Chapter 9: Summary, Discussion, Theoretical Issues and Policy Directions
C. Socially responsible human resources management
4. CHAPTER 4 LITERATURE REVIEW
4.5.1 Corporate social responsibility in the context of the gold mining sector
In mining, business management must integrate environmental, economic, and social aspects through all phases of mineral production from exploration through construction, operation, and mine-site closure due to the high environmental impacts (Lawrence & Moritz, 2019).
4.5.1.1 During exploration
The companies must assess impacts and put measures to mitigate the negative ones and share the benefits. There is usually some level of perturbation in the community (Lawrence and Moritz, 2019). If there is a need for resettlement of any locals, a proper plan, which involves negotiations with the community and stakeholders, must be in place (Siddiqui & Lahiri-Dutt, 2015). Then plans to resettle are made to make room for the mining project. If the resource is in a remote area, then plans to put in place infrastructure are made.
4.5.1.2 Operation
In many cases, mines are in areas where there is a lack of development. These are mostly in areas away from urban centres where the government cannot provide infrastructure development resources. Given that the state may deliberately retreat from tasks that are exclusive government responsibilities (Scherer, Rasche & Palazzo, 2016), this can involve the construction of roads and railway links and other social infrastructures like schools, hospitals and houses. In this regard, Ansari and Reinecke (2016) note that local and regional authorities may expect the mining company to bear all responsibility in infrastructure development. If the company does too little, this may cause dissatisfaction from stakeholders, including financiers, and the company becomes disadvantaged. Inevitably, with the creation of this new community, there is a perturbation of the traditional lifestyles and structures while introducing new consumption
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patterns and population migration to this new community. Laws govern these issues in every country, especially mining.
Elimination of accidents and incidents is always crucial in mining setup. International standards like Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems – Guidelines for implementing the OHSAS 18001 and local regulatory bodies urge companies to prevent accidents proactively. In Zimbabwe the EMA monitors and controls noise, vibration and radiation, and the integrity of land, air and water quality. Through Environmental Management Agency, the Zimbabwean government oversees land rehabilitation where degradation has occurred and the preservation of flora and fauna.
Mines are bound to have a significant adverse effect on the local ecosystem (Laing et al., 2019).
On the other hand, large mines tend to be operated by major mining firms, becoming increasingly cognizant of environmental effects due to pressures from regulatory agencies and non-governmental organizations (Alan, 2017, Laing et al., 2019). Specifically, standards for reclamation of mines would need to be more stringent, given the potential impact on the ecosystem (Gajigo & Dhaou, 2015). There are pressures on the environment, including gravel or dust access roads, mine dumps from the ores and disposal of wastes and residues. There are indirect impacts on the biodiversity of the surrounding areas caused by mining activities and the inevitable creation of dumps. There is pollution risk, specifically air-borne pollution resulting from haulage trucks, and milling activities raise dust, affecting mine staff and the surrounding community. Contaminated dust settles on flora, and secondary pollution results when the dust is washed away into ground or surface water sources causing negative downstream effects on agriculture and fisheries (Loate, Padia & Maroun, 2015). Greenhouse gas emissions are also present which sometimes depending on mineral may when they get in contact with oxygen or water oxidize forming acid which affects the waters of the area and have ripple effects on the flora fauna and agriculture. The community is always exposed to the risk of industrial accidents.
4.5.1.3 During closure
There is no backfilling for the mines during operation, and this ought to be done after the operations. The corporate policies should address these issues, ideally at the licensing stage.
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There should be documented plans, which show how the company intends to deal with the legacy, which the operation and milling will inevitably leave (GRI-ICMM, 2017). The policy should also show how the residues will be treated and how the land and area will be returned to use after decommissioning. There is a need to show the long-term care and maintenance after the operations and milling activities have ceased. Therefore, a schedule showing the financial responsibilities arising from that and how these activities will be funded must be shown. These measures would be more effective if regulations requiring these and possibly requirements for bonds and securities held by the government if the operations are fully-fledged, and the company pulls out the care and maintenance activities are fully functional covered.
MEASURING CORPORATES’ CSR PERFORMANCE
Traditionally organisations account for only those items that can be reduced to monetary value. It has been a challenge to convert environmental practices and business ethics performance into financial values, and more complex when assessment is extended to the sphere of social performance (Mansour, 2017). Companies can define sustainability differently; therefore, indicators and systems set up to measure CSR will also vary. Figure 4.6 shows the performance measurement framework.
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