A mine owned by Glencore had collapsed in the Democratic Republic of Congo this past month on, June 27th, 2019, and killed at least 19 people. These 19 people were also mining illegally stated by the London-listed company. In parts of Africa and India illegal mining has become an issue. Miners are working illegally throughout the country and continue to see fatality take its toll on the people.
In the ethical case on
the situation what Glencore had done was unethical to the illegal miners. In the Wall Street Journal written by
Allistair MacDonald, “Kamoto Copper Company has observed a growing presence of
illegal artisanal miners throughout its industrial mining concession in the
Kolwezi area. This has led to daily intrusions onto its concession by an
average of 2,000 illegal miners per day” (MacDonald 1). Knowing that 2,000
miners are illegally working every day is making the company lose money. It is
also affected when it involves illegal miners dying.
However, this issue here
is also with the government. The government has been not classifying the mining
fatalities in the government statistics. South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources
had said that there were a record-low 73 casualties through the mining
industry. The Mines Rescue service, a local organization, has helped freed
trapped miners and have also found an additional 18 people who were died
illegally in the South Africa mines that year. In the news article Bloomberg,
it states, “The deaths highlight the growing problem of illegal mining. Congo
and other countries face a constant struggle to stop their impoverished
citizens from breaking into mines and extracting ore by hand” (Thomas
Biesheuval and William Clowes). With more miners breaking and stealing ores
this problem is going to continue and the death total could go up more.
Stopping people from illegally mining will not be easy but it is something that
needs to be done before more lives are lost. Edward Sterck, analyst at BMO
Capital Markets, believes, “Preventative action will likely be needed, and it
could impact Golencore’s social license to operate. This event is related to
illegal mining activity, then the impact to production may be relatively short
term” (Bloomberg). The point Edward is making is how the miners entered without
permission and mined what they wanted. In the act of this it led to them losing
their life. By adding the security to the property, it could lead to short term
problems with illegal people working in the mines. Thus, helping the issue of
people continuously break into the mines on their own.
Due to this event the
shares of Glencore had suddenly dropped in the London trading. It the course of
one incident it caused the stocks to drop 4.9%. Even with the drastic drop the
company came back with none of their production or operations were affected in
the area. Knowing that Glencore did not even get affected by this is
unbelievable. Any other company after an epidemic like this could fall flat on
their face. Glencore on the other hand can recover quickly and get back to
operations within the next day. This goes to show how powerful Glencore is.
Congo is home to the richest cobalt and copper and people want to sell it.
Acquiring the product is what needs to change for the better of the people.
However, the people who are near these mines are also the poorest of people.
Thus, making people desperate and doing desperate things to help the living
situation for themselves and for their families. It tragic that a company like
Glencore can do what they can to maximize profit even though the safety of
others is at jeopardy. It is a constant struggle between the impoverished
people from breaking into the mines and extracting the ore. The mines these
people go in are miles long which makes them difficult to travel through for
anyone.
In the case with the 19
deaths in Congo the stockholders affected by this incident is Glencore,
shareholders, Congo, and the citizens near the mine. Glencore and Congo
government are responsible for not keeping the area safe from others. The
shareholders who put money into the stocks of Glencore are affected for the
fact the company lost 4.9% stocks in a day due to the incident. The
shareholders would not be happy knowing that they have invested money into the
company for it to be lost on something that could have been prevented.
From an individual’s
point of view on the situation people would be upset for what is going on.
Explained in The Case Manual, “Individualism is business actions should
maximize profits for the owners of a business but do so within the law”
(Salazar 17). The miners who are go into the mines and stealing the ores is
making the company lose profit. It is all about making as much money as
possible as an individualist. If people are break in and going into the mines
stealing the ore the company is losing that profit. The people who were killed
from the accident were others who were stealing from the company. Also, with
the people who were killed had the mine come down which also caused more money
to be spent to open the mine up again or for another place to be started. Money
either way is being lost in the section of the mine making the stolen and lost
money unavailable to the company.
In the eyes of an
utliltarian this situation would be viewed in a different way. Utilitarianism
is, “Business actions that should aim to maximize the happiness in the long run
that are affected by the business action” (Salazar 17). With what happened with
the 19 people who had lost their lives in Congo, utilitarians would be
devastated. Trying to keep people happy is a difficult thing for a business to
do on a consistent basis. When it comes to the mining industry someone will be
left unhappy. The country Congo is home to one of Glencore’s operation
facilities. With the mines taking so much land it leaves people poor and
homeless for most. This makes people unhappy with the living situation and cannot
financial be stabled. By having the mine so close it leads people to do stupid
things such as go in the mine and stela the ore for themselves.
For a Kantianism the case
with Glencore and the 19 illegal miners being killed can be looked at in an
interesting way. In The Case Manual, Kantianism is viewed as, “An act in ways
that respect and honor individuals and their choices. There should be no lying,
cheating, manipulating or harm others to get your way. Use informed and
rational consent from all parties” (Salazar 17). Glencore’s mining area was not
safe for anyone outside of the property. People could easily come in and grab
what they needed in order to survive. In some ways you can look at the 19
illegal miners and respect and honor what the illegal miners were trying to do.
The miners sadly lost their life, but they were doing it for a reason. Those
illegal miners were trying to gather ore bare handed in order to make money for
their family. They were willing to risk their own lives if it meant making the
one’s the love happy. By breaking in and doing this it shows that no matter how
bad things are it is worth fighting for something.
Virtue Theory is about,
“acting so as to embody a variety of virtuous or good character traits and so
as to avoid vicious or bad character traits” (Salazar 17). With the situation
at hand with the illegal miners being killed no one was acting out of good
character. Glencore has a history of doing things that are not looked at in a
great way. It seems as if Glencore likes to take shortcuts or better themselves
with false information to help the company in the long run. Good character is
built on the people who run the industry and it trickles down into other
management and workers based on how they are being treated. If illegal miners can
get in mine shafts and dig their own ore out, that goes to show that Glencore
has a bad character and bad traits that put others in harm’s way.
Evaluating the situation
through an ethical standpoint what Glencore did was unethical. The company
allowed for this to happen. With the way they acted towards the people around them
it shows that people are desperate to do anything. By breaking laws for satisfaction,
losing lives for ore, it all shows why this is not a good environment. Between individualism,
utilitarianism, Kantianism, and virtue theory, there is no right way that
Glencore is going about their business. Things the company does is not looking
good and it will only get worse for them and the people of Congo.
References
Bloomberg.com,
Bloomberg, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-27/glencore-says-19-illegal-miners-killed-in-congo-mine-collapse.
Bell, Terence. “Glencore
International Production of Metals and Energy.” The Balance, The Balance, 14 Mar. 2019, www.thebalance.com/company-profile-glencore-international-ag-2340298.
“Glencore.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 May
2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glencore.
MacDonald, Alistair.
“Congo Mine Collapse Kills at Least 19, Glencore Says.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 27 June 2019, www.wsj.com/articles/congo-mine-collapse-kills-at-least-19-glencore-says-11561652380.
Salazar , Heather. The Business Ethics Case Manual.
“Subscribe to the FT
to Read: Financial Times Glencore Shares Fall after DRC Mine Collapse.” Financial Times, Financial Times, www.ft.com/content/542c9768-98ec-11e9-8cfb-30c211dcd229
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