Transnational governance for mining and the mineral lifecycle

Abstract

This review focuses on transnational governance in the minerals and mining sector. Although several initiatives have emerged to address specific governance challenges in this sector, knowledge of these efforts is piecemeal and little is known about patterns in transnational governance development across this issue area. We address these gaps by reviewing the extant research literature and analyzing empirical examples of transnational minerals and mining governance, using the gold sector as an illustrative case. We identify the social, humanitarian, security, and environmental problems manifest along the mineral lifecycle and consider the extent to which existing transnational governance initiatives address these issues. We call for future scholarship that addresses the diversity of transnational governance practices in the minerals and mining sector and explains emergent patterns in the particular forms of governance that dominate this issue area, as well the types of problems that have (and have not) received attention.