MULTINATIONAL MINING AND THIRD WORLD DEVELOPMENT : THE CASE OF AFRICA AS A LESSON FOR BANGLADESH

The article reviews multinational mining experiences in several African economies to extract policy lessons for resource governance in late-industrializing countries such as Bangladesh. It assesses royalty regimes, stabilization clauses, local-content rules, and environmental safeguards, showing how different contractual designs distribute risk and reward between state and investor. The discussion emphasizes the dangers of enclave economics—limited linkages and weak spillovers—and the importance of building domestic capabilities in services, logistics, and maintenance. It argues that transparent auctions, credible regulatory oversight, and predictable fiscal terms reduce rent-seeking and enhance development impact.

The body traces value chains from exploration to closure, explaining why early geodata transparency and community consent processes are decisive for legitimacy. It analyzes common pitfalls—transfer pricing, thin capitalization, and ad-hoc tax holidays—and proposes countermeasures such as ring-fencing, benchmark pricing, and public beneficial-ownership registers. Case vignettes from copper, bauxite, and gold illustrate how infrastructure co-investment and supplier development programs raise domestic content. For Bangladesh, the article sketches a governance blueprint: independent cadastre, environmental impact norms with monitoring funds, dispute resolution clauses with mediation steps, and revenue-sharing to subnational governments to align incentives. It concludes that resources can catalyze diversification only when contracts, regulators, and communities form a mutually accountable ecosystem.