EFFECTS OF MINING ACTIVITIES ON CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY A CASE STUDY AT KONKOLA COPPER MINES.

This study explored the effects of mining activities on CSR. The target population size was
14170 while the sample size drawn was 68. This was drawn from the communities, KCM
employees, KCM Business partners and the community around the mining town in Chingola.
The research established that (44%) of the respondents indicated that KCM had not been
relating well with the community, whilst 35% stated that they have been relating well while
21% stated that they were not sure. This was confirmed by the Likert scale that showed that
while the company has been performing well in jobs creation opportunities, (mean 4.46, std
dev 0.75), it is perceived that the company has not been relating well in the areas of donations
to the community, (mean, 1.8, std dev 0.77), recreation facilities, (mean, 1.7 std dev 0.81),
Small scale activities, (mean 1.93, std dev 1.06) and skills training, (mean 1.96, std dev
0.84).The study also indicated that 41% strongly agreed that mining can improve the livingstandards, with 21.7% not sure while 4.3% strongly disagreed. Finally, the study revealed that
KCM mining activities has a positive effect on with 48% of the respondents being in agreeable
while 35% were negatively affected with 17% were neutrally unaffected.The
studyrecommended that the government must put in place deliberate policy which will
strengthen and enhance the relationship between the mining firms and the community in
which they operate. Mining firms must demonstrate that resources are being used effectively
and that community initiatives positively contribute to sustainable development. Also, the
highly mechanised nature of the mining industry means that companies cannot guarantee
employment for local communities and in any case they are trimming on labour, so they need
to find other means to ‘add value’ to communities and set in motion a long-term multiplier
effect, through their CSR initiatives