Industry overview
What is shaping mining
Mining operations depend on a social licence from nearby communities as much as on permits. Safety culture, workforce welfare and transparent CSR shape how companies are seen locally and by regulators.
- Community trust can make or break an operation
- Safety culture is measured by behaviour, not policies
- CSR spending is increasingly evaluated for real impact
Client background
An international development organisation, working in Indonesia. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- An international development organisation
- Sector
- Mining
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Government research, Quantitative research, Qualitative research
Client challenge
The organisation planned a programme to improve safety and incomes in small-scale gold mining areas, but had little reliable data on household incomes, health risks, debt or how miners sold their gold.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: understanding livelihoods in artisanal mining communities.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of households.
- Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 11 weeks.
Target audience
The work focused on 1,400 households.
- households1,400
Audiences we typically reach in mining
Host communitiesMine workers and contractorsLocal leaders and officialsRegulatorsCSR beneficiaries
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Indonesia. Market: Indonesia.
- Indonesia
Research methodology
A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.
- 1Brief
- 2Household survey
- 3In-depth interviews
- 4Insight
Working with local partners, interviewers speaking Bahasa Indonesia and local languages surveyed mining households about income, expenses, health, mercury use, children’s schooling and trading arrangements. In-depth interviews with miners, traders and women in mining households explored debt and decision-making. Strict consent procedures and confidentiality were followed throughout.
Government researchQuantitative researchQualitative research
Sampling strategy
- households
- 1,400
- Respondents were selected across Indonesia using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.
- Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.
Data collection
- interviews
- 45
- Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person, supervised in the field.
- Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.
Data quality & validation
- Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
- Time and location checks on field interviews
- Supervisor accompaniment in the field
- Recordings and transcripts for every session
- Re-screening of qualitative recruits
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
- Journey and decision mapping
Key findings
- Many households depended on traders for credit and sold gold below market prices, and awareness of mercury health risks was low.
- Local partners continued the work after the study, using the survey as a baseline for measuring progress.
Safety programmes worked best when they also improved incomes.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: safety programmes worked best when they also improved incomes.
- Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: many households depended on traders for credit and sold gold below market prices, and awareness of mercury health risks was low.
- Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.
Business impact
- The programme combined safer processing demonstrations with a cooperative selling model and health awareness for women and children.
What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Interview summaries and key verbatims
- Evaluation findings with programme recommendations
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: where is safety culture strong or weak?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.