ABSTRACT
Because mineral extraction uses force, the ethics of extraction can be related to the ethics of the use of force as exhibited in just war theory. Accordingly, this chapter proposes an ethics of extraction that includes a just mining theory. The chapter proceeds in four steps. In the first, the link between mining and conflict, between extraction and the use of force, is substantiated through attention to several cases. In the second, the ethic behind just war, which informs and suffuses just war thinking, is articulated as well as illustrated through its application to other moral issues. In the third, an ethics of extraction is constructed with a just mining theory comprised of three categories of criteria analogized from just war theory: jus ad extractionem, jus in extractione, and jus post extractionem. The fourth and concluding section demonstrates how this chapter contributes to the development of a Catholic integral peace approach to addressing mining and conflict.
