Navigating coal mining closure and societal change: learning from past cases of mining decline

The paper reviews 154 publications covering 181 country case studies to understand the consequences of mining decline. It finds that economic impacts, such as job loss and regional decline, are the most documented, while social and political effects are understudied. The authors argue that successful transitions require long-term planning, strong local leadership, and coordinated financial mechanisms, noting that recovery often takes a decade or more.

• The existing literature on mining transitions is heavily skewed toward the Global North, which accounts for 81% of the country cases, with the highest concentrations of research in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and Germany.
• Economic factors, specifically the loss of economic competitiveness, are the primary drivers of mine closure, mentioned in two-thirds of the reviewed publications. Other drivers include political shifts, such as the fall of the iron curtain in Eastern Europe and the end of apartheid in South Africa.
• Resource depletion is rarely the primary cause of mine closure, appearing in less than 5% of articles, suggesting that the presence of reserves does not guarantee continued extraction.
• Economic development, employment, and demographics (particularly migration) are the most documented impacts of closure, whereas social structures, culture, identity, and political security are significantly under-researched.
• National governments typically respond to closures by providing welfare programs, severance packages, and retraining schemes, while international organizations often fund infrastructure and economic regeneration projects.
• The role of the private sector varies from constructive support, such as funding heritage tourism or risk capital, to destructive behavior, such as failing to warn workers of closures and distancing the company from the community.
• Successful economic recovery in former mining regions is a long-term process that typically requires at least a decade, and in some cases several decades, to establish alternative employment and stabilize populations.
• Two critical factors for navigating mining decline successfully are strong leadership and technical/financial capacity at the local government level, and effective coordination between public and private actors guided by a shared vision.
• Early transition planning is often hindered by the fact that the necessary planning horizon exceeds typical electoral cycles and by the frequent lack of transparency regarding the timing of mine closures.

APA

Strambo, C., Aung, M. T., & Atteridge, A. (2019). Navigating coal mining closure and societal change: learning from past cases of mining decline. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/navigating-coal-mining-closure-and-societal-change.pdf

Chicago

Strambo, Claudia, May Thazin Aung, and Aaron Atteridge. Navigating coal mining closure and societal change: learning from past cases of mining decline. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2019. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/navigating-coal-mining-closure-and-societal-change.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Strambo |first1=Claudia |last2=Aung |first2=May Thazin |last3=Atteridge |first3=Aaron |title=Navigating coal mining closure and societal change: learning from past cases of mining decline |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=July 2019 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/navigating-coal-mining-closure-and-societal-change.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{strambo2019navigating, author = {Strambo, Claudia and Aung, May Thazin and Atteridge, Aaron}, title = {{Navigating coal mining closure and societal change: learning from past cases of mining decline}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/navigating-coal-mining-closure-and-societal-change.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }