Mine-community conflict resolution and justice: a case study of South Africa's platinum belt

As the extractive frontier expands into more socially and environmentally sensitive areas, mine-
community conflict is on the rise. Examining a key case study in South Africa, this study will
investigate the impact that relations between the state, mining companies and communities as
well as intra-community relations have on the likelihood of the just resolution of mine-community
conflict.
Context and rationale
The past few decades have seen sustained extractive sector expansion in developing countries. Extractive
operations have a "contentious and ambiguous" (Bebbington et al., 2008) developmental record, and often
bring considerable strife, generating widespread social conflict at sites of extraction (Bebbington et al., ibid).
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The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) found that the number of mine-community disputes
rose eightfold between 2002-2013 (ICMM, 2015).
To address this tension and manage socio-political risk, many mining companies have adopted corporate social
responsibility (CSR) strategies (Bebbington, 2018; Bebbington et al., 2008; Calvano, 2007; Frederiksen, 2018;
Kemp, 2011); many of which align to international standards advanced by organisations like the International
Finance Corporation (IFC), the ICMM and the United Nations (UN). These standards advise firms to employ
participatory and "collaborative processes" (UN, ibid:32). Although a step in the right direction, these vague,
normative statements fail to recognise that mine communities are not homogenous entities existing in a political
vacuum.
Communities consist of diverse groups with diverse interests and motivations (Agrawal & Gibson, 1999). When
it comes to resisting or accepting mining activity, internal divisions arise, notably between those more
dependent on land to sustain livelihoods and those who might benefit from the mine through jobs or
procurement contracts (Conde & Le Billon, 2017). Relationships between the state and the multinational
multinational mining companies furthermore shape how mine-community conflicts can be addressed.
Extractive ventures are "long, risky, costly, and very capital-intensive" (Cameron & Stanley, 2017:59), and states
hoping to attract foreign investment to realise the value of their mineral deposits need to provide investors
extensive legal, contractual and fiscal stability (ibid; Bebbington et al., 2008; Frederiksen & Himley, 2020:58).
This can render states unwilling or unable to "mediate between investors and community interests" (Szablowski,
2007:45).
On South Africa's platinum belt, mining operations are situated in a sprawling host-communities with a history
of intra-community contestation. It is a region rife with company-community conflict: The eastern limb of South
Africa's Platinum Belt has seen over 400 incidents of social unrest between 2016-2018 (Stoddard, 2018).
Persistence community uprisings indicate that perceived injustices prevail.
What justice means in the context of company-community conflict resolution has attracted research interest
(Hamann & Kapelus, 2004; Kemp et al., 2011; Leonard, 2020; Whiteman, 2009). The effect of power on justice
has been a common theme in peace and conflict literature, but this approach has been largely missing in CSR
theory (Kemp et al. 2011:98). Whiteman (ibid) focuses on three forms of justice: distributive, procedural and
interactional. In this context, distributive justice refers to the "ends achieved" (Kemp et al. ibid:97) of a conflict
resolution process, and the perceived fairness of such ends; procedural justice refers to the formal processes
through which decisions are made; and interactional justice describes the informal, day-to-day interactions
between company and community representatives (Whiteman, ibid).