Relationships and the Course of Social Events During Mineral Exploration: An Applied Sociology Approach (SpringerBriefs in Geoethics)

This book provides the results of nine case studies of the course of social events in mineral exploration projects (mostly in Latin America). The author concluded that, while each case is sui generis , the underlying sociological processes are the same. This made it possible to develop a generalized model for the course of social events during mineral exploration. It consists of seven stages: (i) arrival of the project; (ii) initial meanings, interpretations and decisions; (iii) real dialogue; (iv) building relationships; (v) change processes; (vi) new relationships and social structures and (vii) the course of social events and perceived benefits and harms. Stages (iii) => (iv) => (v) => (iii) form a continuous iterative cycle. Dialogue and relationships are at the heart of the model. The text describes five of the nine case studies in some detail and illustrates how sociology explains the sociological processes in these projects. These examples, together with the final chapter that discusses the implications, provide many practical pointers for all actors involved: industry, communities, NGOs, home governments and host governments. IAPG Foreword Preface Reference Acknowledgements Contents Acronyms List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction References 2 Context 2.1 The Mining Cycle 2.2 Conflicts 2.3 Social Responsibility References 3 Theoretical Framework 3.1 The Performance of a Mineral Exploration Project 3.2 Theoretical Framework 3.2.1 Transactional Needs 3.2.2 Relationships References 4 Case Studies 4.1 Research Method 4.2 Palma 4.2.1 Field Study Information 4.2.2 Project Description 4.2.3 Context 4.2.4 Observed Patterns and Characteristics of Relationships 4.2.5 Company Social Responsibility Approach 4.2.6 Perceived Present and Future Benefits and Harms 4.2.7 Status in September 2019 4.3 Loma Larga 4.3.1 Field Study Information 4.3.2 Project Description 4.3.3 Context 4.3.4 Observed Patterns and Characteristics of Relationships 4.3.5 Company Social Responsibility Approach 4.3.6 Perceived Present and Future Benefits and Harms 4.3.7 Status in September 2019 4.4 Fruta Del Norte 4.4.1 Field Study Information 4.4.2 Project Description 4.4.3 Context 4.4.4 Observed Patterns and Characteristics of Relationships 4.4.5 Company Social Responsibility Approach 4.4.6 Perceived Present and Future Benefits and Harms 4.4.7 Status in September 2019 4.5 Cauchari-Olaroz 4.5.1 Field Study Information 4.5.2 Project Description 4.5.3 Context 4.5.4 Observed Patterns and Characteristics of Relationships 4.5.5 Reference Communities of the Company and Its Employees 4.5.6 Reference Communities of Community Members 4.5.7 Company Social Responsibility Approach 4.5.8 Perceived Present and Future Benefits and Harms 4.5.9 Status in September 2019 4.6 Lindero 4.6.1 Field Study Information 4.6.2 Project Description 4.6.3 Context 4.6.4 Observed Patterns and Characteristics of Relationships 4.6.5 Company Social Responsibility Approach 4.6.6 Perceived Present and Future Benefits and Harms 4.6.7 Status in September 2019 References 5 Analysis and Interpretation 5.1 Relationships 5.1.1 Relationship Indicators 5.1.2 Relationship Indicators Compared Between Cases 5.2 Meanings, Reference Communities, Relationship Patterns and Change Processes 5.2.1 Palma 5.2.2 Loma Larga 5.2.3 Fruta del Norte 5.2.4 Cauchari-Olaroz 5.2.5 Lindero References 6 Generalized Model 6.1 Stage 1: Arrival of the Exploration Project 6.2 Stage 2: Initial Meanings, Interpretations and Decisions 6.3 Stage 3: Meeting Transactional Needs 6.4 Stage 4: Building Relationships 6.5 Stage 5: Change Processes 6.6 Stage 6: Relationship Patterns and Social Structures 6.6.1 Additional Factors Feeding into the Core Processes 6.7 Stage 7: The Course of Social Events and Perceived Present and Future Benefits and Harms References 7 Implications and Conclusions 7.1 Implications for All Actors 7.1.1 Reference Communities 7.1.2 Meanings 7.1.3 Self-analysis 7.1.4 Creating Dialogue 7.1.5 Relationship Development 7.2 Aspects Specific to Particular Actor Groups 7.2.1 Home Government 7.2.2 Host Government 7.2.3 Industry 7.2.4 Communities 7.3 Conclusions References