Introduction: Environment vs Livelihood ---- The first underground coal mine in 30 years was given the go-ahead by Michael Gove, Minister of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in December 2022. The 'Woodhouse Colliery', a 50-year mine near Whitehaven in Cumbria would produce 2.78 million tonnes of coking coal a year. The large scale underground and under-sea mine would generate over 9 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Opponents have challenged this decision in the courts, with the main argument being that opening a new coal mine goes completely against the supposed government aim of reducing CO2 emissions. Many in the local community, organised into South Lakeland against Climate Change and Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole 1 are opposed to the mine and have mounted a legal challenge, which is still ongoing at the time of writing.
So why did a coal mine get approval when climate change is high on the political agenda of so many?
We know that the government continues to follow policies that aggravate climate change, putting company profits before any environmental concerns. We saw in the last issue of Stormy Petrel how the preferred method of doing anything is carbon offsetting, so that companies do not actually have to take any serious action. Capitalism requires that the economy continue to grow and fossil fuels are still part of that economy so movement away from fossil fuels is more cosmetic than effective. Climate change cannot be dealt with under capitalism.
However, the other issue is the fact that many in the local community did want the coal mine. South and West Cumbria, away from the honeypot of the Lake District National Park, has been impoverished for decades. Well-paid jobs exist in Sellafield and BA Systems but these are largely sourced from outside the area, with skilled engineers coming in from elsewhere. Alternative employment is hard to come by. The hospitality industry is notoriously low-paid and seasonal. And with farming in the decline, this traditional industry offers no opportunities. Therefore, when a company comes along and offers jobs, many locals supported the plan. These are not climate change deniers, but people who are desperate and concerned with the short-term future of the area.
Therefore, the opponents of the mine have not had full backing from the local community and this plays into the hands of the company. This is a common source of conflict: land use changes necessary to address the ecological crisis come up against the economic arguments. There appears to be two conflicting approaches to land use- land to be conserved and protected or land to be developed as a resource. It is not just a question of fossil fuels but all resource extraction. It seems we have to make a choice between dealing with the serious environmental problems and addressing the needs of the working class for jobs and an adequate standard of living.
It is this conflict that makes an issue like the Whitehaven mine a complex one. We want to oppose any extraction of fossil fuel yet at the same time we want to support workers and their need have a satisfactory livelihood.
This article will consider how we can do both: address the ecological crisis and support the working class in its struggle for a better life. The first part will discuss why this conflict cannot be fully resolved without an anti-capitalist revolution. However, as this may be some time in the future, we also need to think about a short-term and intermediate resistance strategy. We cannot build a united working class movement necessary for a revolution if we do not find common ground between those campaigning around environmental issues and those focused more on economic and social issues. The second part will address this question by using examples from both the Global North and South.
Capitalism and Extractivism
What is mining and extractivism?
The London Mining Network (LMN)2, which campaigns to support communities who are harmed by mines owned by companies registered on the London Stock Exchange, offers this definition:
"The extraction (removal) of minerals and metals from below the ground, such as copper, coal and gold. Mining is usually carried by a national or international company, with the permission of that country's government. Some mining takes place by people who are not part of a company and without permission from the government. This is artisanal mining and usually small scale with people working in dangerous conditions, making little profit. This mining is often called 'illegal' mining. Mining is extraction. Extractivism is the removal of natural resources to sell on the world market. It does include mining, which is the extraction of fossil fuels and minerals below the ground. But extractivism is more than that - it includes fracking, deforestation, agro-industry and megadams."
Mining as a necessary activity even in a future society
An anarchist communist society will need minerals and other resources such as wood in order to produce the goods we decide we need. However, it can be done very differently to reduce the negative impact of what is actually a very harmful industry for workers, local communities, and the environment.
Redistribution of wealth and reducing overall consumption will mean less resources are needed. We can undertake a major recycling programme, something that is not done now because it would affect profits. Mine work would be under the control of the workers and local community so that safety and environmental standards would be very high. Work has already been done by campaigners on alternatives, though without directly attacking capitalism. The War on Want produced a report which has been promoted by the LMN which concludes:
"We need to transform our high-intensity, wasteful and growth-oriented economy, so that humanity can thrive within ecological limits. Human rights abuses must be abolished from mineral supply chains and issues of over-consumption must be urgently addressed. That is why we are calling for a Global Green New Deal, to fight for public policies that guarantee energy as a public good, reduce the number of road vehicles and create state of the art, free public transit systems; and focus our technological innovation on mineral recycling and circular production to reduce extraction, and generate abundant green jobs."3
Mining under capitalism
Mining underpins all capitalist production, whether it be in factories or the service industries. History is divided up into ages according to the main earth resources of the time: stone, bronze, copper, and iron. In the last few hundred years, since the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism , it is hard to pick on material out of steel, oil, and plastic (made from oil). All have been key in driving capitalist production and profits. The 21st century is often referred to as the 'digital age' and there are a whole array of minerals required for the digital technology such as mobile phones. Examples are: Copper, Tellurium, Lithium, and Cobalt.
It was the search for minerals, and extractivism in general, that drove imperialist expansion. The obsession with gold and silver brought the Spanish and Portuguese to the Americas and led to the decimation of whole populations. The same story can be told for Africa, eg gold in Southern Africa and diamonds in what was the Belgian Congo. The demands for cheap and expendable labour for mines and other extractivist industries such as plantations led to one of the worst crimes against humanity in history: the slave trade.
Today, mining is still linked to neo-colonialism. According to the London Mining Network:
"...many mining companies are from other countries - historically in the Global North - although this is changing. Indigenous communities are disproportionately targeted for extractivism and, while companies may seek the state's permission and even work with them to share the profits, they often do not seek informed consent from communities before they begin extracting - or stealing - their resources. The profit made rarely gets to the affected communities whose land, water sources and labour is often being used. Communities are often displaced, left with physical, mental and spiritual ill health, and often experience difficulties continuing with traditional livelihoods of farming and fishing due to the destruction or contamination of the environment."4
As capitalism needs continued growth to survive, the demand for minerals and other resources continues to increase. As different industries emerge, different minerals may be required. With the demand for alternative energy sources, minerals are required. Cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements (REEs) are all essential for producing electric vehicles and batteries, harnessing solar power and wind energy, and other actions to reduce the reliance of consumers and industries on fossil fuels. Demand for these minerals has massively increased, to the point that more minerals are needed for the alternative technologies than were needed for the traditional ones.
"According to the International Energy Agency, a typical electric car requires six times the mineral inputs of a conventional car, and an onshore wind plant requires nine times more mineral resources than a gas-fired plant. Since 2010, the average amount of minerals needed for a new unit of power generation capacity has increased by 50% as the share of renewables in new investment has risen."5
The worry for capitalist corporations is that many of these critical minerals are controlled by countries such as China and others that are not so open to western influence. Geopolitics will therefore limit supply, causing prices to rise and make it difficult to meet any deadlines for transition. It is no wonder that the fossil fuel industries continue to expand. 6Apart from the reluctance of these industries to facilitate their own demise, there is a continued need by capitalism for energy, the cheapest possible.
Mining under capitalism is a disaster for workers, communities and the environment. It will continue to be an essential part of capitalism, even more so with the move to green technologies that aren't actually 'green' at all, and the centrality of digital technology in production and in people's lives. It is clear that we will not be able to make major changes in this without an anti-capitalist revolution that has internationalism and decolonialisation at its core.
However, we can still fight for reforms and these struggles will be the basis for building an international revolutionary movement.
Building a Resistance
Global South leads the way
As so much mining takes place in the Global South, it is not surprising that resistance to mining is extensive. There is not the same degree of conflict between the environment vs jobs argument as people's livelihoods and cultures are still based on more traditional activities which rely on a healthy environment, such as farming and fishing, and these will be badly affected by the mine.
One such example is the Cerrejón mine in Colombia, which opened in 2001, one of the largest open-pit mines in the world. The mine is now completely owned by Swiss-based Glencore, who bought out the other owners Anglo-American and BHP in 2022. 7
From the LMN website:
"Indigenous Wayuu, African descent and peasant communities have been affected by the operations of Cerrejon, the biggest open cast coal mine in Latin America. The arrival of the mine has caused the displacement of people from their land and with that the disruption of their livelihoods and the breakdown of their traditional culture. The Wayuu people are the largest indigenous nation in Colombia and they keep their language alive, so the mine is threatening an ancient culture.
The consequences left by the coal extraction are serious. The main consequences are (1) the destruction of the dry tropical forest, as the mine is situated within the Rancheria river basin, the only major river in this dry area, and (2) the destruction of the local economy that was based on agriculture, hunting and gathering before mining began, imposing instead dependency on services linked to the mine."8
The local communities are still fighting for compensation and to preserve something of their traditional livelihoods and culture. 9
A more successful outcome was the fight of the Dongria Kondh against the mining company Vedanta, which was founded by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal.10 This examples shows that the Global North does not have a monopoly on land-grabbing, community-destroying capitalist corporations.
"The Niyamgiri hill range in Odisha state, eastern India, is home to the Dongria Kondh tribe. Niyamgiri is an area of densely forested hills, deep gorges and cascading streams. To be a Dongria Kondh is to farm the hills' fertile slopes, harvest their produce, and worship the mountain god Niyam Raja and the hills he presides over, including the 4,000 metre Mountain of the Law, Niyam Dongar. The company planned to create an open-cast mine that would have violated Niyam Dongar, disrupted its rivers and spelt the end of the Dongria Kondh as a distinct people." 11
They managed to get the application to mine their land thrown out of court in 2013 which was seen as a victory of a David over a Goliath'. However, the mining company has not given up and has now teamed up with the government-owned Odisha Mining Corporation. 12
Divisions in the community
There will not always be complete unity in the communities affected by mining, just as in the case of the Cumbrian mining proposal. Mining companies are clever at targeting key people and offering various incentives to persuade others to support the mine.
At the Oxford Real Farming Conference, held on-line in 2021, Nonle Mbutha from the Amadiba Crisis Committee in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa gave an amazing account of the struggle of the Amadiba community to protect their agricultural-based culture. The Australian company, Mineral Commodities Ltd, wanted to mine titanium, offering various incentives, such as fridges and TVs, and also promising jobs. Though the traditional leader and some other leading members of the community were taken in, a grass roots campaign emerged, led largely by women. This Amadiba Crisis Committee fought for many years, enduring death threats and an actual murder. Their argument was that mining was not only damaging to their environment, including the ocean where they fish, but was not a viable long-term option for the next generation. They can now feed themselves and want to continue to do this. "Food must be prioritised before profits and before minerals". "If we destroy the biodiversity then we won't be able to produce the food". Politicians who supported the mining company were forcing them to choose between land and money. "We chose land because it is not going to be finished".
Like struggles elsewhere, the government favoured the mine using the 'interests of the national economy' as an excuse. Their 'Black Economic Empowerment Initiative' was used to argue that the mine will help Black South Africans develop businesses. According to Nonhle Mbutha in her talk, traditional male leaders became part of this thinking and then tried to persuade the community, even though it the male leaders themselves who would benefit. She said: "If they want that then they cannot be leaders".
Like the other examples given, this struggle is ongoing. Along with many others across Africa, there are systematic human rights abuses.13 Communities in the Global South may be leading the way in the resistance, but at considerable cost.
The Right to Say No
One of the key slogans of the Amadiba community has been 'The Right to Say No'. This means that those who live in the area which will be affected by the mine have a right to refuse to have it, and not be overridden by the 'national interest' argument. It has become part of the tool kit for anti-extractivist mobilisations, many of which are led by women. According to the organisation 'WoMin':
"The world's elites amass wealth through a destructive economic system that has led to an unfolding ecological and climate crisis. The extractives sector - which includes opens in a new window mining, oil and gas extraction, dirty energy, industrial agriculture, and mega infrastructure projects - lies at the very heart of this violent economic system. A system that allows corporates and the global elites to profit through the exploitation of peasant and working-class labour and the plunder of natural resources that sustain the planet and its people.
In all this, women carry the heaviest burden because of their gender assigned roles to supply reproductive goods and take care of 'the family'. It is women who must walk further in search of clean drinking water and safer energy and put food on the table under increasingly difficult circumstances. Land grabs and forced dislocations linked to extractivist projects and the climate crisis are fuelling already high levels of violence against women across the continent.
Across the continent, women and their communities resist these imposed ideas of 'development' and organise powerfully to claim their Right to Say NO. From exposing the costs and impacts of destructive "development" projects and challenging governments and corporations to blockading roads and railway lines and building solidarities between communities across the continent - women are in the vanguard of struggles for justice."14
Mining in Europe and the UK 15
Any anti-mining movement in Europe must develop strong links with similar movements in the rest of the world. As discussed above, these movements are strong, radical and courageous. The London Mining Network does excellent work supporting communities against companies registered on the London Stock Exchange, such as Rio Tinto and Anglo-American.16 Not only do these movements need solidarity but they have much to teach us.
In other parts of Europe, for example, the Right to Say No has become part of anti-mining campaigns. According to the Gaia Foundation, who hosted a webinar in 2021: 17
"Europe faces a massive increase in mining in the years to come, as the EU and national governments seek to repatriate mining operations and secure domestic supplies of 'critical' minerals for renewable energy, industrial and military transitions. Communities in Iberia, Scandinavia, Ireland and the Balkans are already feeling the pressure of mining expansion. Their efforts to defend lands, waters and beloved places from mining destruction are spreading across the continent."
The Loznica community in western Serbia was one such community. They won a big victory earlier in 2022 when the government announced that it would withdraw exploration permits from Rio Tinto for a lithium mine. This project would have not only increased the GDP of the country but would have been a major source of lithium needed for electric cars. But the local community, with support from many in the rest of the country, said NO! Huge demonstrations were held in Belgrade and Novi Sad. The arguments against included the damage to important cultural heritage, pollution and the negative impact on local farming.
Another example is the Save Our Sperrins campaign in Northern Ireland. 18
According to a speaker at the Oxford Real Farming Conference in 2021, Dalradian Gold, a Canadian gold mining corporation, came to County Tyrone in Northern Ireland around 10 years before, several years before anyone knew what was happening. They managed to get leases (122,000 hectares) for minerals from the Crown Estate, which owns all the mineral rights in Norther Ireland. They submitted a planning application in 2017. The impact on the community and the environment would be enormous so people launched a campaign. The main arguments have been environmental. "25% of the land on the island of Ireland is designated for prospecting for various types of mining. The resources above the ground, the water that we drink, the quality of the food we produce from the land, our sense of place, tradition and history literally being sold out from under the feet of the people in the bazar of the highest bidder". 19 The mining company promised to pay people to relocate, but like in Serbia, according to one resident, "they don't understand people's attachment to the land and to the area. They don't seem to understand that. They just think you can, you know, money will solve all your problems, that you can, you know, be paid and just go away."
The campaign was well aware that the first thing a mining company does is "mine the community"- try and win people over through bribes and getting politicians on their side. Loads of jobs were promised. In the end this worked and they lost this fight when the UK government gave the go- ahead to the mine in May 2022.
Campaigners admit that the issue divided the community. Obviously, the money and jobs argument convinced enough people to weaken the campaign, like it is doing in Whitehaven. The Right to Say No as a campaign slogan depends on the community being largely united. Despite this defeat, campaigning against gold, silver and other mining projects continues.
Mining companies and the interests of the community
"I have nothing against mining, many of my ancestors were miners. What I am against is companies coming in and destroying our landscape for their own gain with little to no care or respect shown to the locals or the local wildlife. The promise of 'jobs' and 'we haven't broken the law yet' is not enough to sway me."
- Adam Walsh, Galloway Against Mining
If there is to be a united front against proposed mines, then campaigns need to stress the fact that mining companies will not have the interests of the local community, or anyone else for that matter, at heart. All they care about is profit and they will say anything to sway people, as people said in Save Our Sperrins, they first "mine the community".
The mining company that is planning on opening the coal mine in West Cumbria, has tried to make out that there are a local company, with an office in Whitehaven. The actual company is based in Sussex and ultimately owned by a private equity investment firm, EMR Capital, with its base in the tax haven of the Caymen Islands. Executives of this firm have interests in mines all over the world from Australia, to Russia and Indonesia.
Daniel Therkelsen of Coal Action Network said the ownership structure could create problems, as it would be difficult for a local planning authority to hold a remote private equity firm to account. He said it could be hard to ensure that working conditions and environmental promises are upheld when the mine ceases to operate. 20
People, therefore, need to be very wary of promises made by these companies. Already in another mine in Northern Ireland, workers are being sacked and the future of the company is in doubt.21 Mines are struggling to recruit workers because local people don't necessarily have the skills they need. The do not have the time to train people, as they want to start making profits immediately, so they look elsewhere, outside the UK. The Whitehaven mine may well be in a similar situation. Companies will not provide the detailed information needed about what jobs will be available, what qualifications are needed, what the pay will be etc. Once the mine has been given the greenlight, then it will be too late to hold a firm based in the Caymans to account.
Across the sea in Galloway in Scotland, another campaign has been set up to challenge the proposals of an Australian-based company. In late 2021, JDH Exploration - a subsidiary of the Australian mining company Walkabout Resources - began exploratory drilling operations in Dumfries & Galloway, after being granted exploration licences from the Crown Estate in 2018. The area of exploration covers the proposed Galloway National Park, and includes Blackcraig Wood, a UNESCO biosphere region and an area of astounding natural beauty. 22
As with many of the other European campaigns, is the value of the natural landscape that is highlighted, although economic arguments come through when tourism is factored in.
"While campaigner and Blackcraig resident Billy McWhirter accepts the potential value of the resources beneath his feet, he argues this is exceeded by the value of the natural landscape, which is used for cycling, tourism, horse riding and wildlife habitat."
""Newton Stewart[...]is called Gateway to the Galloway Hills and we'd like it to continue being called Gateway to the Galloway Hills and not Gateway to the Galloway Mines." 23
As with the Amadiba campaign in South Africa, the local council seems to be going out of its way to support the mining company. Residents are concerned about the lack of transparency in the consultations. Campaigners such as Kenny Campbell argues that these promised jobs are often myths. He argues that the current conflict is really about land reform. The company have got permission from the Crown to explore the land for mining- it is the exploitation of people and land by a foreign company. 24
Alternative economic arguments
Campaigners often call for systemic changes and though it is not started, this can only mean an end to capitalism, and the system that sees the earth and its people as a resource to extract wealth for the benefit of a few. However, in order to create a more united community response, there has to be alternatives presented for how the economic issues of an area can be addressed. In many of the struggles in the Global South, livelihoods were affected as well as the environment. This is partly true in Europe in areas were agriculture is still important.
Many campaigns are doing just this- focusing on both ecological and social justice. In Cumbria, the South Lakeland Action on Climate Change has this in its manifesto:
"West Cumbria needs jobs that have a future. A variety of studies have highlighted the exiting potential for jobs tied to renewable energy, energy efficiency and a low carbon Cumbria. Such jobs would be created across a wide range of companies and sectors delivering a resilient working environment. What's needed is a collective effort from central and local governments, academia, and business to make these happen." 25
Members of Galloway against Mining have stressed all the changes that need.
"[We need]an underlying solutions focused approach that addresses climate change and environmental destruction, so approaches that involve sustainable development such as properly connected public transport, sustainable tourism like the Book Festival and the TRAD Music Festival, heritage such as The Museum and the various activities in Whithorn and beyond, accommodation like the various bunkhouses."
- Kenny Campbell, Galloway against Mining
Of course, there will be problems in ensuring that the alternative jobs match the skills and interests of the people in the community, especially young people. Jobs in tourism can be very low paid and insecure. Then there are the problems with assuming that the new green energy will provide jobs. As pointed out above, other energy forms will also demand resources so the basic problem is unresolved. Another option is to look at what has been called "nature-based economies" in which jobs are created in the area of nature restoration and rewilding. 26 This idea has only positive ecological benefits but the question is to what extent it will address social and economic inequalities. What kind of jobs will be created? How well-paid? Will another capitalist corporation or large landowner still be in charge?27
Conclusion
The struggle against mining and other forms of Extractivism is a difficult one. One the one hand, mining does incredible harm to the environment and local communities, but on the other it provides needed resources. The only long-term solution is an end to capitalism and the creation of a society which is based on community and mutual aid, quality of life rather than growth, and a harmonious relationship with the environment and other species. This article has shown the wide variety of struggles around the world that are in many ways aiming for what we would call anarchist communism: questioning the obsession with growth, calling for community control and ownership, such as with the Right to Say No, and denouncing the power and greed of corporations, wherever they are from. People value the place they live in, its history and culture, and environment. They also want to have a decent livelihood. What is promising is that these struggles are linking up.
"We are very far from alone in our struggle with Walkabout, and there are communities large and small across the globe defending their land just as we are."28
- Kenny Campbell, Galloway Against Mining
1 https://slacc.org.uk/cumbria-coal-mine/ and https://keepcumbriancoalinthehole.wordpress.com/
2 https://londonminingnetwork.org/
3 https://waronwant.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/A%20Material%20Transition_report_War%20on%20Want.pdf
4 https://londonminingnetwork.org/get-informed/what-is-mining/
5 https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/minerals-metals-energy-transition-davos2023/
6 https://www.brookings.edu/essay/why-are-fossil-fuels-so-hard-to-quit/
7 https://londonminingnetwork.org/companies-in-focus-glencore/
8 https://londonminingnetwork.org/2022/08/21-years-since-eviction-of-the-tabaco-community-in-colombia-and-still-no-justice/?highlight=cerrejon%20coal%20mine
9 https://londonminingnetwork.org/2022/09/blockade-by-communities-affected-by-cerrejon-coal-mine-colombia/
10 https://www.forbes.com/profile/anil-agarwal/?sh=18b2cbc661a1
11 https://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/dongria
12 Not sure what has happened to this. It seems the struggle is on-going.
13 https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/04/16/we-know-our-lives-are-danger/environment-fear-south-africas-mining-affected
14 https://womin.africa/understanding-the-right-to-say-no/
15 A whole article could be written about North America but this focuses on Europe. In the US there is a very sharp divide between environmentalists and the resource development lobby.
16 https://londonminingnetwork.org/about/
17 https://gaiafoundation.org/video-the-right-to-say-no-to-mining-in-europe/
18 https://www.facebook.com/pg/SaveOurSperrins/posts/ and http://dontmineus.com/
19 https://www.facebook.com/SaveOurSperrins/?locale=en_GB
20 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/08/cumbria-coalmine-is-owned-by-private-equity-firm-with-caymans-base
21 https://www.wearetyrone.com/news/future-of-omagh-mining-firm-in-doubt/
22 https://www.enough.scot/2022/11/01/on-the-ground-activism-in-galloway/
23 https://www.itv.com/news/border/2022-03-25/galloway-community-intensifies-opposition-to-mining-proposals
24 https://www.enough.scot/2022/11/01/on-the-ground-activism-in-galloway/
25 https://slacc.org.uk/cumbria-coal-mine/
26 https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.rewildingbritain.org.uk/documents/nature-based-economies-rewilding-britain.pdf
27 See our article on the Green Landowners in the Issue 4 of Stormy Petrel
28 https://www.enough.scot/2022/11/01/on-the-ground-activism-in-galloway/
https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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