Mineral Rights Conflicts: How Sustainability Practices Make a Difference
- Kevin Bolland
- Jun 29
- 15 min read
In this article I will be discussing extremely important issues that face our world. In particular I will be referring to sensitive topics like slavery, human rights violations, exploitation, and mineral rights.
Note. These issues are being perpetuated by big businesses and governments around the world. Unfortunately, these issues continue to grow in their urgency. I will be discussing the issues, illuminating areas of focus, and providing a solutions-based focus on methods to increase sustainability in line with the United Nations 17 Sustainability Goals.
Let's start out with some basic definitions to base this on.
Key Definitions:
Minerals: the building blocks of rocks, stones and sometimes soil, especially gravel and inorganic soil.
Mineral Rights: refer to the legal ownership or entitlement to exploit, mine, or extract minerals beneath a parcel of land. The right to extract can be separate from surface land ownership, meaning that a person or company may own the rights to underground minerals even if they do not own the land itself[1][2].
Minerals play a crucial role in biology and for engineering and technology.
Exploitation: the action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work: i.e.
"the exploitation of migrant workers" or " exploitation of people with practices that create human rights violations"
Some of the most important definitions are below:
Artisanal Mine: Artisanal mining is a subsistence mining activity. It is characterized by manual labor or minimal-to-no mechanization, minimal-to-no geological knowledge, and minimal-to-no start-up capital. Artisanal miners are not officially employed by a mining company, but work independently, mining minerals using their own resources, usually by hand. Artisanal mining is a largely informal economic sector that includes workers around the world who use basic tools to extract from the earth everything from gold and gemstones to vital metals such as cobalt, tin, tungsten and tantalum.
United Nations Sustainability Goals: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The SDGs were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 and are a blueprint for achieving sustainable development. The SDGs cover the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economy, social development, and the environment. They address global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice.
Although 2030 is an aggressive and perhaps unreachable goal, the intent remains the same. To reduce human suffering and to build towards an equitable and viable sustainable future.
Minerals are a critical, diverse, and essentially important feature of a sustainable future, not only are they essential for biological function and for engineering purposes, but they are an incredibly valuable point of leverage for political action. Below, I will explain and unpack issues and solutions pertaining to sustainable mineral extraction. History has been determined by these minerals and the process to obtain them. This is called Environmental History, where the environments resources have determined the flow of cultural and political history. This has always been and will always be the case. Both ancient and modern technology wouldn't exist without minerals and mineral extraction.
The most important minerals for human health can be broadly categorized into major minerals and trace minerals, each playing vital roles in various bodily functions. Major minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chloride, and sulfur are needed in larger quantities, while trace minerals like iron, zinc, iodine, and selenium are essential in smaller amounts.
Some of these same minerals provide crucial building blocks for engineering technologies as well.
Key Minerals for Engineering:
Aggregates: Sand, gravel, and crushed stone are fundamental for concrete and asphalt, used extensively in roads, bridges, and buildings.
Cement: Made from limestone and clay, it binds aggregates to form concrete, a primary construction material.
Metals: Derived from ores, metals like iron (for steel), aluminum, and copper are crucial for structural integrity and electrical conductivity in various structures and devices.
Minerals for Electronics:
Silicon: The backbone of semiconductors used in microchips and electronic components.
Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese, Graphite: Essential for batteries that power electronic devices and electric vehicles.
Rare Earth Elements: Used in powerful magnets for renewable energy technologies like wind turbines and EV motors.
Other Important Minerals:
Gypsum: Commonly used in drywall and plasterboard for internal walls.
Clay: Used to produce bricks, cement, mortar, and ceramics.
Aluminum: Used in construction for lightweight components and in electronics for casings and heat sinks.
Copper: A crucial electrical conductor in wiring, circuits, and connectors.
Tungsten: Used in filaments for light bulbs and electron emitters.
Zinc: Used as a protective coating to prevent corrosion of steel components.
Minerals and valuable natural resources are everywhere and can be found both on the surface and deep beneath the earth's crust. The center of the earth is extremely mineral rich and contains the vast majority of the minerals. In many cases, the most available mineral resources are still quite challenging to obtain, requiring open pit mining, tunnelling, drilling, or laborious extraction by hand.
Depending on where you live the contents of the earth beneath your feet can be beyond vastly valuable. In some cases, these materials are worth hundreds of millions of dollars...
Part 1:
Concept of Mineral Rights
As mentioned above, Mineral Rights refer to the legal ownership or entitlement to exploit, mine, or extract minerals beneath a parcel of land. The right to extract can be separate from surface land ownership, meaning that a person or company may own the rights to underground minerals even if they do not own the land itself[1][2].
In many legal systems, mineral rights can be bought, sold, or leased, creating complex layers of ownership and contractual obligations. International conflicts and agreements can make or break entire economies.
In the modern world, these rights and agreements can be used for both good and bad reasons. Some countries or companies will purchase mineral rights and lease the surface. What was once a pristine forest can be devastated by an open pit mine, that then leaves behind environmentally devastating circumstances once the lease ends. Many of these deals are made as a matter of political leverage and fail to address economic needs of the local community. Often, the mine workers are left at the bottom of the economic food chain with respect to their capacity to benefit from these extraction operations. The native people in a place with high mineral value are often severely impacted by these types of operations. to the point of intergenerational slavery and poverty. But not always! There is a sustainable and effective way to manage these conflicting interests and simultaneously lift communities out of poverty.
How Mineral Rights Contribute to Human Rights Violations or Political Division
The extraction of minerals, especially in regions with weak governance, can lead to significant human rights violations and political division. Due to the nature of mining, injuries and death are common consequences of irresponsible practices. Key mechanisms include:
Human Rights Violations:
Weak regulatory frameworks and corporate negligence can result in forced displacement, environmental degradation, hazardous working conditions, child or slave labor, and insufficient compensation for affected communities[6][8]. Marginalized groups, such as indigenous peoples and low-income populations, are disproportionately affected. Especially when educational or career opportunities are limited. Forced labor and unimaginably poor or dangerous working conditions are often the result of an imbalance in power and economic flow. Even reputable companies are often incentivized to cut corners and reduce safe practices. Militant groups and struggles for control can compound this, leading to starvation or worse.
Political Division
The presence of valuable minerals can fuel power struggles, corruption, and armed conflict. Mineral revenues may be captured by elites or used to finance armed groups, exacerbating existing social and political tensions[5][7]. This can lead to violent conflict, social unrest, and the erosion of trust in government institutions. What's more, these situations become dangerously unstable and often create a lack of transparency even within organized companies and governments because the human rights violations, dangerous work conditions, and political leveraging of power remains unchanged or hidden behind layers of complex legal structures and opaque supply chains.
Transactional Nature and Concerns in Low-Income or Impoverished Areas
The transactional nature of mineral rights is especially a concern in low-income or impoverished regions. When the people have no voice, or their concerns are erased by powerful lobbyists, companies and governments can get away with a supply of minerals that are sourced from these "artisanal mines".
Lack of Bargaining Power:
Local communities often lack the legal knowledge, resources, or political influence to negotiate fair terms with mining companies or governments. Furthermore, many artisanal mines have no connectivity to the modern world. no internet or phone service, no modern technologies, and no access to vehicles or transportation systems. This causes people in these regions to be stuck without any viable way to escape from poverty.
Inequitable Distribution of Benefits:
Profits from mineral extraction are rarely distributed equitably. Multinational corporations, governments, and local elites often benefit disproportionately, while communities bear the social and environmental costs[6][8]. In the case of artisanal mines, most if not all of the workers have never had access to outside education or economic freedom. Workers are easily taken advantage of by militant groups or corrupt organizations that enforce the hardest kinds of labor on people who have no other viable way to earn income or provide for their families.
Exploitation and Vulnerability:
The desperation for economic opportunities can lead to exploitation, unsafe working conditions, and limited access to justice for affected individuals and groups. In fact, many of these workers are threatened with death or starvation because of the remote and inaccessible nature of these mines.
Unbiased Examples: Responsible vs. Non-Responsible Practices
Responsible Examples
Norway: Transparent management of oil and mineral revenues; strong environmental and labor standards, worker support structures, modern technologies and equitable government regulations.
Canada (some regions) - Engagement with indigenous communities; benefit-sharing agreements; environmental safeguards, government sponsored healthcare systems which equitably help workers. Educational or advancement opportunities.
United States (domestic): Many mines in the United States even have the potential to be irresponsibly managed but generally are well designed in compliance with state and federal regulations. Unfortunately, recent rollbacks in these regulations cause dangerous conditions to reappear or develop due to lack of funding or legislation that removes environmental protections and create hazardous conditions. For instance, the attempt of the current trump administration to deregulate asbestos, despite the fact that it causes mesothelioma and other significant health conditions. A constant battle for responsible mining has led to a major reduction in deaths associated with mineral rights.
Irresponsible Examples
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Widespread child labor, unsafe conditions in cobalt mining; weak governance, militant groups which employ violence to control vast regions, utilizing black market or unregulated market manipulation tactics. Intergenerational slave labor occurs, leading to children as young as 2 or 3 years old being placed in tragic and dangerous conditions while parents and siblings and elders are forced to work the mine with nothing but hand tools.
Indonesia: Violent conflicts and displacement linked to nickel mining. Hazardous working conditions, unpaid or very low wage labor force, poor or nonexistent worker support for injuries or job-related deaths. Slopes collapse, mines cave in, and people ger crushed to death by loose debris from mining operations when they are ineffectively or irresponsibly managed.
Brazil: In the case of the 2019 tailings dam collapse, hundreds of people and entire villages were buried under loose sediments after a dam containing the waste produced by an irresponsibly managed mine collapsed. Formal investigations were not completed, and even after symptoms pointing at a potential collapse were identified, no regulatory action was taken, leading to the tragic and devastating collapse occurring just 5 years later. Even a small amount of regulatory oversight could have prevented the deaths of hundreds of innocent and unsuspecting people.
Where and Why Conflicts Arise and Escalate: Commonly Themes
Weak or even Powerless Government:
Lack of transparency, corruption, and weak rule of law allow abuses to go unchecked[5][7]. Unfortunately, in the modern media, we can see that "agreements" are made, but they rarely address or fix the ingrained issues that exist.
Marginalized Communities:
Indigenous peoples and local communities are excluded from decision-making and benefit-sharing[6][8]. When the public in the United States gets involve, there is a potential for change, but in placs where there is no government oversight or public avenues for participation, poverty is exacerbated and people are hurt. Marginalized communities can be tossed aside and decisions can often be made against their best interest.
Economic Dependence:
Minerals have incredibly high value, and the extraction process can be super expensive. Communities that are highly reliant on this economic income can be particularly subject to a high reliance on mineral revenues and often makes mineral rich regions vulnerable to conflicts, price shocks, and economic mismanagement[5]. The brunt of these impacts is often absorbed by the workers at the bottom of the ladder. Consumers are often left in the dark about these practices because governments, companies, and organizations don't want to be associated with these negative consequences.
Armed Groups Exploit Resources
Mineral wealth can often finance armed conflict because of their location, difficulty to access, or political circumstances, prolonging violence and instability[5][7]. Even attempts at peace deals typically fail because these groups don't recognize the authority of their own government, let alone foreign nations claiming authority. Conflicts escalate when grievances are ignored, compensation is inadequate, and communities feel they have no recourse. Social unrest, protests, and violence can result, and even lead to starvation, death, or severe poverty, especially when security forces or armed groups become involved[8].
Solutions-Based Approach
Below I will begin to discuss concepts that could provide systems to approaching human rights violations and implement sustainability into the picture. Though, it must be noted that generations of struggle often take generations to fix. A simple signed bill or agreement does little to actually fix the roots of the issues but are a great start. What becomes specifically important are avenues for enforcement, regulations, economic equity, and consumer transparency.
To resolve mineral rights conflicts, address human rights violations, and promote sustainability, the following steps are absolutely essential, and help to promote, establish, and maintain equity. The overall goal of these strategies is to ensure goals like those mentioned above in the UN sustainability Goals List are implemented. Specifically, the main intent is to reduce human suffering and to create more opportunities for sustainable growth while simultaneously eliminating poverty where possible.
Steps Required to Achieve Sustainability
Strengthening Governance and Transparency:
Implement transparent management of mineral revenues, enforce anti-corruption measures, and ensure equitable distribution of benefits[5][7].
Community Engagement and Participation:
Involve local communities in decision-making, respect indigenous rights, and establish grievance mechanisms[5][6].
Legal and Contractual Clarity:
Conduct thorough title searches, review and clarify contracts, and ensure all parties understand their rights and responsibilities[1][2].
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR):
Use mediation or arbitration to resolve conflicts early, avoiding costly and adversarial litigation[2].
Enforce International Standards:
Promote adherence to international conventions on human rights, labor, and environmental protection. Support certification schemes and responsible sourcing initiatives[3][7].
Promote Economic Diversification:
Reduce dependence on mineral extraction by supporting alternative livelihoods and sustainable development[5].
Monitor and Report:
Implement robust monitoring and reporting systems to track compliance with human rights and environmental standards[3][7].
Part 2:
Basic Concept for Sustainability Implementation
A sustainable approach to mineral extraction and mineral rights should include at least the following concepts and strategies. More depending on the effort required to establish successful practices.
Integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Criteria
Ensure that mining operations minimize environmental impact, respect human rights, and operate transparently. ESG Goals are developing in the United States and elsewhere around the world. There are many aspects of ESG, but generally speaking, a balance of investments in Environmental protections, Social Support Structures, and Governance policies is required to adequately kickstart sustainability practices.
Promote Equitable Benefit-Sharing
Ensure that local communities receive fair compensation and long-term benefits from mineral extraction.
Support Capacity Building
Strengthen local institutions and empower communities to participate in resource governance.
Encourage Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue
Foster partnerships between governments, companies, civil society, and communities to address shared challenges and build trust[5][7].
In modern examples of efforts to approach mineral rights, one of the most recent cases includes the peace deal brokered by the Trump administration between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda which has been widely criticized as a shallow, transactional effort that prioritizes U.S. economic interests—particularly access to Congo's mineral wealth—over meaningful, sustainable solutions for the Congolese people and the region's marginalized communities.
Key Criticisms of the Recent Deal Brokered in the DRC:
Superficial Approach to Peace: The agreement has been described as "vague" and biased towards Rwanda, failing to address the root causes of conflict or hold aggressors accountable for war crimes and resource exploitation. Congolese Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege stated the deal "rewards aggression" and "legitimizes the exploitation of Congolese natural resources while compelling the victim to surrender their national heritage by sacrificing justice for a tenuous and fragile peace"14.
Exclusion of Main Aggressors: The most powerful militia, reportedly backed by Rwanda, was not part of the negotiations and has not agreed to disarm, leaving the core drivers of violence unaddressed. This omission casts doubt on the deal's ability to bring real peace, as fighting continues in eastern Congo15.
Transactional Economic Motives: President Trump openly stated that the deal gives the United States "a lot of the mineral rights" from Congo, emphasizing U.S. access to critical minerals over local empowerment or fair economic development. Critics warn that this could "jeopardize the future of our people" by prioritizing foreign interests and perpetuating a legacy of exploitation5.
Lack of Local Inclusion and Justice: The agreement does not provide mechanisms for justice, reparations, or meaningful participation by marginalized Congolese communities. Analysts and local activists argue that without addressing justice for victims, equitable wealth distribution, and governance reforms, peace will remain "a fragile illusion"14.
"A genuine and enduring resolution must extend beyond ceasefires and formal agreements. It must encompass true accountability, regional truth-telling, equitable distribution of national wealth, governance reforms, and a comprehensive national dialogue that includes all Congolese perspectives, not just those of elites or foreign allies." — Political and economic analyst Dady Saleh1
Why Trump’s Approach Is Self-Serving:
Trump has used the peace deal to position himself as a global peacemaker and to seek personal recognition, rather than to address the complex realities on the ground. His celebratory rhetoric and focus on U.S. mineral access suggest the agreement is more about political optics and U.S. interests than about lasting change for the Congolese people135.
A More Sustainable Approach to Poverty in the Congo:
A truly sustainable path would require the following strategies and specific efforts to include accountability and efforts to enforce real change:
Inclusive Governance: Ensuring all Congolese voices, especially those of marginalized communities, are part of national dialogue and decision-making(1).
Accountability and Justice: Addressing war crimes, holding aggressors accountable, and providing reparations for victims(4). It has been very clear in the past decades that accountability is challenging, especially from politicians whos' reputations and reelections are based on "successful" policies. In the case of modern politicians in the United States, Justice and accountability are very hard to enforce and finding politicians that value these things is even harder.
Fair Economic Policies: Implementing transparent, locally controlled frameworks for mineral rights and resource management, so that wealth generated from Congo’s resources benefits its people, not just foreign investors or local elites(2,5). Clear and effective policies from the government are becoming more and more difficult to implement due to algorithms, AI misinformation, and fake or false news channels that promote misinformation. Many major media channels of all orientations on the political spectrum have been accused and found guilty of these falsehoods.
Regional Cooperation and Truth-Telling: Promoting honest dialogue between all regional actors, including addressing historical grievances and cross-border dynamics(1,4). Honesty in the world today is very challenging to come by because people and companies and organizations which have been relying on these unsustainable practices are deeply engrained in our society. No one wants to be found liable for slavery or human rights violations. But trust and accountability require truth and transparency. Without these truths, even the ones that put ourselves under the microscope, real substantiative change will be slow and painstaking. People fight what makes them uncomfortable.
Investment in Social Infrastructure: Prioritizing education, healthcare, and local enterprise development to reduce poverty and dependency on extractive industries(2). Social structures need to be implemented that provide benefits to those who are often considered "undeserving". we see this right now in the United States with leaders who use dehumanizing, demonizing, and hateful rhetoric aimed at "freeloaders" or "undocumented immigrants" who are supposedly receiving free benefits at the expense of tax payers. While much of this is completely false and generalizing language, politicians can garner support from their "base" by promoting fear and hate by pointing fingers and placing blame where none needs to be placed. Immigrants, asylum seekers, and impoverished people are placed at a huge disadvantage, even though they are traumatized, or abused, or uneducated through no fault of their own, they often face the biggest barriers to achieve safety and security. Some of the hardest workers in the world are made to work even harder just to survive. Social change and sustainability require this to change.
Even the smallest benefits to these people groups can make the difference between starvation and death, and safety and future security. Social support is not socialism. but humanitarian. Social structures sponsored by governments and legal language are helpful in many ways, and don't constitute government overreach, but empathy. Desiring sustainability and seeing it through will require fundamental mindset shifts away from blame and selfishness and towards accountability and empathy for all of humankind. Greenisms is here to promote and educate others with sustainability as the goal. Are you in?
Without these foundational changes, peace agreements risk being little more than public relations exercises that entrench existing inequalities and perpetuate cycles of violence and exploitation. The Trump-brokered deal, as it stands, appears to be an example of such a superficial fix—one that "strokes his own ego" without delivering substantive, lasting improvements for the people of Congo(1,3,5).
Ultimately, we have an incredibly long and arduous road ahead to remove the influence of corruption, poverty, and slavery in our world. "The easy way" isn't always the "right way". This is especially the case with sustainability and the removal of corruption and violent militant groups from power. In order to ensure peaceful and profitable solutions for all parties involved, we need to do more than pretend peace is accomplished through signatures on paper. We need to hold the biggest players accountable, and enforce the same accountability even in places hard to get to. While idealistic in nature, this is the only way to seek constant progress in the sustainability world. To ensure global sustainability, please continue reading more about the UN Sustainability Goals and initiatives!
By taking these steps, it is possible to reduce conflicts, protect human rights, and ensure that mineral wealth contributes to sustainable development rather than division and exploitation.
Part 1 Sources:
Part 2 Sources:
Additional Sources Referenced:
This post was completed 50/50 with the AI tool Perplexity.ai Some of the sources included may be biased or only somewhat inclusive of complete information. Please perform independent research. This article has been verified and factchecked, but I would be happy to hear your comments and feedback.
Thanks for reading!
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