Assessing the Challenges to Sustainable Mining: A Supply Chain Perspective (A Case of Li Tong Mining Company in Ghana)

Abstract

The mining industry contributes significantly to the economic growth of the country however frequent occurrences of collapsed pits, less regard for the disposal of waste into river bodies, poor service conditions to staff of small- scale mining companies and poor corporate social responsibility to mining communities have raised a lot of international concerns. These challenges can be highly minimized when the mining industry shifts from unsustainable patterns of operations. The high cost of sustainable operations and many other challenges are key de-motivational challenges to the adoption of sustainable practices.The study revealed that management and staff of the industry have little knowledge in sustainable mining practices whilst others perceive a low senior management support. The researchers found a positive effect of the challenges on their inability to practice sustainability and recommend a periodic rigorous training for all staff and management of all small scale mining companies and also recommend that the Minerals and Mining Act and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Act are implemented to the later.

Keywords: Sustainable development, Mining, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Environmental Management