EITI glossary

Mining activity carried out by persons or groups not employed by a mining company, but rather by working independently, using their own resources. This differs from artisanal mining in that a small scale mining operation could have employees.

Contributions made by extractive companies to regional or local governments, communities, NGOs or other third parties in the areas where they operate. These contributions are in addition to taxes levied by central, regional and local governments. Social expenditures can take multiple forms, and may involve cash payments such as donations, grants or other types of cash transfers, the transfer of assets such as the construction of roads or schools, or the provision of services like training and health care. In some cases, these social expenditures are based on legal or contractual obligations. In other cases, companies make voluntary social contributions. These transactions can also be called “corporate social repsonsibility”, “social payments”, or “social investments”.

State-owned enterprise: a company owned by a state.

A company owned by a state. SoE in short.