Mineral Resources and Development
37 items available
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This series aggregates and presents the World Bank`s knowledge on oil, gas, and mining in an accessible format. It is meant to assist knowledge sharing and trigger policy dialogue on topics relevant to managing natural resource wealth sustainably and responsibly. The series is produced by the Extractive Industries Unit of the World Bank. The unit serves as a global technical adviser that supports sustainable development by building capacity and providing extractive industry sector-related advisory services to resource-rich developing countries.
Items in this collection
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Publication
Integrating Social Accountability Approaches into Extractive Industries Projects: A Guidance Note
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-05)This note provides guidance on how to use social accountability (SA) approaches in oil, gas, and mining projects, with particular emphasis on World Bank projects in the extractive industry (EI) sectors. It highlights some consequences of poor transparency and accountability in EI sectors and identifies opportunities for addressing these issues. It demonstrates how the use of SA approaches and tools can improve the implementation and outcomes of EI projects. Although the note is written primarily for a World Bank/International Finance Corporation (IFC) audience and project cycle, it is hoped that it will be a resource for government, industry, and civil society partners as well. -
Publication
The Contribution of the Mining Sector to Socioeconomic and Human Development
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-04)Many low and middle-income mineral-rich countries have experienced strong growth for a decade or longer, propelled by a rapid expansion of their mineral exports and a rise in prices of these commodities. This sustained strong economic performance goes against the accepted wisdom that even though the mining sector, like other extractive industries, can generate foreign exchange and fiscal revenues, it contributes little to sustained economic growth and, by extension, human development. Through the presentation of trends and patterns of various indicators, this paper shows that in addition to economic growth, countries rich in minerals other than oil have experienced significant improvements in their human development index (HDI) scores that are on average better than those experienced by countries without minerals. In a sample of five low and middle-income countries with relatively long histories of mining, benefits came from foreign direct investment (FDI), export revenues, and fiscal revenues. The overall impact of the mining sector was much stronger if there were infrastructure benefits and strong linkages to other industries, especially through domestic procurement. Contrary to the notion that there are no jobs in mining, in this small sample, employment related to the mining sector was very high in countries where linkages were strong, even before the multiplier and fiscal expenditure impacts were accounted for. Cooperation between the public and private sectors seemed essential to increasing such linkages. In addition, mining firms often made substantial contributions to local and regional development, at times due to legal requirements but often not. All five countries have either relatively high HDIs (compared with neighboring countries) or strongly improving HDIs. -
Publication
Mineral Resource Tenders and Mining Infrastructure Projects Guiding Principles
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-09)Numerous recent changes in the mining industry have led governments to an increased interest in the tender process as a means of awarding mineral rights. High demand and high mineral prices driven by rapid economic growth in countries such as Brazil, China, and India, and the emergence of new global companies in these countries, have resulted in increased competition to obtain access to mineral resources worldwide. The two parts of this paper, the guidance/good practices and the case study, are presented together even though they do not directly draw on each other's conclusions. Both examine guiding principles and good practices for governments to use in attracting mineral investments. Although it is noted by the authors that the Aynak tender was not a perfect process, occurring as it did in a difficult environment with a deficient in-country capacity and myriad investment challenges, it is a relevant example of what is involved and what must be considered by a government in the process and content of a tender. The paper is expected to motivate long-term strategic thinking among decision makers in mineral-rich countries on ways to begin mine development with the end in mind. Its intention is not to prescribe a set of actions, but rather to inform possible ways of maximizing the local content from mining projects which will need to be adjusted in each unique case. -
Publication
Changes in CO2 Emissions from Energy Use : A Multicountry Decomposition Analysis
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-10)The continued growth of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and their likely adverse effects on global warming are focusing debate on the contribution of various countries to total emissions and the comparability of efforts across countries in mitigating these emissions. This paper examines recent trends in CO2 emissions across countries at different levels of development and asks what has been contributing to the growth of emissions as well as to their moderation. The paper applies a decomposition analysis, an accounting methodology based on a log mean Divisia index, to analyze the change in CO2 emissions over a decade. -
Publication
Gender Dimensions of the Extractive Industries : Mining for Equity
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-08)Extractive industries (EI) impacts can be positive and negative, spanning economic, social, and environmental issues. Oil, gas, and mining projects may create jobs, but may also consume farming land for their use, changing livelihoods and limiting access to water, food, and firewood. Water sources may become polluted, but new roads may be built and communities may become electrified. Markets may boom, but prices may rise steeply. Given male and female relationships to each other, to the economy, to the land, and to their communities, men and women have very different experiences of these EI impacts, and evidence increasingly demonstrates that in general women are more vulnerable to the risks, with little access to the benefits. This publication presents how and why men and women are differently impacted by EI, exploring what the implications are for business and development, and providing policy and action suggestions for how to mitigate negative impacts and amplify positive ones and how to monitor and improve results. The publication focuses primarily on larger scale commercial operations but also considers some of the issues relating to artisan and small-scale mining (ASM). The report is addressed to the stakeholders in extractive industries, i.e., oil, gas, and mining development and operations community members and leaders; government officials; and managers and staff of EI companies. -
Publication
Mainstreaming Gender into Extractive Industries Projects : Guidance Note for Task Team Leaders
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-08)Extractive industries (EI) can bring many positive development impacts to the communities involved, but also have the potential to create or exacerbate vulnerabilities within these communities. Benefits and risks are often evaluated and measured at the community level, with little examination of the different impacts on men and women. In fact, evidence suggests that a gender bias exists in the distribution of risks and benefits in EI projects: benefits accrue to men in the form of employment and compensation, while the costs, such as family and social disruption, and environmental degradation, fall most heavily on women. Despite the ample evidence of gender bias, and its implications, in EI, there is significant scope for increasing the gender focus of most EI projects in the World Bank. Analyzing and adapting projects to local gender issues can help to mitigate the risks created by EI, and amplify the potential benefits to both men and women, leading to increased profitability and more sustainable development impacts. Furthermore, understanding and adapting projects to improve gender sensitivity is essential to realizing the Bank's stated commitment to both mainstreaming gender and to the third Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of gender equality and empowerment of women. The following guidelines briefly outline some of the ways that EI can impact men and women differently and the associated development implications, and provide step by step suggestions for how to understand and integrate gender issues into World Bank Group EI project design. -
Publication
Government Response to Oil Price Volatility : Experience of 49 Developing Countries
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-07)Oil prices rose from 2004 to historic highs in mid-2008, only to fall precipitously in the last four months of 2008 and lose all the gains of the preceding four and a half years. The steep price increase from January 2007 to July 2008 was challenging for all economies. While the sharp drop in prices since August 2008 has been welcome news for consumers, the cause of it, the global financial crisis, is not. Moreover, currency depreciation against the dollar in many developing countries has meant that, in local currency units, petroleum product prices have not fallen as sharply as in U.S. dollars. This report examines the policy responses of 49 developing country governments to world oil price movements in the last three years. The sample includes 16 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, 15 in Asia, 10 in Latin America, and 8 in the Middle East and North Africa. The report updates a companion 2006 publication on coping with higher oil prices and builds upon two other publications: one on oil price volatility and another on the degree of pass-through of world oil price increases between January 2004 and August 2009. As with all other publications in this series, this report examines issues related to oil price levels and volatility in the downstream petroleum sector and other sectors where oil is an important input, such as transport, fisheries, and agriculture, from the point of view of consumers. It does not consider macro-level policies (such as monetary or exchange rate policy) or the impact of oil price changes on the macroeconomic performance of countries, nor does it discuss management of the windfall income by large oil exporters and the long-term economic consequences of revenue management. -
Publication
Mineral Rights Cadastre : Promoting Transparent Access to Mineral Resources
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-06)This document proposes a set of generally applicable recommendations and good practices for creating a Mineral Rights Cadastre (MRC), an administrative body responsible for overseeing the process of granting and managing mineral licenses throughout a country. The document reviews lessons learned from World Bank-funded projects aimed at reforming mineral rights management and assesses the impacts and benefits of the implemented changes. The document focuses on the MRC system as a key regulatory agency of mining sector administration. This study is also intended to fill a gap in the literature on mining sector administration, as few publications since roughly the 1930s have been dedicated to the overall analysis of MRCs, particularly in relation to modern and recent mining cadastral practices. While the overall concepts and principles presented in this document are intended to be universally valid and applicable, there is no single solution to mining sector development, and it would be unrealistic to believe that actions that have been successful in one country can be directly transferred to others. The MRC of any given country will need to be adapted to that particular country's culture, tradition, existing legal framework, development capacity, and other factors. This document describes the trade-offs that may be necessary to arrive at an acceptable solution; using case studies, it also highlights concrete applications that can be recommended, based on typical country circumstances. -
Publication
Emerging Players in Global Mining
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-06)Companies from the emerging economies are a growing feature of the global mining industry. This document looks at who these companies are and the factors behind their growth. The contribution of the emerging economies to the global supply of minerals since 2000 is striking. With their growth in production exceeding that of the advanced economies in almost every commodity, the share of these countries in global mineral production mounted steadily. Several factors have combined to provide a boost to the role and fortunes of emerging economy companies in mining over recent years. Five of the most important are: (i) market liberalization and privatization of state-owned companies; (ii) privileged access of local companies to significant and underdeveloped local resources; (iii) strong financial positions due to the mining boom of 2003-2008; (iv) drive for geographic and commodity diversification, at times with tacit support of respective home governments; and (v) strategic expansion, usually to ensure raw material supplies for their metallurgical operations. The role of the emerging economy countries, and of companies based in these countries, is going to become increasingly important to the minerals industry in coming years. -
Publication
Changes in End-User Petroleum Product Prices : A Comparison of 48 Countries
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-02)This paper presents retail prices of the petroleum products in August 2008 in up to 56 countries, and examines the degree of pass through to consumers of increases in world gasoline and diesel prices since January 2004 in 48 countries. This is the second paper in a series summarizing work undertaken to assess the implications of higher oil prices on fuel use, the downstream petroleum sector, and household fuel consumption in the developing world. It follows a recent publication on a decomposition analysis of vulnerability to oil price increases, where vulnerability is defined as the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) spent on net imports of crude oil and petroleum products (Bacon and Kojima 2008). This paper focuses on the extent to which international petroleum product price increases have been passed on to consumers.