Sustainability and Depletion Accounting for Non-Renewable Resources: The Case of Copper in Chile

<p class="1Body">This research develops a framework for assessing just compensation values for mining projects, where they might contribute toward a responsible, profitable, and sustainable path to economic growth and development. More specifically, it deals with methods to determine a “sustainable” rate of mineral extraction, putting a dollar value on the environmental impacts from various levels of mineral extraction. The project focuses on an emerging political economy (Chile) and uses an interdisciplinary approach. The approach rests on the assumption that the policy objectives of environmental protection and sustainable economic development can be subsumed into the “Hartwick rule” goal of investing mining rents in natural, social, and infrastructure capital. This study aids in policy decisions relating to benefit transfer to local/regional infrastructure investment.</p>