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A Global Mining Corporation and Local Communities in the Lake Victoria Zone: The Case of Barrick Gold Multinational in Tanzania

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Abstract

This case explores a Canadian mining corporation, Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick), and the way it engages with the local communities that surround its mining activities in the Lake Victoria Zone, Tanzania. Following recent organized tensions within several local communities and heightened criticism from those communities [examples of recent discontent from local communities and workers at Barrick Gold Corp in Tanzania: http://www.protestbarrick.net/article.php?id=214; http://www.protestbarrick.net/article.php?list=type&type=12; http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1247233520081212; http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=15263; http://www.miningwatch.ca/index.php?/Tanzania_en/What_Really_Happened (accessed Feb- ruary 25, 2009)], as well as from local media, social lobbyists, and local not-for-profit organizations (NFOs), the case examines the way Barrick has responded to this situation by implementing global corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies in an attempt to strike a balance between its international business capabilities and its localization strategies. In spite of these efforts, tension between Barrick and the local communities within the company’s zone of operations has not abated. This issue has left Barrick’s senior management wondering what more the company could reasonably do to resolve the situation.

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Abbreviations

NFO:

Not-for-profit organizations

MNCs:

Multinational corporations

HRM:

Human resource management

NEPAD:

New partnership for Africa’s development

UNECA:

The UN economic commission for Africa

FFU:

Field force unit

FDI:

Foreign direct investment

TIC:

Tanzania investment centre

CRDB:

Commercial rural development bank

NMB:

National microfinance bank

TPSF:

Tanzania private sector foundation

AMP:

Africa mining partnership

TAMICO:

Tanzania mines and construction workers union

NMM:

North Mara mines

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    Aloysius Marcus Newenham-Kahindi

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  1. Aloysius Marcus Newenham-Kahindi
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Correspondence to Aloysius Marcus Newenham-Kahindi.

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Newenham-Kahindi, A.M. A Global Mining Corporation and Local Communities in the Lake Victoria Zone: The Case of Barrick Gold Multinational in Tanzania. J Bus Ethics 99, 253–282 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0653-4

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