on one hand and the extractive company/government on can be minimized. Let us examine the

nature of the mining-induced conflict in the African continent.

See EPFI, June 2013 - www.equator-principles.com/about [Accessed: March 17, 2018].

Equator Principles.<sup>1</sup>

62 Social Responsibility

1

Mining is one of Africa's most important industries, as it contributes significantly toward local employment, foreign exchange earnings and national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Africa hosts 30% of the earth's mineral reserves, including 40% of gold, 60% of cobalt, and 70% of platinum deposits, and produce about 30% of the world's gold, 70% of the world's platinum, 28% of the world's palladium, and 16% of the world's bauxite. Africa also produces (yearly, in thousand metric tons) 205,056 of hard coal, 67,308 of nickel-bearing ores, and 29,174 of ironbearing ores, as well as 595,507 kg of gold-bearing ores. Small-scale mining has also played a crucial role in mineral wealth generation in Africa, and was a source of wealth for many empires and kingdoms before, during, and after the colonial period. It is estimated that in recent times, small-scale mines produced gold and gemstones valued at a combined worth of U.S \$1 billion annually [5]. Without a doubt, therefore, mining has been and continues to be of great economic significance to the economies of many African countries.

Mining presents communities with opportunities for social and economic development through positive impacts such as increased access to jobs, healthcare, education, and sanitation. However, at the same time, it can also result in devastating impacts on human health, local systems, social structures, production systems, cultural traditions, physical displacement, demographic shifts, and dependency ([6], p. 153). Mineral extraction has long been accompanied by social protest—some of these protests have been against social dislocation ([6], p. 431). However, much of the mining projects are fraught with conflict over various issues, such as conflict over land ownership, conflict over compensation of lost assets, conflict related to environmental degradation, conflict over sharing of mining benefits and lastly, conflict over abuse of human rights (in the process of mining activities).

Examples of such conflict are many, and several reasons have been advanced as to the causes for these conflicts and are based on structural controls of different governments. In Nigeria's Niger Delta, the local communities have been embroiled in conflict with the extractive companies (particularly Shell and Chevron) and with the Nigerian government ever since the first commercial drilling of oil begun in Oloibiri in 1956 [7–10]. It is argued that the question of land ownership is what underpins much of the conflict witnessed in the Niger Delta [11]. Research among some rural communities in Rivers, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom States in Nigeria's Niger-Delta region, noted the disdain with which the locals held the Land Use Act (which allowed land expropriation by the state), and the 1969 Petroleum Act (which vests all petroleum resource rights to the federal government), which clashed with the traditional thinking of the locals who exercised allodial interest on land, as occupants and users of the land, and therefore, considered themselves the real owners of the land [11]. The locals insisted that they not only own the surface rights, but that also owned the subterranean rights as well. Environmental degradation is also offered as another reason for these conflicts. When one looks at how 80 years of commercial mining of tin has left a legacy of damaged or derelict landscape covering some 316 square kilometers in Jos Plateau in Northern Nigeria, and how efforts at reclamation have largely failed, one can understand why mining is abhorred ([12], pp. 48–49). Clearly, environmental concerns are a major issue in mining conflicts, even more so when the damage is as glaring and/or as dangerous as that currently witnessed in the Niger Delta (where environmental damage is caused by gas flaring, tailings, and oil spills) ([11], pp. 28– 29). Other scholars have argued that mining conflicts are caused not so much by environmental degradation as literature suggests, but by the unequal distribution of outcomes arising from environmental degradation and the process that causes it, or from the profits emanating from such activities ([13], p. 5; [14]). Locals are often quoted lamenting that "what we have here is a situation in which the states producing the oil wealth go cap-in-hand and the non-producing far-flung states enjoy the wealth ([14], p. 770)." It is argued that oil extraction and distribution of the benefits, as well as oil revenue politics, informs most contemporary conflicts in Nigeria's Niger Delta [9, 10]. It is noted that whereas much of the oil revenue is derived from this region, it remains one of the poorest regions in Nigeria. Although oil is primarily pumped from this region, and that this dominates Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings, the "oil minorities" receive few of its benefits; rather, "the central government distributes most of these earnings to more politically powerful regions particularly the North, leaving the Delta one of the poorest and most backward regions despite its being the primary source of Nigeria's wealth ([9], p. 395)." This has spurred unrest in the Delta, leading to violence, acts of sabotage and to the kidnapping of government and oil-company officials.

This statement underpins how contentious land ownership is in much of Africa. Other scholars have also identified this as the dominant source of conflict in mining operations [15, 17, 18]. It would appear that it is when communities are on the verge of losing their land that they realize just how precious that piece of earth is to them, and it is possible that it is this realization that

Mining Conflicts and Corporate Social Responsibility in Kenya's Nascent Mining Industry: A Call…

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Examples are plenty on how mining has degraded the environment. One such example is how cyanide spills in developing countries have had a negative impact on the environment—at the end of which the author asks whether mining is sustainable ([19], p. 319). This question arises due to the non-renewable nature of mining, and for the observed impact that it has on the environment and on the health of the surrounding community. Another example is the titanium mining accident of October 8th, 2010 in Nampula, Mozambique. On this occasion, a containment wall around one of the settling ponds adjacent to the dredge mine ruptured, and a flood of water, sand, and clay swept through part of the village of Topuito, destroying or damaging 115 poor houses and leaving their inhabitants homeless [20]. Fortunately, this was not toxic waste. One wonders what would have happened had it been toxic waste. However, coming close to the disastrous October 4th, 2010 aluminum toxic waste sludge in Hungary, the incident in Mozambique was enough to worry the Minister of Mineral Resources to travel to the coastal district of Moma to meet officials of the Irish company Kenmare, which operates the mine. The foregoing reinforces the notion that lack of proper legal structures and practices, coupled with delays or absence of operational reforms in the mining sector (especially in developing countries) only serves to make matters worse in the mining industry. This is at times despite the fact that there are policies in place by the funding agencies that are meant to

Environmental concerns were again the bone of contention in asbestos mining in Prieska, South Africa. It is argued that damage arising from asbestos mining, which resulted in three deadly diseases [21] (asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma), was the major focus of the conflict. The locals were compelled to sue the concerned mining company (Cape PLC, registered in UK) over the effects of asbestos. The interesting part was that they lodged the case in the UK. In 2003 they won the court "battle" (in the UK) [20]. This was a pointer and an indictment to local laws, especially those in Africa, as not being adequate enough to protect the right of its citizens against environmental malpractices by multinationals. Another conflict front is opening up in South Africa's Wild Coast, where the Pondo community is currently resisting plans to mine titanium on their ancestral land, a move they claim will threaten a

The failure of the Angolan state to redistribute the oil resources in any just way has also prompted local unrest. This was most pronounced in the Cabinda enclave, where most of the Angolan oil has been extracted to date. It is argued that grievance over state neglect and the prospect of huge oil revenues were undoubtedly the main factors in the armed conflict of the Cabinda separatist groups ([22], p. 592). The separatists made a dramatic public statement in early 2010 when they viciously attacked the Togolese football national team, who were on their way to the African Cup of Nations competition that was hosted by Angola. In one research, it is argued that "mineral-dependent states have significantly higher levels of

then triggers the conflict.

guide the mining process against such eventualities.

pristine environmental paradise.

Land ownership is also central to the conflict in Prestea, Ghana, where the indigenous galamsey (local term given to "illegal" artisan miners) mining group are in conflict with Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL—the property of the Canadian-listed multinational Gold Star Resources) over mining concessions [15]. Whereas the extractive company claimed that they had exclusive rights to land, having secured the requisite permits and leases, the artisanal galamsey claimed that they had indigenous ties to the land and that the recent policies were therefore inappropriate. The government, on the other hand, argued through the power of eminent domain, it had the authority over all land in the country. It is evident from these structural constraints that conflict tends to arise because of the multi-tiered system of land rights that exists in most developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa. As Firmin-Sellers argues

Throughout Africa, property rights to land are fluid and insecure. Private property, state ownership, and communally defined rights coexist in an ever-changing mix. Definitions of communal tenure continually shift. The farmer who claims land rights under one property system can never be certain when (or if) others will challenge his claims; neither can he predict whose claims the local community or state will uphold ([16], p. 105).

Tension particularly picked up in June 2005 when, during a public demonstration against Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL) operations, the army opened fire on the crowd wounding seven locals. According to Bogoso Gold Limited, the locals were being unreasonable over claims over their ancestral land as they no longer have rights to the land, having legally leased this to the company. As one company official put it:

the main issue is…the mind-set of these people—the galamsey people—whatever the government has to do to change their mind-sets…unless that is done, and like I said, there should be some radical way of doing it…Prestea people think they are unique, they are in a different state, and they can make their own constitution ([16], p. 106).

This statement underpins how contentious land ownership is in much of Africa. Other scholars have also identified this as the dominant source of conflict in mining operations [15, 17, 18]. It would appear that it is when communities are on the verge of losing their land that they realize just how precious that piece of earth is to them, and it is possible that it is this realization that then triggers the conflict.

damage is as glaring and/or as dangerous as that currently witnessed in the Niger Delta (where environmental damage is caused by gas flaring, tailings, and oil spills) ([11], pp. 28– 29). Other scholars have argued that mining conflicts are caused not so much by environmental degradation as literature suggests, but by the unequal distribution of outcomes arising from environmental degradation and the process that causes it, or from the profits emanating from such activities ([13], p. 5; [14]). Locals are often quoted lamenting that "what we have here is a situation in which the states producing the oil wealth go cap-in-hand and the non-producing far-flung states enjoy the wealth ([14], p. 770)." It is argued that oil extraction and distribution of the benefits, as well as oil revenue politics, informs most contemporary conflicts in Nigeria's Niger Delta [9, 10]. It is noted that whereas much of the oil revenue is derived from this region, it remains one of the poorest regions in Nigeria. Although oil is primarily pumped from this region, and that this dominates Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings, the "oil minorities" receive few of its benefits; rather, "the central government distributes most of these earnings to more politically powerful regions particularly the North, leaving the Delta one of the poorest and most backward regions despite its being the primary source of Nigeria's wealth ([9], p. 395)." This has spurred unrest in the Delta, leading to violence, acts of sabotage and to

Land ownership is also central to the conflict in Prestea, Ghana, where the indigenous galamsey (local term given to "illegal" artisan miners) mining group are in conflict with Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL—the property of the Canadian-listed multinational Gold Star Resources) over mining concessions [15]. Whereas the extractive company claimed that they had exclusive rights to land, having secured the requisite permits and leases, the artisanal galamsey claimed that they had indigenous ties to the land and that the recent policies were therefore inappropriate. The government, on the other hand, argued through the power of eminent domain, it had the authority over all land in the country. It is evident from these structural constraints that conflict tends to arise because of the multi-tiered system of land rights that exists in most

developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa. As Firmin-Sellers argues

whose claims the local community or state will uphold ([16], p. 105).

state, and they can make their own constitution ([16], p. 106).

company. As one company official put it:

Throughout Africa, property rights to land are fluid and insecure. Private property, state ownership, and communally defined rights coexist in an ever-changing mix. Definitions of communal tenure continually shift. The farmer who claims land rights under one property system can never be certain when (or if) others will challenge his claims; neither can he predict

Tension particularly picked up in June 2005 when, during a public demonstration against Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL) operations, the army opened fire on the crowd wounding seven locals. According to Bogoso Gold Limited, the locals were being unreasonable over claims over their ancestral land as they no longer have rights to the land, having legally leased this to the

the main issue is…the mind-set of these people—the galamsey people—whatever the government has to do to change their mind-sets…unless that is done, and like I said, there should be some radical way of doing it…Prestea people think they are unique, they are in a different

the kidnapping of government and oil-company officials.

64 Social Responsibility

Examples are plenty on how mining has degraded the environment. One such example is how cyanide spills in developing countries have had a negative impact on the environment—at the end of which the author asks whether mining is sustainable ([19], p. 319). This question arises due to the non-renewable nature of mining, and for the observed impact that it has on the environment and on the health of the surrounding community. Another example is the titanium mining accident of October 8th, 2010 in Nampula, Mozambique. On this occasion, a containment wall around one of the settling ponds adjacent to the dredge mine ruptured, and a flood of water, sand, and clay swept through part of the village of Topuito, destroying or damaging 115 poor houses and leaving their inhabitants homeless [20]. Fortunately, this was not toxic waste. One wonders what would have happened had it been toxic waste. However, coming close to the disastrous October 4th, 2010 aluminum toxic waste sludge in Hungary, the incident in Mozambique was enough to worry the Minister of Mineral Resources to travel to the coastal district of Moma to meet officials of the Irish company Kenmare, which operates the mine. The foregoing reinforces the notion that lack of proper legal structures and practices, coupled with delays or absence of operational reforms in the mining sector (especially in developing countries) only serves to make matters worse in the mining industry. This is at times despite the fact that there are policies in place by the funding agencies that are meant to guide the mining process against such eventualities.

Environmental concerns were again the bone of contention in asbestos mining in Prieska, South Africa. It is argued that damage arising from asbestos mining, which resulted in three deadly diseases [21] (asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma), was the major focus of the conflict. The locals were compelled to sue the concerned mining company (Cape PLC, registered in UK) over the effects of asbestos. The interesting part was that they lodged the case in the UK. In 2003 they won the court "battle" (in the UK) [20]. This was a pointer and an indictment to local laws, especially those in Africa, as not being adequate enough to protect the right of its citizens against environmental malpractices by multinationals. Another conflict front is opening up in South Africa's Wild Coast, where the Pondo community is currently resisting plans to mine titanium on their ancestral land, a move they claim will threaten a pristine environmental paradise.

The failure of the Angolan state to redistribute the oil resources in any just way has also prompted local unrest. This was most pronounced in the Cabinda enclave, where most of the Angolan oil has been extracted to date. It is argued that grievance over state neglect and the prospect of huge oil revenues were undoubtedly the main factors in the armed conflict of the Cabinda separatist groups ([22], p. 592). The separatists made a dramatic public statement in early 2010 when they viciously attacked the Togolese football national team, who were on their way to the African Cup of Nations competition that was hosted by Angola. In one research, it is argued that "mineral-dependent states have significantly higher levels of inequality than states with similar incomes: the more that states rely on mineral exports, the smaller the share of income that accrues to the poorest twenty percent of the population ([23], p. 377)." In other words, sharing of benefits accruing from mining operations is not equally shared, and this, therefore, brings about tension and conflict.

mine diamond deposits that had been discovered in that region. However, these deposits were later leased out to a multinational company. These individual diggers were subsequently evicted from these lands. They thereafter spent most of their time hiding in caves and running away from the police—this is why the called themselves Liphokojoe (jackals/foxes), while spending most of their time stealing unprocessed ore from the company. At some point, the Liphokojoe chased away the company employee and took over the mine. In 1970, they launched a full-scale revolt against the government, the police, and the company over the mine where they killed policemen, burnt down government facilities and chased away other foreign prospectors. Suffice to say, this was met with utmost brutality from the government and

Mining Conflicts and Corporate Social Responsibility in Kenya's Nascent Mining Industry: A Call…

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.77373

67

What the foregoing discussion reveals is that there are many factors that breed conflict within mining projects, most of them are based on structural constraints, on systemic inequalities. These conflicts raise the question whether mining operations should be allowed to go on even in instances where it is obvious that it would have a deleterious effect on the local population.

Mining companies and governments have to realize that just as a mining deposit under New York City would certainly not mean that mining will go forward, the same may be true for other places as well. This is where environmental justice arguments may start to creep in,

Let us now turn our attention to Kenya, and examine the causes of conflict within mining enterprises in this East African state. In this discussion, we shall examine the Kwale titanium

The impact of mining on the environment has been argued as one of the major factors that drive the Kwale titanium mining conflict [30]. The titanium minerals targeted for exploitation in this project have impurities of iron, thorium and uranium, and that in the absence of an effective environmental management plan (EMP), the effects of stockpiling radioactive wastes and other impurities could lead to environmental degradation in both the terrestrial and marine environment. Further, it is argued that the inadequate compensation offered has also caused much disaffection among the displaced community as it did not take into account

The concerned company, however, argued in defense stating that the environmental concerns pointed out have been addressed via an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) carried out in 2000—and for which approval by the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA—the government body charged with the responsibility of assessing projects that may have an impact on the environment), was obtained and a license issued in July, 2002. Thereafter, NEMA approved the project's Environmental Management Plan (EMP) in January, 2003. The host resettlement site was also subjected to an EIA exercise, whose mitigation plans were

family size and structure, family assets and the cost of relocation ([28], pp. 73–74).

Some scholars certainly think that they should not proceed, and argues that:

despite the geological determinism of mining in general ([29], p. 432).

3. Specific cases of mining conflicts in Kenya

project and the Magadi soda ash project.

resentment against the mine continues to date [28].

Oil conflict in Darfur region of western Sudan is another example of note. The Misseriyya and the Dinka Ngok have long had competing claims over cattle-grazing areas and water sources in this region but environmental degradation (resulting from oil explorations), climatic changes and government support of one militia group over another have exacerbated conflict over land and the sharing of oil revenues. The involvement of the government of Sudan in supporting the one local militia against the other has further complicated the conflict. While acknowledging the contribution of grievances associated with marginalization, indigenous land rights and the exploitation of mineral resources, the continuing impact on the region of the global war on terror, competing imperialisms and sub-imperialisms; the associated interests of multinational mining companies; environmental threats, the interests of international drug-traffickers and human rights abuses inflicted on the civilian populations in both Niger and Mali by the recently US-trained militaries, the ongoing Tuareg rebellions in Niger and Mali are also generally attributed to the Niger Tuareg's demands for a greater and more equitable share of the country's uranium revenues [24].

The feeling of not benefiting from the mining activities is often hinged on some feeling of "ownership," which in this case, is the feeling among the community that they are the "true" owners of the land (and the minerals) on which the mining process is taking place. This then gives them that natural tendency to expect returns from what is "theirs" [25]. The indigenous landowners in Fiji, for instance, believe that land ownership extends to everything below and above the area of land they own, and this includes the minerals found below and the sky above ([26], p. 116). It is this feeling of "ownership" that then leads to demands for a share of the accruing benefits.

The high-handedness of governments in dealing with mining protests is also cited as another reason that sparks conflict. For instance, the ugly reprisal by the Indonesian army against protesters in West Papua is suggested as the main reason why the mining conflict in West Papua has gone on for this long ([27], p. 159). In the initial stages, the indigenous peoples were only protesting against the pollution of the Ajwa River by the Grasberg mine, owned by Freeport McMoran of New Orleans ([27], p. 159). In late 1970s, the locals (the Amungme) rebelled and destroyed the pipeline carrying copper concentrate to the coast; this was followed by ugly reprisals by the Indonesian army that was characterized as particularly terrible ([27], p. 159). This sparked outrage among the local community that has persisted to date. In furtherance to their protest, the Amungme community lodged several class action suits in court. Reports document that the Amungme representative, Yosepha Alomang, was subjected to horrible detention conditions as a result of these court cases. This is reminiscent of how the Maasai in Kenya (as will be discussed later) have been brutalized by the police whenever they attempt to publicly protest against the Magadi Soda Ash mining project.

The Liphokojoe conflict is yet another example that is of interest. In the early 1960s, individual diggers came from South Africa and various parts of Lesotho to Kao in northeast Lesotho to mine diamond deposits that had been discovered in that region. However, these deposits were later leased out to a multinational company. These individual diggers were subsequently evicted from these lands. They thereafter spent most of their time hiding in caves and running away from the police—this is why the called themselves Liphokojoe (jackals/foxes), while spending most of their time stealing unprocessed ore from the company. At some point, the Liphokojoe chased away the company employee and took over the mine. In 1970, they launched a full-scale revolt against the government, the police, and the company over the mine where they killed policemen, burnt down government facilities and chased away other foreign prospectors. Suffice to say, this was met with utmost brutality from the government and resentment against the mine continues to date [28].

What the foregoing discussion reveals is that there are many factors that breed conflict within mining projects, most of them are based on structural constraints, on systemic inequalities. These conflicts raise the question whether mining operations should be allowed to go on even in instances where it is obvious that it would have a deleterious effect on the local population. Some scholars certainly think that they should not proceed, and argues that:

Mining companies and governments have to realize that just as a mining deposit under New York City would certainly not mean that mining will go forward, the same may be true for other places as well. This is where environmental justice arguments may start to creep in, despite the geological determinism of mining in general ([29], p. 432).
