Migration to two mines in Laos

Abstract

This paper considers migration patterns to the Sepon and Phu Kham copper‐gold mining projects in Laos. Data collected biennially at these two mining ventures to monitor socio‐economic change is analysed to establish numbers, sources and types of migrants towards these mines and the distribution of project‐generated cash flows captured by such groups in comparison with those accruing to pre‐existing populations. The bulk of migration is demonstrated to be due to personal ties between migrants and pre‐existing residents. It is argued that in‐migration ultimately tends to dilute and partly undermine the immediate and positive impact of any intentional efforts to maximize local economic opportunities. Efforts to maximize employment for pre‐existing populations are shown to have been significantly undermined by numerous factors. Variations between different state policies on the distribution of and eligibility for receipt of project benefits are key to determining the extent of inward migration. The mines considered here, like many such operations elsewhere and throughout history, are located in relatively remote areas where the prospects for any form of economic development, other than mining, have been minimal. It is unlikely, therefore, that the higher levels of income and the increased opportunities (both social and economic) generated in mine impact areas during operations will be maintained after mine closure. The challenge to mining companies (and host governments) is not so much to create a sustainable economy in the places where they operate but rather to create sustainable improvements in the opportunities for the people who were living in such places prior to the start of their operations.

Land and access: A framework for analysing mining, migration and development in Melanesia

“…And the spatially and temporally uneven nature of these flows themselves produce spatial forms that further enable or constrain subsequent flows and development. Temporally, as many of the flows into and through these places are directly associated with mining, this raises questions regarding the sustainability and viability of these places beyond their existence as “enclaves” (Jackson, ). That these projects might potentially contribute to a regional or national level of sustainable development in the terms set out in the Brundtland Commission may well be an empirical question, as Bebbington and Humphreys Bebbington suggest (2018), but so long as the data that governments and companies collect remains incomplete, or is not made available, a full accounting for all the effects of mining in a region will remain elusive (United Nations Development Programme, ).…”

“…Arguably one of the most profound disruptions for communities affected by mining—alongside landscape and environmental destruction and massive capitalist intrusions into what were often previously semi‐subsistence lifestyles—is the influx of migrants into the immediate area around the mining operation. While mine‐induced in‐migration is common in many parts of the world, especially throughout Africa, South America and Southeast Asia—and is often linked to the mobility of a workforce connected to the mine development (Bury, ; Ferguson, ; Jackson, )—in Melanesia this migration also has a particular form. Populations in rural Melanesian settings are increasingly mobile: as Koczberski and Curry have noted, “People have abandoned the idea that rural development will occur in their own areas and are now actively seeking to be part of the development process through migration” (Koczberski & Curry, , p. 358).…”

AFTERWORD Places, migration and sustainability: anthropological reflections on mining and movement

“…Jackson () notes that the geographical location of mines, often in remote “undeveloped” areas, means that they are rarely conducive to flourishing and sustainable development projects, for precisely the reasons that they had remained undeveloped before. They flourish while the mine is operating and people depart when it closes.…”

Quantification of Annual Settlement Growth in Rural Mining Areas Using Machine Learning

“…Large infrastructure projects, such as industrial mining projects, act as a strong pull factor for migration in low-and middle-income countries [1,2]. The main driver of in-migration into project areas is often the large workforce required, particularly during the construction phase [3].…”