The research project
Faced with increasingly knowledgeable consumers and widespread revelations about the social and ecological impact of resource extraction, the mining industry has adopted new trading standards and imposed changes to its governing bodies. In recent years, the numbers of initiatives, certification schemes, voluntary standards and sector-specific regulations have multiplied exponentially.
Rather than assuming that transparency is the apex of an ethical economy, this research project interrogates the production of transparency in extractive industries and regulatory agencies. Empirically, this three-year project, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, examines how transparency is assessed, enacted, and regimented across the lifespan of minerals and metals, as well as the discursive and regulatory practices enabling the production and trade of precious minerals and metals on a global scale.
Transparency Lab
In the name of social responsibility and accountability, different companies, laboratories, national and international organizations have become knowledge producers in response to expectations of transparency. For this purpose, transparencylab.org makes available an archive of publicly available documents related to transparency and ethical compliance in the extractive industries.
The research team will also provide fact sheets offering topical synthesis on current trends in the making of transparency in the extractive industries.