This chapter reviews the contributions of the existing literature and shows how an approach based on individual attitudes fills important gaps in the current scholarship. It develops the theoretical arguments about social engagement and how it helps to differentiate individuals who oppose mining from those who support these activities. It emphasizes what individuals get from participation in local organizations (e.g., critical information about mining threats, empowerment, a community worldview free of mining) and how these outcomes work to shape or reinforce views about mining. The chapter also situates the threats and opportunities presented by mining by drawing attention to the nature of claims over extractive activities, which we categorized as either rejection or redistribution claims. The chapter concludes by explaining the selection of case studies and the research methodology informing the empirical analysis.

Studies of resource conflicts emphasize the structural characteristics of mining projects and the strategies of pro- and anti-mining groups in the context of large-scale mining. In this book, we take a different approach that looks at individuals living near proposed mines. We argue and show that individuals are drawn to their communities in different ways. Some of them participate in local organizations more than others, and this social engagement sets them apart from each other when it comes to their views and later demands about mining. By participating in local organizations, individuals gain critical information about the threats posed by mining as well as resources to address community concerns. Participation in local organizations also emboldens individuals to challenge industry and/or government actors seeking to expand resource extraction. And finally, participation in local organizations imparts a community worldview that allows community members to see themselves as being in the same boat, thus also rejecting proposals that jeopardize existing community livelihoods. Individuals who are less socially engaged, in contrast, are more open to embracing the opportunities about mining coming from industry and/or government actors. They apply greater weight to the importance of resource extraction to the nation and their own pocketbooks. These individuals are more likely to express supportive views about mining. The book examines this variation in individual attitudes in three sites characterized by protracted mining conflicts in Peru, Nicaragua, and South Africa. Fieldwork and original surveys in host communities near proposed mines support these findings.

This chapter examines the campaign against Ibutho Coal’s proposed open-pit coal mine near the community of Fuleni in northern South Africa. The project is also close to the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi nature reserve, which is home to endangered species, such as the southern white rhino. The reserve is also an important tourist destination and a cultural heritage of the Zulu nation because King Shaka lived and hunted there as a youngster. The proposed mine triggered a response at two levels: one local and focused on community livelihoods, and the other transnational and centered on wilderness conservationism. Local organizations promoted community exchanges to share information about the environmental harms of coal mining. They also sought to bundle material threats over land and water with nonmaterial threats related to the local Zulu identity and culture. Community members in Fuleni faced several obstacles that made preventive mobilization difficult, but they embraced other strategies to stall mining with the support of transnational wildlife advocacy networks.

This chapter summarizes our findings and contributions to the literature on resource conflicts. We examined three cases characterized by protracted conflicts over mining in Peru, Nicaragua, and South Africa with the goal of revealing the attitudes of individuals prior to the extraction of minerals. This chapter contextualizes the importance of social engagement by considering different approaches to exploring participatory venues at the local level and by comparing conflicts at later stages in the commodity chain. It revisits the sources of support for mining, which—unlike opposition views, being more vocal and visible—remain largely under the radar. The concluding chapter also addresses the broader implications of our findings for the onset of conflicts, the salience of preventive strategies, firm–community relations, as well as participatory mechanisms related to decisions over mining.

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