Resource Initiatives

Testing the Resource Curse: Afghanistan

Maureen Upton — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:10:56 +0000

With officials in both Washington and Kabul claiming that Afghan mineral wealth could reach $3 trillion, the country’s opportunity to test, or better yet, to avoid the so-called “resource curse” is at hand. As J. Edward Conway on ForeignAffairs.com notes, USGS field work has affirmed significant deposits of gold, copper, iron ore, lithium, rare earth metals [...]

Private sector to the rescue in the fight against AIDS

Maureen Upton — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:15:17 +0000

Today, on the 23rd World AIDS Day, an array of civil society organizations will be touting their achievements, or at least their expenditures, in the fight against HIV/AIDS. But, as Sonia Shah pointed out recently on ForeignAffairs.com, it is increasingly the case that private companies are leading the charge in this area. Resource Initiatives research [...]

Considering Gold as a Development Tool at the World Bank

Maureen Upton — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:48:05 +0000

Click here for link to “Making Gold Mining a Force for Development”

Two Buildings

Maureen Upton — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:52:08 +0000

I never hear sirens anymore. Too many years of living in New York rendered my ears unable to distinguish the sound of them from any other background noise. The same thing happened with other loud noises, especially the BOOM trucks make when they drive over the slabs of steel that cover road work all over [...]

Over the Andes to Cusco and Machu Picchu

Maureen Upton — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:04:42 +0000

Raising the window shade per the flight attendant’s pleading as we approached Cusco on Friday morning, I just about jumped out of my seat when the fuselage appeared ready to scrape the peaks of the enormous Andes. Visions of the book/movie Alive flashed before me, but then I pondered the relative youth of the [...]

Peruvian Entrepreneurs

Maureen Upton — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:16:51 +0000

Then come to rural Peru and meet the entrepreneurs serving the mines with everything from janitorial services, catering, bus transportation to heavy equipment leasing. Doesn’t sound as cool as the iPad? Well the iPad is a wonderful tool (and has been a godsend on this trip), but some of these accounts of setback, perseverance and just [...]

Hello and (for now) Goodbye

mattheweldridge — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:07:45 +0000

It seems fitting that the inaugural post of my new new blog goes live as I depart for yet another international expedition, this time to film small business owners in Peru talking about the effects of gold mining on their lives. At 4am tomorrow I’ll meet the film crew at the Lima airport, and off we head [...]