The Socio-Economic Impact of Large Scale Mining on Local Community

Abstract

The general objective of this study was to investigate the socio-economic impact of large-scale mining on local community livelihoods around Buzwagi Gold Mine in Kahama District, Shinyanga Region. It specifically focused on identifying households' socio-economic characteristics; determining benefits and negative consequences emanating from large-scale mining as well as assessing the community's perception of mine operations on its general livelihoods. The study was carried out in Mwendakulima ward in the vicinity of Kahama town. Mwendakulima Ward is made up of three villages of Mwendakulima, Chapulwa and Mwime. These villages surround the Buzwagi Gold mine. Kahama District is in Northwest Tanzania (South of Lake Victoria). Roughly, the district lies between latitudes 30015" and 40030" South of Equator and longitudes 31030" and 33000" East of Greenwich. Buzwagi Gold mine is the largest single open pit mine and the second largest mine, fully owned by Barrick Gold Corporation, a Canadian international mining company. Its operations are run by The African Barrick Gold Company, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation. The mine was acquired in 2000 although it was not until May 2009 When production began. The mine is located some six kilometres south east of Kahama town.This study adopted a case study research design. The selection of this design was prompted for two major reasons. Firstly, it was thought that the design would enable a detailed analysis of complexities and dynamics underlying mining activities within the local socio-economic context. Secondly, the design would enable the combination of different qualitative and quantitative research methods in data collection and analysis. 2 A sampling frame was drawn from registries of the three villages of Mwendakulima, Mwime and Chapulwa. A total of 86 respondents were drawn from a population of 10 000 people. Determination of the sample size was mainly done based on the convenience and accessibility of the respondents.