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During the late 20th Century the mining industry went through an important technological rejuvenation that drove high rates of innovation, productivity growth and organisational change. This process included the emergence of knowledge-intensive mining services (KIMS) suppliers, who performed functions outsourced by mining companies, gradually strengthening their capabilities, enlarging their geographical scope and becoming a globally organised sector. But this was uneven across different mining economies. For instance, while numerous Australian KIMS suppliers emerged and achieved international competitiveness, few did this in Chile. Focusing on Chile, this thesis explores the reasons for the limited development of KIMS suppliers in a developing mining economy. It examines the technological learning that shaped the KIMS sector evolution in Chile by contrasting it with the Australian experience, using a two level learning model that integrates: (1) the interaction between industry-level factors that shaped the potential for learning at the micro-level; and (2) the interaction at the micro-level between accumulated capabilities and learning efforts by firms to exploit the potential for learning. KIMS learning is examined over four stages: (i) Gestation (1940s - early 1970s); (ii) Emergence and Development (mid-1970s to early 1980s); (iii) Internationalisation (late 1980s to late 1990s); and (iv) Consolidation (early 2000s and still going on). Over these stages, KIMS sector learning was much more limited in Chile than Australia, either because there was a lower learning potential and/or because firms carried out limited learning efforts to exploit the potential. At the first stage mining companies in Chile played a weak role as incubators of KIMS capabilities. Consequently, during the second stage there were few KIMS suppliers capable of profiting from the rejuvenation being experienced by the global industry. Also, with limited stimuli from the growth of mining in Chile, suppliers undertook limited learning efforts. So, the third stage found Chilean KIMS suppliers unprepared to exploit the learning potential that came with internationalisation; and the learning opportunities inherent in the significant expansion of Chilean mining production were captured by foreign KIMS suppliers, including Australians. Accordingly, Chilean KIMS suppliers started the Consolidation Stage without the capabilities to overcome the increasing barriers to participation in the industry‟s continuing high learning potential.

This thesis is concerned with the dynamics and social morphology of resistance to mining in Bangladesh. Using the case of on-going resistance to a government supported open-pit coal mine project proposed by Asia Energy Corporations in Phulbari, Northwest Bangladesh, it considers the resistance within a particular context while investigating how the ideas held by various groups intersect and conflict in developing networks of resistance. Through ethnographic engagement in a particular ‘community', as well as with the activism at the national level, the research attempts to explore how and to what extent the connection and disjuncture of observations and experiences of particular groups shape the resistance movement. The aims of this thesis are two fold. Firstly it expands on anthropological accounts of social movements' rootedness in patterns of daily life. As such I examine how local resistance to mining initiatives emerges in specific contexts and around such located concerns that often remain unexpressed in the public discourse of protests. I show how resistance builds around anxieties of losing ‘home' and accompanying rights and claims. Secondly, this research contributes to the anthropological analysis of ‘connection' and ‘network' in this ‘global' era. Through an ethnographic study of the resistance movement against mining I show how the movement's network is not a smooth integration of groups and actors; tension and ambiguity is central to it. I look at the ways in which friction of disparate ideas attached to different level of analysis, i.e. ‘local', ‘national' and ‘universal', pave way for the formation of tentative alliances as the differential observations come to fit into the common discourses of protest.

[pt] A metalurgia é a ciência que estuda os diversos meios para a transformação dos metais em materiais úteis à sociedade. A metalurgia do ferro representa a maior fatia da aplicação dos metais. Por ser tão representativa é chamada de Siderurgia. Dentre as diversas rotas para a transformação do ferro em aço, as usinas semi-integradas apresentam um forte apelo ecológico, pois utilizam a sucata, oriunda da reciclagem de ferro, e o ferro gusa como matérias-primas para a fusão no Forno Elétrico a Arco. Naturalmente, em todo processo industrial há a geração de resíduos e, neste caso, o principal é a escória, composta de óxidos formados e adicionados ao longo da fusão. Seus principais constituintes são: CaO, SiO2, FeO, MnO, MgO, Al2O3 e P2O5. No entanto, ainda há a presença de Ferro Metálico, um fato indesejável, pois atua negativamente no rendimento metálico e, consequentemente, aumenta o custo do aço. Toda escória gerada é beneficiada com o intuito de recuperar a parte metálica. Este material beneficiado retorna para as usinas como sucata metálica, contendo teores definidos de ferro metálico. O teor de ferro presente na sucata recuperada é avaliado pelas empresas processadoras de escória de maneira indireta por um ensaio de densidade específica. Havia dúvidas se a sucata recuperada da escória do forno apresentava teores de ferro que justificasse seu emprego como matéria-prima ferrosa. Assim sendo, foi proposta uma rota de processamento capaz de mensurar o teor de ferro presente e permitir a comparação com os teores obtidos com o ensaio de densidade. Os resultados mostram que i) é possível calcular o impacto no rendimento, ii) que as sucatas recuperadas apresentam valores inferiores ao esperado, iii) que a equação de densidade superestima o teor de ferro e iv) que modificações propostas nos coeficientes da equação vigente melhoram seu grau de assertividade. Estes resultados foram comprovados em 3 plantas siderúrgicas. / [en] Metallurgy is the science that studies the various processes for the transformation of metals into society useful materials. The iron metallurgy represents the largest body of the metals application, hence it is called Steel industry. Among the various routes for the transformation of iron into steel, semiintegrated plants have a strong ecological appeal due to their extensive use of scrap, derived from the recycling of iron, and pig iron as raw materials for the Electric Arc Furnace. Of course, industrial processes generate waste. The major waste of the Electric Arc Furnace is the slag, a mixture of oxides produced during the process, containing CaO, SiO2, FeO, MnO, MgO, Al2O3 e P2O5. However, there is also the presence of metallic iron, a fact undesirable, because it acts negatively on the metallic yield and therefore increases the cost of steel. All slag generated is processed in order to recover the metallic iron. The slag beneficiation returns to the mills a material containing defined levels of iron. The content of recovered iron is assessed by slag processing companies indirectly by a specific gravity test. There have been doubts whether the recovered scrap iron content justify its use as raw ferrous materials. Therefore, it is proposed a processing route capable of measuring the amount of iron present in the recovered scrap. The measured iron content is also compared with the levels obtained from the test density. The results show that i) it is possible to calculate the impact on iron yield, ii) the recovered iron content is lower than expected, iii) the density equation overestimates the amount of iron and iv) a correction is proposed to improve the assertiveness of the density equation. Three steel plants confirmed the results from this research.

[pt] A pesquisa avalia qual é o impacto das estratégias financeiras no desempenho das empresas dos setores de energia elétrica, siderurgia e metalurgia, têxtil e telecomunicações. Esses são os principais setores das empresas listadas na Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo. Os dados obtidos foram os demonstrativos de resultado de cada uma das empresas do ano de 2004. Após analisar as tipologias de Mintzberg (1988) e Miles and Snow (1978) e Porter (1980), utilizamos a tipologia de Porter (1980) para definir os grupos estratégicos de cada setor pesquisado. Os resultados obtidos foram a caracterização do grupo estratégico liderança em baixo custo como o de melhor desempenho em três setores pesquisados e encontrou-se relação relevante entre o posicionamento da empresa dentro do seu grupo estratégico e o seu desempenho. / [en] This research measures the impact of the financial strategies in the firm´s performance using a wide range of multivariate statistics techniques. The electric energy, metals, textile and telecommunications are the main industries in the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa). Those industries are the chief subject of the research and represent 37,8% of all the revenue of the companies in Bovespa. The data used in such research is obtained from the 2004 financial statement of those companies in the studied industries. My literature research was made using a wide range of typologies like Mintzberg (1988), Miles and Snow (1993) and Porter (1980). Porter´s typology (1980) was used for the classification of the strategic cluster of each of the industries, because it could offer a good explanatory power with small number of the variables. The empirical result discovered is that the strategic group low cost leadership has better performance than all other strategic groups. I have also found out a relationship between the position of the firm inside the strategic group and it´s performance. This linear relationship is negative therefore I conclude the strategic financial positioning of the firm results an improvement in it´s performance. In my research, I discuss about how we could use financial data to measure companies´ financial strategies and how we could apply such research in other countries.

Text in English / The purpose of this study was to establish the vulnerabilities of the security control measures that are being used at Impala Platinum mines and refinery to prevent the theft of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs). It is important to ensure that the security control measures in place are effective and efficient in preventing the occurrence of such theft. The research examined the security risk management approach to the prevention of theft of PGMs and the causes of theft of PGMs by organised crime syndicates operating in South Africa and abroad. The study found that Impala Platinum employees, in collusion with contractors and members of mine security services, are involved in the theft of PGMs. To achieve the goals and objective of the research study, effective security control measures were identified that will help Impala Platinum mines and refinery to overcome the risks and challenges related to the theft of PGMs. / Security Risk Management / M. Tech. (Security Management)