ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book assesses the role of the mining industries in progress towards sustainable development and evaluates policies and practices of mining companies within four key areas of corporate social responsibility (CSR): environmental protection, health and safety, employee relations and community development. It draws from the analysis of corporate social disclosure of global gold and diamond mining companies in Annual Reports, Environmental Reports and corporate websites for 1998–2000. The book focuses on the significance of local concerns in the formation of the CSR strategies within the mining industries and emphasizes the importance of developing corporate strategies that tackle specific problems or issues created in the mining areas. It addresses the importance of sectoral differences and specifics that affect the level of CSR in various mining industries such as competition, sector size, ownership and market structure.
