In this paper, we examine the potential economic impact of coal mine and power station closures on the Gippsland region in Victoria, Australia. We evaluate this economic impact using time-series analysis focusing on Gross Regional Production (GRP), Value-added, and employment statistics. As the first step, we investigate the long-run nexus between the coal mine sector and these regional economic parameters using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach. After confirming the cointegration properties among the variables, we then employ an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average with Explanatory Variable (ARIMAX) method to forecast the long-term economic impacts. The findings confirmed the existence of cointegration between the mining sector and GRP, Value-added, and employment in the Gippsland region. The Toda Yamamoto causality test, employed to establish robust causal links, revealed noteworthy results, including a unidirectional causality running from Mining sector to GRP, which supports the ARIMAX model for accurate economic forecasting. The subsequent ARIMAX projections indicate that if no comprehensive plan is developed to compensate for lost value-add, the Gippsland economy will face a potential deficit of approximately AUD 4.5 billion by 2050. This loss necessitates that the region generates an annual investment of between eighty million to $100 million in current value to maintain economic stability. The results highlight the urgent need for the State and local government, along with regional industry and stakeholders, to develop a comprehensive plan to address and minimize the adverse economic impact of the mining and power station closures.

Abstract The study provides an in-depth analysis of the role and contributions of Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector to national economic development. It argues that the ASM sector has evolved into a critical driver of inclusive economic growth and a vital source of livelihood for local populations. Accounting for approximately 40% of national gold production, the sector contributes substantially to foreign exchange earnings while generating millions of direct and indirect employment opportunities. Despite these positive contributions, the sector is also characterized by significant governance and environmental challenges. Substantial revenue losses occur through smuggling and illicit gold trading, depriving the government of essential resources required to finance public services and infrastructure development. Moreover, escalating environmental degradation, particularly the widespread pollution of water bodies remains an acute and persistent concern. This has increased the cost of water treatment by nearly sixfold in mining-affected areas and imposed additional social and health-related burdens on local communities. The study concludes that while Ghana may not conform to the classical characterization of a resource-curse economy, the dual challenges of illicit gold trading and environmental degradation significantly diminish the contributions of the ASM sector to national economic development. This underscores the need for effective regulatory enforcement and strengthened environmental governance to curb financial leakages and mitigate the ecological and social consequences associated with the sector.

Abstract The increasing demand for critical raw materials (CRMs) driven by the green and digital transitions calls for the implementation of a robust resource management framework across Europe. Similarly to other EU Member States, Italy faces challenges in managing the inventory of its mineral resources, stemming mainly from in-homogeneous and discontinued data collection, in the absence of a specific classification and reporting system adopted at national level. The implementation of a coherent and centralized data collection and classification system could help improve the currently fragmented regional reporting practices, in turn supporting Italy to contribute to the objectives of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). Resource classification is important to resource management, serving as one of the foundations for collecting, analyzing, and communicating data on resources, presenting data into information for decision-making and policy formulation. The United Nations Framework Classifications for Resources (UNFC) offers a standardized approach that bridges current gaps in classification, and reporting practices. This paper pursues the objectives of assessing the applicability of UNFC in Italy using publicly available data. Besides demonstrating the applicability of UNFC in Italy, the findings support a shift towards standardized, policy-relevant resource classification for a sustainable and transparent resource management system, by classifying the raw materials projects in UNFC, and furthermore the development of a UNFC-based Italian national raw materials inventory.