| Summary: | Despite the contribution of mining to the South African economy, this industry has impacted negatively on the environment and society for many decades. These negative impacts are evidence of poor corporate actions. Instead of contributing to society, it seems that mining companies, more often than not, neglect their corporate social responsibilities mostly in the pursuit of financial profit. It has been well documented that it is mostly local populations, living close to mining operations, which pay the price of social and environmental damages and degradation, while the industry's benefits are measured in economic and political terms. Such an imbalance between the economic, environmental and social factors will make Sustainable Development impossible to achieve. Welverdiend is a community paying a dear price in terms of social problems caused by mining operations. The aim of this study, therefore, is to assess the impact of these problems on the social well–being of Welverdiend and the surrounding community's residents. In the light of these findings on different social issues, the research aims to confirm the importance of a people–centred approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The following is a brief outline of the course of the study. Chapter One serves as the introduction to the research project. Chapter Two, aligned with Objective One, provides a theoretical overview on Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development. Chapter Three, which is aligned with Objectives Two and Three, reports on the findings obtained through a survey and Chapter Four, aligned with Objective Four, presents the conclusion and recommendations. === Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.
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