Mining Developments and Social Impacts on Communities: Bowen Basin Case Studies

Abstract

Mining activities in Australia tend to be fyclical, with boom and bust limes impacting upon associated communities. However, little information exists to class jfr key impacts or to identj[y bow they vary across mining service towns. In this paper, qualitative social impact assessment techniques have been used to independent/y assess post-development impacts of mining on thc communities in the Bowen Basin in ,Queensland, following the boom in coal prices between 2003 and 2008. The communities are similar in that they all have at least one mine in the vicinity and have more male than female residents but they dlJer in town histories, and the site plus growth rate of both their permanent and temporary populations. While the mining boom has been generating social and economic impacts, the pattern of the impacts appears to vary across communities depending on the site of the impact, community structure and history, and the extent to which a non-resident workforce is involveL.