In Africa, mining activities are undertaken by private foreign entities, which pay taxes to the state. However, mining activities are not contributing as much as they should to national economies. Despite the increase in productivity and profits, the real benefits of mining have yet to be felt by the majority of the people, especially mining communities.

This paper shows that consultations do not only appease conflicts, but also exacerbate them as these procedures are used to negotiate broader grievances. The author further argues that narrow consultations (like those carried out in Bolivia) – rather than comprehensive ones – repress conflicts in the short term by limiting opportunities to mobilize against extractive projects.

This report explores direct action that companies can take to support improved transparency of revenue flows in the extractive industries.

Empirical studies have shown that oil-dependent countries are more likely to suffer from civil wars motivated by ‘grievances’ or ‘greed’ — and this is particularly true for states in sub-Saharan Africa.

This report analyses the particular challenges of stabilisation and reconstruction missions in countries rich in hydrocarbons and minerals and provides lessons learned from the recent experience of such countries as Iraq, Sudan, Angola, Liberia, and Afghanistan. It offers recommendations for the U.S.

This paper starts from the optimistic assumption that the policies required for environmentally sustainable economic development are known but difficulties surround their implementation. The paper argues that in the low-income countries differences in the natural resource endowment are an important and hitherto neglected cause of tardy environmental policy improvements.

This paper presents information illustrating how trade in timber, gems, and gold is financing violent conflict, including widespread and gross human rights abuses, in Burma.

This controversial report presents the results of the panel's investigations into trade in diamonds, coltan and other natural resources.The authors make a number of allegations regarding Rwandan and Ugandan government support of armed militia and illegal exploitation in areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that those countries control.They refer to documentary and other evidence collected during their study, that implicates a number of international companies in illegal activities such as smuggling diamonds, trading in illegal 'conflict' diamonds, avoiding taxes, being involved w

This paper analyses transparency issues in Cameroon's oil sector. It shows that, while substantial efforts have already been undertaken, continued action is necessary to strengthen transparency.

This policy paper for the world bank addresses the question of whether countries consider their mineral wealth an asset, to be used to stimulate or enhance their economic growth potential, or are there reasons to steer an economy away from the development of the mineral sector?Reviewing the cases of 51 “mining countries” in the developing world, three conclusions can be drawn:First, in more cases than not, mining countries appear to fare better than other countries in their respective regions.

A publication from Engineers Against Poverty for the extractive industries - an eight-page briefing note to guide oil, gas and mining (OGM) companies on how they can maximise the contribution of local enterprises to the supply chain of their projects in low income countries. It provides practical guidance on three major opportunity areas to increase local enterprise participation in project supply chains:

modifying procurement policies and processes
modifying contract documentation
supporting the efficacy of supplier development programs

Outlines recommendations for a global diamond certification and verification system to be monitored by an independent diamond verification organisation and to be backed up by industry self-regulation and government legislation. This system would need to be implemented and enforced in any country wishing to export/import/mine or work diamonds in any way.Available in html, PDF (with photos) rtf and text formats.