· 4 min read
For decades, mining companies seeking a social license to operate have focused their community investments on schools, clinics, boreholes, and livelihood programs. These remain important, but the ecosystems that sustain those same communities deserve equal attention.
Across Africa, elephant populations are being squeezed by expanding infrastructure, settlement growth, and competition for resources. In many regions, human–elephant conflict is becoming more intense as habitats shrink and migration routes are blocked. Increasingly, a mining project’s legitimacy depends not only on how it supports people, but also on how it safeguards the wildlife and landscapes that those people rely on.
Mining’s expanding footprint
Research shows that roads, pipelines, and other infrastructure linked to mining can fragment elephant habitats and accelerate population decline. In Central Africa, GPS-collared forest elephants avoid areas near mining and logging roads, losing access to key feeding and breeding grounds and becoming more vulnerable to poaching.
In Guinea and the wider Congo Basin, studies by Rainforest Trust have shown how mining expansion has broken up forest corridors that elephants use to move between populations. The result is isolation, declining genetic diversity, and increased conflict as elephants wander into farmland.1
Similar stories are emerging elsewhere. Reports from Save the Elephants describe how illicit and unregulated mining in Central Africa destroys river systems, pollutes water sources, and fuels tension between miners, local communities, and wildlife. In these areas, both people and elephants are losing ground.
Communities on the frontline
These environmental shifts have a human cost. Farmers lose crops, water sources are polluted, and traditional livelihoods come under pressure. Where people face the daily cost of living with elephants but see no benefits from conservation, tolerance quickly fades.
Practical mitigation measures exist: early-warning systems that alert farmers to approaching elephants, crop-protection fencing, and compensation or insurance schemes that reduce the financial burden on affected families. These approaches are working in places like Kenya and Namibia, but they require stable funding and coordination.
In Cameroon’s Ngoyla corridor, for instance, only around 250 forest elephants remain. According to the International Elephant Foundation, mining and infrastructure development are among the main threats. Conservation groups, local communities, and government agencies have now mapped and protected a 15-kilometer elephant corridor linking nearby reserves, an example of how proactive planning can prevent conflict before it begins.2
Elephant-risk metrics
This is where the mining industry can lead. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies should include elephant-risk metrics in ecological and social impact assessments. These could measure corridor fragmentation, the risk of vehicle collisions, and the likelihood of conflict with nearby communities. Data collected this way would help companies adapt operations in real time and demonstrate accountability to investors and regulators.
Companies should also identify no-go zones in mapped elephant corridors and commit to avoiding them. In Kenya, the Standard Gauge Railway3 built 41 wildlife underpasses after mapping elephant movements, allowing the animals to cross safely between habitats. It is an example of forward-thinking infrastructure design that could be replicated in mining projects across the continent.
Securing roads, reducing poaching, and supporting coexistence
Access roads built for mining are often used by poachers and illegal traders. Companies can help reduce this threat by supporting ranger patrols, funding checkpoints, and enforcing strict speed limits for mine vehicles. In Botswana, Debswana has shown that on-lease conservation areas can coexist with mining activity, provided they remain connected to wider ecosystems.
Mining firms can also play a practical role in supporting communities affected by elephants. Funding early-warning networks, crop-protection programs, and alternative livelihood projects can significantly reduce local tensions. Such initiatives not only improve safety but also strengthen trust between companies, communities, and conservation authorities.
A new standard: Elephant-safe mining
The industry now has an opportunity to set a global example through Elephant-Safe Mining Protocols. This would mean integrating elephant-corridor maps into biodiversity planning, committing to no-go areas, and working through the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) to establish common standards. The same collaborative energy that produced the mitigation hierarchy and “no net loss” biodiversity goals could now protect one of Africa’s most iconic species.
Looking ahead
As demand for “critical minerals” grows, mining activities will undoubtedly continue to expand across Africa. From copper in Zambia to cobalt in the DRC and bauxite in Guinea, the sector’s footprint will reach deeper into elephant landscapes. The challenge is not to stop development, but to design it responsibly. By embedding elephant conservation into their ESG strategies, mining companies can demonstrate that economic growth and ecological stewardship are not mutually exclusive.
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References
- https://www.rainforesttrust.org/urgent-projects/build-connectivity-for-endangered-wildlife-in-the-congo-rainforest-2/
- https://elephantconservation.org/portfolio-items/protecting-elephants-from-development-projects-cameroon/
- https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/248141/1/sais-cari-wp13.pdf
