| Abstract: | Taking issue with the view that mining as an activity is necessarily beneficial to Third World countries, the author examines experience in South America. Possible non-beneficial aspects of mining in a developing country include its high capital intensiveness — when capital is liable to be scarce and unemployment high — and the potential for small but powerful groups, such as miners, to exercise a disproportionate influence on the political and economic life of the country. Furthermore, working conditions in many South American mines are extremely poor. Ways must be found to develop mining techniques more appropriate to developing countries. |
