Resources Policy 38 (2013) 733–744

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Resources Policy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resourpol

Using the multiple capitals framework to connect indicators of

regional cumulative impacts of mining and pastoralism in the Murray
Darling Basin, Australia
C.J. Moran n, D.M. Franks, L.J. Sonter
Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Brisbane, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o abstract

Article history: It is commonly recognized that there are constraints to successful regional-scale assessment and
Received 24 August 2012 monitoring of cumulative impacts because of challenges in the selection of coherent and measurable
Received in revised form indicators of the effects. It has also been sensibly declared that the connections between components in
15 January 2013
a region are as important as the state of the elements themselves. These have previously been termed
Accepted 15 January 2013
Available online 16 March 2013
‘‘linked’’ cumulative impacts/effects. These connections can be difficult to discern because of a
complicated set of interactions and unexpected linkages. In this paper we diagnose that a significant
Keywords: cause of these constraints is the selection of indicators without due regard for their inter-relationships
Cumulative effects assessment and in the formulation of the indicator set. The paper examines whether the common ‘‘forms of capital’’, i.e.,
management (CEAM)
natural (renewable and non-renewable), manufactured, social, human and financial capitals, frame-
Cumulative impacts
work is a potential organizing structure. We examine a large region in western NSW Australia where
Complex systems
Resource capitals the predominant production systems are mining and grazing for production of wool, beef and lamb.
Sustainability Production in both is driven by consumption of a non-renewable resource, i.e., ore for mining and
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) topsoil for grazing, the latter on the basis that loss rate estimates far exceed soil formation rates. We
propose that the challenge of identifying connections of components within and between capital stores
can be approached by explicitly separating stores of capital and the flows of capital between stores and
between elements within stores, so-called capital fluxes. We attempt to acquire data from public
sources for both capital stores and fluxes. The question of whether these data are a sufficient base for
regional assessment, with particular reference to connections, is discussed. The well-described
challenge of a comparative common currency for stores and fluxes is also discussed. We conclude that
the data acquisition is relatively successful for stores and fluxes. A number of linked impacts are
identified and discussed. The potential use of money as the common currency for stores and fluxes of
capital is considered. The basic proposition is that replacement or preservation costs be used for this.
We conclude that the study is sufficiently positive to consider further research in fully-coupled models
of capital stores and fluxes.
Crown Copyright & 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction
Somewhat surprisingly, after a considerable amount of time
since the recognition of the importance of assessing cumulative
effects at the regional scale (Thérivel and Partidário, 1996) concrete
positive results and consensus over methods remain elusive. The
literature lead comes from Canada where practice has been in
advance of other countries since at least the mid-1990s.
Harriman-Gunn and Nobel (2009) analyzed the strengths and
weaknesses of a number of well-described case studies. Their
synthesis derived five lessons that were consistent across all the
n
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: c.moran@smi.uq.edu.au (C.J. Moran).
studies, viz. set a vision, establish goals, link strategic goals to
operational implementation, capitalize on opportunities in time
(because windows of opportunity close) and connections in the
region are as important as the individual parts. In the cumulative
impacts typology of Franks et al. (2010a, 2010b, 2011) connections
are covered in the category of linked impacts (triggers and associa-
tions). This paper focuses on the importance of the measurement
framework and associated indicators for dealing with this important
issue of connectivity.
In analyzing case studies, Harriman-Gunn and Nobel (2009)
broadly outlined the underlying measurement approach adopted
in each of the studies. The case study cited therein of Quinn et al.
(2002) was the only one that attempted to use a formal under-
lying measurement framework based upon stocks and flows of
entities in the region. No detail of the entities was provided.

0301-4207/$ - see front matter Crown Copyright & 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2013.01.002
734 C.J. Moran et al. / Resources Policy 38 (2013) 733–744
Harriman-Gunn and Nobel concluded that the formal approach
failed because of difficulty in acquiring data and some challenges
with community and practitioner comprehension of the indica-
tors. The other case studies appear to have used the more familiar
approach of ‘‘agreement via engagement’’ to select indicators of
importance. The commonly recognized problem of aggregation of
indicators was noted but not further developed.
There is an immense literature of landscape and ecological
systems indicators including the inclusion of socio-economic
aspects as well as ecological/biophysical (e.g., Rapport et al.,
1998). In landscape and ecosystems analysis there has been a
long history of informal selection of indicators in spite of
elaborately formulated objectives for indicator sets (e.g., Niemi
and McDonald, 2004). A great deal of research has been under-
taken across a wide range of ecosystems using a variety of
informal methods for selection of system indicators; often with
the analogy of health as a guiding principle. Among many
examples, Norris and Thoms (1999) raised concerns about the
health analogy and difficulties in linking measurable quantities
(indicators) to a functional definition of river ‘‘health’’. Cairns
et al. (1993) stressed the importance of ‘‘relevance to the problem
to be addressed’’ in selecting indicators from a virtually infinite
set of possibilities. Their attempt to formalize indicator selection
was to stipulate clear criteria for their success, which takes into
account the purpose to which they are to be put in the sense of
decisions regarding the system of interest. Nevertheless, indica-
tors have proved useful in guiding management, providing early
warning of impending problems, informing broad scale compar-
isons of the conditions of various system components (Walker
et al., 2006) and supporting effective community participation
(Schiller et al., 2001).
The challenge of indicator aggregation (whether simple or
more complex, e.g., accounting for synergies) has been recognized
as a significant constraint to success in SEA and CEAM (Gunn and
Nobel 2011). Hill et al. (2006) took a data-driven approach to
assess the tensions that exist in rangelands between various
production, ecological and threatening processes. They attempted
a pragmatic approach to risk management by selecting a suffi-
cient rather than a comprehensive set of indicators. The strength
of their approach is in the method of combination of the
indicators. Nevertheless, their data selection was informal in that
the underlying relationships between data sets in their various
combinations was undeclared (and possibly unknowable). It is
even more difficult to consider the issue of aggregation when
approaches are principles-based with little assistance provided to
those responsible for data gathering and interpretation. For
example, Hessburg and Agee (2003) proposed ecosystem manage-
ment combined with adaptive management as a systems approach.
They distinguish ecosystem management in that it emphasizes
the integrity and sustainability of land systems rather than
outputs from the land. Adaptive management provides a viable
mechanism to deal with uncertainty inherent in the system.
Whilst these features are attractive in a descriptive sense, they
provide little in the way of direct support at the implementation
level, which, as recognized by Harriman-Gunn and Nobel (2009),
is critical for success.
The use of informal system descriptions and their derived
decision aids is not the result of a lack of desire for formality but
rather recognition of the considerable difficulty associated with
fully-coupled systems. Moran and Lyon (2009) proposed a formal
approach in an attempt to underpin the development of ‘‘com-
prehensible’’ indicators at the enterprise level for a single indus-
trial entity. Comprehensible indicators arise from a formal system
description such that a change in one indicator provides consis-
tent and comprehensible information about the other indicators
in the system. Informal systems approaches provide little such
information. Indeed it has long been recognized that relationships
between indicators can be problematic if not well understood
(e.g., Noss, 1990). Methods for trying to gain insight into indica-
tors and to reduce their number include correlation analyses and
principal component analysis. However, correlations can be mis-
leading in that the relationships between correlation and causa-
tion are undefined and/or inconsistent (Jackson and Somers,
1991; Tischendorf, 2001).
An important aspect of systems aggregation is the recognition
of the importance of rates of change not just the current state or
magnitude of various indicators. For example, there is a growing
consensus that the rate of recovery in an ecosystem and the
variance of key properties near tipping points of catastrophic
changes, so-called slowing return rates, are critical knowledge in
understanding how to assess the importance of one or other
change that may be imposed by a particular project entering an
existing socio-ecological system (SES; Carpenter et al., 2011;
Veraart et al., 2012). However, there is no literature indication
whether or not such effects aggregate to the system level beyond
individual ecosystem component interactions. Nevertheless, there
is little doubt of the importance of acknowledging rate terms in
indicator sets of systems.
In this paper we propose that formal indicators can be developed
to support SEA and CEAM without risking over-exactness or over-
belief in accuracy. We propose that the well-known ‘‘five capitals’’
model can be used to provide indicators that can support a land-
scape strategic analysis and also assist with assessment of cumula-
tive impacts. Recently, natural capital and ecosystem services have
been successfully combined (more or less informally) in an attempt
to undertake a regional assessment in China (Dong et al., 2012).
Bebbington (1999) introduced his paper as a formal analytical
framework for integrating all forms of capital. However, the paper
presents a case study in which analysis of data is guided by a
structural framework of capitals rather than a formal mathematical
coupling of them.
Here, we do not propose to formalize the coupling in a
mathematical sense, although the possibility of doing so is
gaining some attention (Moran and Lyon, 2009; Fisher, 2011).
Rather, we wish to examine the following questions by way of
example from accessible data sets.
1. Can data on each of the capital forms can be sourced? The
work of Bebbington (1999) using forms of capital and Walker
et al. (2009) using ecosystems services suggests grounds for
some optimism.
2. Are data amenable to be represented in aggregate form where
appropriate?
3. Can information on rates of change, meaningful at the regional
scale, be sourced?
4. Is representation (and aggregation, where sensible) of effects
from different land uses achievable? This is necessary to show
promise in terms of regional strategic and cumulative
assessments.
We chose to deal with mining and pastoralism because they
are superficially such intrinsically different forms of activity. It
can be argued that pastoralism could, at least in theory, be
undertaken in a manner consistent with strong sustainability,
i.e., no substitution of capitals is permitted (Daly, 1990). Whereas
mining is intrinsically only able to be considered in terms of weak
sustainability i.e., capital substitution is permitted (Solow, 1974;
Hartwick, 1977) because mineralization are non-renewable at the
times scales of human interest (or at least the timescales relevant
to SEA ad CEA). We suggest that if these two activities can be
 C.J. Moran et al. / Resources Policy 38 (2013) 733–744
considered within the one framework, then it presents a pathway
via which other activities could perhaps also be integrated.
Even if the questions above can be answered in the affirmative,
does the linking offered by the ‘‘forms of capital’’ approach add
sufficient value to consider taking on the intellectual and experi-
mental work required to develop it more fully for practical use in
the assessment and management of cumulative impacts?
Method
Forms of capital
Here, the aim is to generalize across two major resource
management activities, i.e., pastoralism and mining. Our hypoth-
esis is that grazing and mining can be integrated by assessing
their resource management in terms of the model of five forms of
capital. We acknowledge that some resource impacts occur at
long times and far distances from the initial production process.
Our initial focus is upon those impacts that are proximal to the
processes. If this seems a plausible approach then expansion to
longer times and greater distances can be considered. Given this
resource management perspective we will hereafter refer to the
forms of capital as ‘‘resources’’.
Given the explicit weak sustainability of mining and our
argument that pastoralism can be similarly treated (see below)
we separate natural capital into two forms: (1) non-renewable
natural resources (R1) and (2) renewable natural resources (R2).
The other resources are Manufactured (or Engineered) capital
(R3), Human capital (R4) and Social capital (R5).
Non-renewable natural capital (R1): Non-enewable natural
capital is the resource component that is not replaced by natural
processes in a time frame similar to that over which it is
extracted. For mining R1 is the ore. For pastoralism an example
would be soil in that its loss rate is far greater than the natural
replacement rate under all current grazing systems (Lu et al.,
2003). Similarly, clearing of native ecosystems can incur a long-
term recolonization penalty or even a permanent biodiversity
extinction debt (Tilman et al., 2002). We argue that as a starting
point and supported by published data, it is feasible to consider
grazing as a production process that gradually depletes the
soil store.
Renewable natural capital (R2): Renewable natural capital is the
state of the environment.
Manufactured/engineered capital (R3): Engineered capital is the
infrastructure needed for mining and grazing activities; this
includes requirements beyond the mine or farm gate
requirements.
Human capital (R4): The concepts around R4 were first devel-
oped by Nobel laureates Becker and Schultz from the University of
Chicago. Human capital refers to the skills and capabilities
possessed by an individual (Schultz, 1961; Becker, 1962). R4
includes the total workforce, skills and education level of the
production system and related community.
Social capital (R5): Bourdieu (1983) introduced the term social
capital to the sociological world though it has been in use for
much longer than that and can be traced back to Rousseau’s work
around the concept of a social contract. It has been applied in
sociology (e.g., Coleman, 1988) and ethnography but its use in
formal economic models has been limited. Broadly speaking, R5
encompasses the norms and networks facilitating collective
action for mutual benefit (Woolcock, 1998). It refers to the ability
for social actors to secure benefits from social relationships. This
includes networks and other forms of social organization, but also
the state of those networks such as the presence or absence of
cooperation and trust (Coleman, 1988; Putnam, 1995; Portes,
735
1998). Social capital provides individuals with access to resources
possessed by their associates (Portes, 1998; Finsveen and van
Oorschot, 2008).
Financial capital (R6): Financial capital is based on revenue
from sales of production. How it changes is determined by
production rate, market prices and costs per unit of production.
It is recognized that R6 can accumulate beyond the point of sale.
Multipliers for R6 impacts through communities and economies
are regularly estimated through standard economic surveys and
models. We further recognize that R6 can be attenuated by
decisions regarding its management as a store outside the direct
decisions in the production systems, e.g., investments and
exchange rates. These transactions are not taken into
account here.
Pastoralism and mining
At one level, it is tempting to view grazing and mining activities
as fundamentally different. Mining is unambiguously weak sustain-
ability in that a non-renewable resource (ore) is converted into other
resources as the basis for growth of societal wealth. There is an
extensive literature on the topic of sustainable grazing. In principle,
it is possible to imagine a pastoral activity that substitutes the
consumption of resources of the underlying ‘‘natural’’ system with
consumption for the production of meat or wool. History of grazing
in the rangelands of the study region would indicate that this has
not been the case and that resource depletion, as evidenced by
various forms of land, water and ecological degradation, has
occurred. The question as to whether it is feasible to have a viable
economic enterprise in these rangelands without depleting the
renewable natural capital remains open. We therefore take the view
that grazing can also currently be viewed in terms of weak
sustainability. Our integration approach, therefore, treats these
two resource management activities as conceptually similar.
Study region
The study region is the western Murray Darling Basin (MDB) in
Australia. Given that significant challenges with SEA and CEAM
exist for issues over large spatial extents, we felt it was important
to test the information requirements at a reasonably extensive
spatial scale. The sub-regions are essentially the IBRA (Interim
Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia) bioregions surround-
ing Cunamulla (no mining), Cobar (moderate mining mixed with
grazing) and Broken Hill (dominantly mining). When examining
the western MDB it is clear that mining activity exists in two
clusters. The first is the historical mining region of Broken Hill.
Broken Hill also services the needs of the surrounding grazing
community and is an important link of the road and train
connections between the eastern and south/western states of
Australia. The second surrounds the town of Cobar. Extensive
mining in this region is a relatively recent enterprise and is
focused on the extraction of base and precious metals. In the
northern part of the MDB rangelands around the town of
Cunamulla there is little evidence of mining. The three regions
were defined by the intersection of: (1) the western divide of the
MDB; (2) three Dryland Bioregions (IBRA): Cobar Peneplain (CP),
Broken Hill Complex (BHC), and the Mulga Lands (ML); (3) ABS
collection districts as defined in 2006 for which at least 50% of
their area fell within the boundaries of (1) and (2) (see ABS,
2009a). The three regions, their central towns and the collection
districts are shown in Fig. 1.
We have drawn largely on national data sets to describe the
resources in each of three sample regions. The National Land and
Water Resources Audit (NLWRA) was drawn upon heavily for
resource information pertaining to natural capital and the Australian
736 C.J. Moran et al. / Resources Policy 38 (2013) 733–744

Bureau of Statistics (ABS) census data for other resources. A range of
other data sources have also been accessed and these are cited
against each of the data sets described and discussed below. We
have used publically-available data for all information sources.
The region is dominated (by area) by grazing for sheep and
beef (pastoralism). There are six mines (or clusters of mines) in
the region; viz., Broken Hill mines (Perilya; silver, lead and zinc),
Tritton (copper), CSA (silver and copper), Endeavor (formally
Elura; silver, lead and zinc) and Peak mines (New Occidental
and Perserverance mines; gold and copper).
Appendix A summarizes the sources of data for the compila-
tions that are presented throughout the paper.
Results
Capital stores
units of t/ha/yr) in units equivalent to Heimsath, results in a pre-
European soil loss rate equivalent to  120 m/Ma and a current soil
loss rate of  160 m/Ma. Soil loss in the region would appear to
exceed formation rates. These comparisons should be treated with
caution as the Heimsath estimates are made in landscape positions
where they specifically attempt to find soil formed in place. This is
unlikely to be the case in many locations in our study region, which
is more likely dominated by long-term alluvial deposition processes.
Nevertheless, it is reasonable to compare these rates because
ultimately the soil must originate from a source of formation in
place and so the supply availability rates are constrained by source
formation rates. We therefore suggest that grazing can be consid-
ered as a production activity that gradually converts soil into the
products of grazing, namely, meat and wool. The total A-horizon soil
resource across the study region is estimated from NLWRA esti-
mates of soil thickness and density as 63,740 Mt.

Non-renewable natural
Table 1 shows estimates of the non-renewable resources for Table 1
the existing mines of the region. This should be considered a Non-renewable natural capital estimates for mines of the region.
lower bound estimate because inferred reserves are greater and
Reserves (Mt) Zn (%) Pb (%) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) Au (g/t)
there is additional prospectivity for the region (Geoscience
Australia indicates the region has significant reserves and pro- Broken Hill mines 12.86 6 4.5 48 – –
spectivity for the metals noted in the table). Peak mines 1.05 – – – 0.95 3.96
Estimates of soil formation rates in southeastern Australia range Tritton 3.12 – – – 2.6 –
CSA 18 5.8 3.3 26 – –
from 7 to 53 m/Ma (Heimsath et al., 2000; Heimsath et al., 2006).
Endeavor 4.11 8.08 5.13 99 – –
Spatial estimates at a resolution of 250 m of hillslope soil erosion
rates for this region are available from the national soil erosion Note: CSA reserves estimated from statement of current production and life of
mapping (Lu et al., 2003). Restating the Lu et al. estimates (given in mine at current production rates.

Fig. 1. Region map showing bioregions, towns and mines.

 C.J. Moran et al. / Resources Policy 38 (2013) 733–744 737

Renewable natural Table 3

Renewable resources estimates are available from the NLWRA Human resource estimates for the region.
data sets. The area of the study region is 256,409 km2 of which
Mining Pastoralism Total population
grazing occupies 256,182 km2. ABS estimates that there are
nearly 1 million head of cattle and 5.8 million sheep and lambs Direct employment 1449 1,762 18,817
in the region (ABS, 2008c). The two key resources for pastoralism Indigenous employment 62 (4%) 42 (2%) 901 (5%)
are water and carbon (Table 2). Nutrient inputs are dealt with High school education 420 (29%) 580 (33%) 8,097
Diplomas and certificates 549 (38%) 390 (22%) 8,063
later as fluxes. Whilst there have been a number of efforts Graduate education 131 (9%) 74 (4%) 2,102
nationally to determine Australia’s water resources stores, results Postgraduate education 21 (1%) 15 (o1%) 570
have been disappointing. The NLWRA and the National Water
Initiative’s Australian Water Resources 2005 assessment, both Source: ABS.
failed to provide volume estimates for groundwater with any
useful spatial resolution. Surface water resource were estimated
in terms of rainfall. Here, even though water appears as a flux in
the table (Gl/yr) we consider it in terms of stores because this is
the average annual flux to the stores. As the table shows, evapo-
transpiration accounts for the majority of the potential available
store (rainfall). This is covered further below in discussion of
fluxes of resources. As a rough approximation, drainage supplies
groundwater and run-off goes to rivers/wetlands. These terms,
therefore, provide a (very) rough estimate of the annual available
‘‘take’’.
As equally unfortunate as water resources, given the amount
of effort expended to date, there appears to be a dearth of
information of adequate quality regarding vegetation community
distributions and clearing practices. For example, NVIS estimates
for the area were not usable in terms of resource stores for
vegetation because large areas throughout NSW contained
‘unknown proportions’ of cleared and remnant vegetation. Other
biodiversity resource stores are equally difficult to obtain. Further
work is required on vegetation distribution and clearing and
Fig. 2. Income distribution for mining and pastoralism.
biodiversity before it could be included in a regional integration Source: ABS
of resources for this region.

Human
Australian census data provide a useful estimate of human
capital for the region. The local pool of human resources comes
from the population of 48,058 people. Table 3 summarizes the
direct employment and education of employees information for
the region. Pastoralism and mining are similar across all cate-
gories. Interestingly, though, it may be that mining is more likely
to draw human capital to it from pastoralism or from outside the
region because of higher income rewards (Fig. 2). Mining also
employs a higher proportion of younger workers in comparison to
the pastoral industry (Fig. 3).

Social
The notion of social capital originated as a description of the
relationships of an individual within social structures. Putnam
(1995) extended the concept to be a feature of, and measurable at Fig. 3. Employee age by industry.
Source: ABS
the scale of, communities. Empirical studies measuring social
capital of individuals, communities and even nation-states are
common (for an example in regional Australia see Woodhouse,
2006). The ABS undertakes a survey of social capital that includes
information on voluntary work and caring, participation in sport
Table 2
and social and cultural activities, cooperation, reciprocity, trust,
Renewable natural resources for the region.
residential mobility, cultural diversity and living arrangements.
WATER Gl/yr Data, however, are only reported at the national and state scale
Rainfall 87,931 (Trewin, 2006). Special permission would have to be sought to
Transpiration and evaporation 85,771
access data at a more disaggregated scale. Sources of social and
Drainage and run-off 387
economic data that may be relevant have been compiled for the
CARBON kt NLWRA by Smith and Sincock (2004). The attribution of the
Soil organic carbon 906
resource stores of social capital as represented in these surveys
Plant carbon (leaf, wood, roots) 595
to different land uses or sectors, such as mining and pastoralism
Source: NLWRA was not undertaken but the underlying data should exist.
738 C.J. Moran et al. / Resources Policy 38 (2013) 733–744
Manufactured
ABS (2008b) report on the use of manufactured capital for a
number of industry sectors. Data include private new capital
expenditure, e.g., tractor sales. Data can be sourced, as long as
there are sufficient samples in the spatial region of interest, at
region and statistical local area (SLA) levels.
Changes in resources over time (fluxes)
Non-renewable natural
Given the estimate of soil available for pastoralism production
(above) and the depletion rates from Lu et al. (2003) we estimate
that grazing could continue for 1300 years with an acceleration
of soil depletion over pre-European rates of 0.4 t/ha/yr (a total
depletion rate of 1.9 t/ha/yr). On the other hand most of the
existing mines in the region are likely to be depleted within  10
years. However, with additional technology and successful
exploration this is likely to increase.
Renewable natural
The NLWRA provides a good source of information for various
renewable natural resources in the region. Table 4 provides
estimates of some major natural resource fluxes for pastoralism.
It can be seen that addition of fertilizer increases the use of water
to drive increase in net primary productivity. ‘‘Change’’ is the
difference between current and pre-European fluxes. Current
practices are seen to increase net primary productivity, which
supports ongoing increase in landscape production for meat and
wool beyond that which could be produced without the addition
of fertilizer. However, there is also a net increase in the soil plus
plant carbon store. Therefore, the additional primary productivity
is split between a component available for production and a
component sequestered. The amount sequestered in this case is
10% of values reported by Schuman et al. (2002).
Water use by the mining operations can be collected from
mine public reporting through sustainability and other reports. It
is also possible to use a published empirical relationship based on
ore grade (metal content) and production rates (Norgate and
Lovel, 2006). Lower grade implies more rock must be crushed and
ground to liberate the minerals of interest and production rate
represents the throughput of materials. This approach makes an
estimate of so-called embodied water (Norgate and Lovel, 2006;
Younger, 2006; Mudd, 2008). Embodied water mainly consists of
water used in the energy generation process (dominantly cool-
ing). It is possible to estimate water use from the published data
for particular commodities given their production method. Using
this approach, we estimate that  80% of the water use is direct
on the site for the commodities produced in this region. Overall,
we estimate that  13.6 Gl/yr of water is used in mining and
metal concentrating in the region. This is roughly 10% of the
additional water – beyond that used by pre-European ecosystems
– used by pastoralism in the region (Table 4).
Table 4
Natural resource fluxes for pastoralism for the
region.
Evapotransipration total (Gl/yr) 85,771
Evapotranspiration change (Gl/yr) 119
Nitrogen fertiliser (kt/yr) 4 Therefore, overall, the region produces of order $1 billion per
Phosphorus fertiliser (kt/yr) 3 annum of financial capital.
NPP (kt/yr) 11,795
NPP change (kt/yr) 625
‘‘Change’’ refers to the difference between current
estimates and pre_European fluxes. NPP—net
primary productivity.
There are many sources of information available to estimate
energy requirements and use by mining and pastoralism. For
mining, government Energy Opportunity Reports provide one
source, sustainable development reports are another and in some
cases company web sites assist. Mudd (2010) has shown, for gold
and uranium, that these data can be compiled from publically
available information. For pastoralism energy information is
captured in information from ABARES (Australian Bureau of
Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences) on costs of
production and in aggregate contributions to greenhouse gas
emissions. A rough estimate of emissions from the number of
sheep and cattle in the region is  2.5 Mt CO2-e per annum (the
equivalent of nearly 500,000 cars). Peak mines reported  7 kt
CO2-e in 2004 from mobile equipment (based on diesel fuel
consumed) and electric energy (based on kW h purchased).
Manufactured, social and human
Fluxes of manufactured, social and human capital can be
calculated using time-series, such as by comparing census data.
For example, within region comparisons of population and
employment in financial, health and social, and education and
training services appear to demonstrate a relationship with the
regional production scenarios (ABS, 2008a; Castles, 1993a,
1993b)1 . Population is in decline across each of the three sub-
regions (Fig. 4). Both the BHC sub-region (Broken Hill; predomi-
nantly mining) and ML region (Cunamulla; no mining) demon-
strate a decline in the total number of employees in financial
services (privately provided services) and stable, or slight
increases, in employment in health and social, and education
and training services (mostly publicly funded services). In con-
trast the CP sub-region (moderate mining mixed with grazing)
demonstrates sharp, against trend, increases in the total number
of financial, health and social, and education and training services
since 2001 that correlates with increased mining activity. Mining
in Broken Hill on the other hand is at the opposite end of the
mining life-cycle and is experiencing a decline of employment in
services from a previously high base that may be related to
declining mining activity.
Financial
The value of livestock slaughterings and wool at the farmgate
for the Agricultural census year of 2005–2006 for the three
bioregions is $296 million (ABS, 2008c). (Note: data for this
calculation is based on SLA, a higher aggregation than the
Collection Districts that define our sample frame. To correct for
this increased area, we have used an area weighted average for
each SLA).
Recent annual revenue from mines of the region is estimated
to be  $690 million. The production revenue is not available for
all mines for 2009 so the most recent year for each has been used
in the aggregate (Peak mines—2008 and CSA—2007). For all
mines except CSA and Endeavor, revenue was sourced from
annual financial reports. For CSA an estimate was made based
on the spot price of silver (kitco, 2013) for the year production
information could be sourced. The same was done for Endeavor,
using spot prices of silver (kitco, 2013), lead and zinc. Information
was not available for these two mines because company reports
aggregated annual revenue across multiple mining operations.
1
Data is only available at the scale of ABS statistical local areas—a higher
aggregation than the collection districts that our sample frame is based. Data
presented here is for a slightly larger region and should be only interpreted to
indicate trends.
 C.J. Moran et al. / Resources Policy 38 (2013) 733–744
Fig. 4. Population and employment by sub-region.
Source: ABS
Discussion
The results presented above provide some confidence that the
forms of capital could be used as a basis for regional cumulative
effects assessment. The advantages of this being that comparisons
may be more consistent over different studies, time periods and
activities than is currently common. For example, aggregation to
the level of the capital stores is intuitive and relatively straight-
forward. This provides a small and logically-consistent aggregate
indicator set. Interrogation as to the contents of each of the
aggregate indictors is also simple in that there is a logic associated
with membership of one or other capitals stores. Also, the link to
the production system(s) driving the changes in stores and fluxes
of capitals is transparent and traceable. An advantage of this is
that decisions that result in an effect in one of the items in a
capital store can be tracked to changes in others via declaration of
pathways for the connection and identification of the associated
flux indicators.
Use of the forms of capital does not avoid the common difficulty
in regional scale assessments of the spatial unit of representation of
various data sets. Data from different sources and time periods often
cover different spatial extents with different aggregation assump-
tions. Challenges with disaggregation range from the trivial use of
area-weighting to the intractable because of data collection strate-
gies or confidentiality provisions.
Some data gaps exist. It is widely recognized that pastoralism in
this region has led to a significant change in vegetation biodiversity
(e.g., James et al., 1999; Landsberg et al., 2003). However, we were
unable to find a source of spatial data on biodiversity for the region
that could be used to make any assessment. Local information/
mapping would therefore be needed. For mines, this is likely to be
available because of the need to obtain an environmental authority
to operate, which would include the management of biodiversity,
particularly rare and threatened species. For the pastoral areas, this
is not a requirement and therefore the government is the most likely
potential source of information in the future. Some work would be
required to collate the information of manufactured resources for
both activities, but in particular pastoralism. Similarly empirical
739
research may also be required for social resources as the ABS social
capital survey is not reported at a spatial resolution smaller than
states.
However, our proposition on forms of capital was not based so
much upon ubiquitous data constraints, i.e., data issues that
bedevil all regional studies, but rather on the value that might
be gained in terms of a coherent approach to connection between
indicators of cumulative effects. Therefore, we have focused the
discussion below on coupling of indicators within one or other
capital form, coupling between capital forms and the difficult
issue of appropriate units for aggregation and/or comparison of
indicators.
Production driven interactions/coupling between resources
We assume that all effects are driven by the ‘‘cause’’ of non-
renewable resource extraction (soil or ore). We then divide
coupling into two types:
Coupling Type 1: Coupling where the consequence of extraction
is an inevitable impact on another resource. That is, the only
management strategies available are repair or offsetting/replace-
ment (either partial or complete).
Coupling Type 2: Coupling where the manner in which extrac-
tion is undertaken means there is a choice about how much
impact there is upon another resource. Avoidance, mitigation or
enhancement (again either partial or complete) are also viable
strategies as well as those listed for Type 1.
The clearest examples of Type 1 coupling are fixed require-
ments for production. For example, a certain amount of human
and manufactured capital is required for production (labor and
equipment). The provision and maintenance of equipment
requires supporting people and infrastructure often located in
nearby communities. Additional human capital can also have
beneficial effects on social capital by providing critical mass for
maintenance of certain activities and services, e.g., local sporting
infrastructure, teams and coaches. There is a long history of
building of ‘‘community spirit’’ (social capital) in rural and mining
communities. Knack and Keefer (1997) found evidence of a
740 C.J. Moran et al. / Resources Policy 38 (2013) 733–744

positive relationship between indicators of social capital and the
economic performance of market economies. Woodhouse (2006)
found similar evidence in a study of a regional community in
Australia. Equally, less beneficial effects are apparent in some
cases. Anecdotal evidence from a number of mining communities
suggests that mining workforces, perhaps due to shift work or
remote working arrangements (fly-in fly-out or drive-in drive-
out), have little time to participate in community activities and
organizations. This is reflected in data on volunteerism in the
rangelands of the MDB, where employees in the mining sector
volunteer less than those in pastoral sectors or the workforce as a
whole (Table 5). This may be one form of drawdown on social
capital.
Any open cut mining operation must disturb land at least the
size of the area of the pit. In grazing systems there is also a
minimum amount of cleared land required per head of produc-
tion. This creates an inevitable minimum loss of native vegetation
and habitat for biodiversity and/or recreational values, for exam-
ple. Government mandated activities are also examples of inevit-
abilities, e.g., maintenance and/or increase in native vegetation
patches, minimum investment in community programs or even
surfacing of local gravel roads can all build significant social
capital with local communities. In some cases, the additional
amenity for transport may also lead directly to increased access to
town facilities adding to human capital, e.g., safe access to night
schools.
Type 2 coupling includes the intensity or severity of the
requirements of production where there are choices available.
For example, a combination of government policy and mine
planning efficiency dictates the size and shape of mine rock
dumps. The magnitude of visual impact can depend on these
factors. Social capital can be affected by change to visual amenity
and therefore the two are coupled. Coupled impacts on natural
and social effects can result from the specifics of design of these
features of a mine. Equally, in providing medical services or clean
water for a mine the companies may choose to invest more and
deliver services to families or even a broader community than just
those directly employed. In general, contemporary mining com-
choose to use certain materials for maintenance of manufactured
capital that results in more degradation of the manufactured
capital but less impact on the natural capital. Water–oil mixtures
used in certain types of essential underground mining equipment
is an example. Choices by farmers as to what types of herbicides
or fertilizers to use and when to apply them can have coupled
beneficial effects on natural capital in terms of less pollution to
waterways.
Type 2 coupling also includes unintended consequences. An
example of unintended consequences is the presence or spread of
feral animals or weeds in the region as a result of land manage-
ment practices. For example, Fig. 5 shows frequency histograms
of these indicators for the study region. These negative conse-
quences for the natural capital can be enumerated and their
importance assessed to inform decisions on possible investments
required to reverse or control their impacts.
In this region, the mines are all located on or near the sources
of tributaries to the Darling River (Fig. 6). Consequently, any
emissions to the water systems, e.g., sediment or acid/metallifer-
ous drainage, should they be a threat, would have to be assessed
in terms of the potential for down-stream as well as local impacts.
Again, process models can play a role in characterizing these
impacts and thereby provide inputs to the damage relationships
for a mode such as that proposed here.
An unintended consequence of mining in the study region is
that social capital may not be built or may be eroded because
mine workers tend to stay in the community for less time than
the grazing population (Table 6).
The final form of Type 2 coupling is open decisions. Open
decisions represent opportunities for investment from the pro-
ceeds of production (financial capital) in other forms of capital.
Some graziers choose to invest in the quality of riparian areas
with the goal of improving natural capital, which can also have a
0.2
0.18
0.16
0.14
frequency

panies in the study region have developed safety systems (in 0.12
response to the high safety risks that exist in mining). There is 0.1
increasing evidence that the additional safety culture is having 0.08
positive benefits in the agricultural community, which does not, 0.06
0.04
historically, have a strong safety culture resulting in tragic loss of,
0.02
often young, lives. Investment in community safety awareness 0
programmes is one avenue through which this occurs. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
A second form of Type 2 coupling involves trade-off decision- Feral animal density indicator
making. Decision makers choose to invest (or not) in how some-
thing will be done. As indicated earlier, water is a requirement for 0.45
mining and grazing in the region. There are choices as to how 0.4
much water is used in the production processes depending on the 0.35
view of the decision makers regarding the importance of its cost
over its value in an alternative use. If mines do not purchase so 0.3
frequency

much water, which is relatively inexpensive compared to other 0.25

costs of production, water left in the environment or available for
0.2
other uses can contribute to natural and social capital. Mines can
0.15
Table 5 0.1
Volunteering as an indication of involvement in social capital.
0.05
Volunteering Mining employees Pastoralism Total population
0
employees
0 -100
100 -200
200 -300
300 -400
400 -500
500 -600
600 -700
700 -800
800 -900
900 -1000
1000 -1100
1100 -1200
1200 -1300
1300 -1400
1400 -1500
1500 -1600
1600 -1700
1700 -1800
1800 -1900
1900 -2000

Volunteer 254 (18%) 601 (35%) 8,552 (25%)

Not a volunteer 1171 (82%) 1118 (65%) 25,136 (75%)

Source: ABS. Figures do not include ‘not stated’ and ‘not applicable’ responses. Data weed density indicator
is applicable to persons aged 15 and over, and relates to employees and their
families. Fig. 5. Indicators of environmental damage as a result of pastoralism.
 C.J. Moran et al. / Resources Policy 38 (2013) 733–744 741

Fig. 6. MDB Rivers and Water Storages near study mines showing that the mines near Cobar are all at the headwaters of rivers upstream of the Darling River.

not propose this as an intrinsic valuation but rather as a basis for

Table 6 comparison, aggregation and/or trade-off analyses should they be
Transience as a measure of human resources fluxes. deemed an important part of a regional assessment of cumulative
impacts. From above, the management strategies associated with
Transience Mining Pastoralism Total
the coupling are as follows: avoid, mitigate, enhance, repair,
(1 year) employees employees population
offset/replace. Our proposition is that the costs associated with
Same address 1122 (77%) 1551 (90%) 38,014 (85%) the implementation of these strategies are used as the basis for
Elsewhere 328 (23%) 176 (10%) 6,497 (15%) monetizing resource stores and fluxes. Moran et al. (2008)
Transience Mining Pastoralism Total illustrated this approach in their development of a risk-based
(5 year) employees employees population approach to estimating the true or full value of water in mining
Same address 650 (48%) 1270 (76%) 26,323 (67%) operations and surrounding environment and communities. With
Elsewhere 709 (52%) 398 (24%) 13,049 (33%)
this approach it is assumed that if there is no decision to be made,
Source: ABS. Figures do not include ‘not stated’ and ‘not applicable’ responses. Data i.e., there is no change to a resource store of flux, then it is not
is applicable to persons aged 15 and over, and relates to employees and their necessary to represent it in a common currency (even though it
families. may be possible and helpful for comparison purposes).
For manufactured resources quantification is relatively
positive feedback on the land productivity for production from straightforward and is a standard of accounting systems in terms
grazing. Equally, graziers may choose not to develop certain parts of maintenance, depreciation and replacement.
of their land to protect them. Again, riparian vegetation is an For natural capital we have to rely upon the experience of
example. This may be a significant decision in areas where the decades of ecosystem restoration and offset permitting. Cost esti-
richest soil and underground water access is available in these mates for revegetation and/or restoration of ecosystems have been
zones. Mines and grazing families or companies also have con- used as the basis of prioritizing investment for greatest impact (e.g.,
siderable choices regarding their participating in the provision of Lu et al., 2004). We do not know all we need to know about all
education and other facilities, e.g., sporting, recreational or ecosystems. However, we do know sufficient to approach the
medical for individuals and community groups. estimation procedure and to hone down on true costs through the
implementation over time. Some aspects of restoration are more
A common currency for aggregation and comparison of capitals challenging. For example, replacement of ecosystems does not deal
with extinction losses. However, it must also be noted that the cost
The above discussion provides a structure for identifying of conservation of existing rare and threatened species in the region
coupling within and between resources. In some cases it is can be determined because mining companies are currently
helpful, necessary even, to quantify rather than simply identify required to undertake the expenditure require to do so. Spatial
examples of coupling. This raises the key factor that limits extrapolation (with appropriate ecological expertise advising extent
development of a formal coupling approach. Unlike thermody- and locations of best investment outcomes) of these costs provides a
namics, in which matter and energy transfers and changes in workable estimate.
stores are the standard approach, aspects of the full set of Human resources provide some challenges associated with the
resources have no common currency. A common currency would variation between individuals. That is, for human capital, while it
allow the relative impacts, aggregation and/or merits or trade-offs may cost more-or-less the same for an individual to succeed in
to be simply compared. achieving a qualification to a particular level, the skills that are
We propose that a common currency for understanding the carried as a result and the quality of their application vary.
conversions and interactions between resources is money. We do Acknowledging this, education costs would appear to be a
742 C.J. Moran et al. / Resources Policy 38 (2013) 733–744
Table A1
Sources of data for the compilations that are presented throughout the paper.
Source/custodian Source ref. Data set
w CSIRO National Land www. Soil thickness for Australian areas of
and Water Resources environment. intensive agriculture.
Audit gov.au/atlas Soil bulk density for Australian areas of
intensive agriculture.
Hillslope erosion rates for present and Lu, H., Gallant, J., Prosser, I.P., Moran, C., Priestley. (2001). Prediction of Sheet
pre-1788
Mean annual nitrogen fertilization
Mean annual phosphorus fertilization
Mean annual runoff for Present and Pre- Raupach, M.R., Kirby, J.M., Barrett, D.J., Briggs, P.R. (2001). Balances of Water,
1788
Mean annual evapo-transpiration for
present and pre-1788
Mean annual deep drainage for present
and pre-1788
Mean annual and monthly net primary
production for present and pre-1788
Mean annual store of carbon in plant
biomass for present and pre-1788
Mean annual store of soil organic
carbon for present and pre-1788
Feral animal density indicator
Weed density indicator
f Australian Bureau of http://www. Population
Statistics abs.gov.au/ Age (10 year age groups (AGEP)
Sex (SEXP)
Indigenous status (INGP)
Industry of employment (IND06P)
– Mining
– Pastoralism
– Financial and insurance services
– Education and training
– Health and social services
Labor force status (LFS06P)
Highest year of school completed (HSCP) Statistical Districts and VOLWP Voluntary Work for an Organization or Group
Usual address one year ago indicator
(UAI1P)
Usual address five years ago indicator
(UAI5P)
Volunteerism
Employment in industry time series
Historical population figures
Australian Standard Geographical
Classification Digital Boundaries,
Australia, 2006
Census Geographic Areas, Australia 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006, Census Geographic Areas (Australia), CD
Data set reports.
McKenzie NJ, Jacquier DW, Ashton LJ, Cresswell HP (2000). Estimation of Soil
Properties using the Atlas of Australian Soils. Technical Report 11/00. CSIRO
Land & Water, Canberra, Australia
and Rill Erosion over the Australian Continent, Incorporating Monthly Soil
Loss Distribution. Technical Report 13/01, CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra,
Australia. Available at http://www.clw.csiro.au/publications/technical2001/
tr13-01.pdf
Reuter, D.J. (2001). Nutrients—Farm Gate Nutrient Balances. Australian
National Land and Water Audit 2001. Available at http://audit.ea.gov.au/
ANRA/land/farmgate/Nutrient_Balance.pdf
Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Australian Landscapes:
(1) ProjectDescription and Results. CSIRO Land and Water, Tech. Rep. 40/01.
Raupach, M.R., Kirby, J.M., Barrett, D.J., Briggs, P.R., Lu, H., Zhang, L. (2001).
Balances of Water, Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Australian
Landscapes: (2) Model Formulation and Testing. CSIRO Land and Water, Tech.
Rep. 41/01.
J. Walker, S. Veitch, T. Dowling, R. Braaten, L. Guppy, N. Herron, Assessment of
Catchment Condition: The Intensive Land Use Zone in Australia, CSIRO Land
and Water, Canberra, Australia (2002) 37 pp.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008, 2006 Census of Population and Housing.
Data tables retrieved from Table Builder [Online] Available: http://www.abs.
gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/Census þdata Tables:
Statistical Districts by IND06P Industry of Employment (ANZSIC06) and AGEP
Age (10 Year Groups)
Census Collection District (CD) by Indigenous Status (INGP)
Census Collection District (CD) by Industry of Employment (ANZSIC06)
(IND06P)
Statistical Districts and UAI1P Usual Address One Year Ago Indicator by
IND06P Industry of Employment (ANZSIC06)
Statistical Districts and UAI5P Usual Address Five Years Ago Indicator by
IND06P Industry of Employment (ANZSIC06)
by IND06P Industry of Employment (ANZSIC06)
Retrieved at the scale of collection district (CD) for all CDs with 450% area in
rangelands boundary.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007, 2006 Community Profile Series by
Location (Time Series Profile, 1996–2006 ). Cat. no. 2003.0 Available at:
http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au
Balonne (S) (SLA 325050300) Barcoo (S) (SLA 335050450) Bland (A) (SLA
140150800) Bogan (A) (SLA 135100950) Booringa (S) (SLA 325050850)
Bourke (A) (SLA 135151150) Bourke (A) (SLA 135151150) Brewarrina (A)
(SLA 135151200) Broken Hill (C) (SLA 160101250) Bulloo (S) (SLA
325051750) Carrathool (A) (SLA 150151600) Central Darling (A) (SLA
160101700) Cobar (A) (SLA 135151750) Lachlan (A) (SLA 140154600)
Murweh (S) (SLA 325055600) Paroo (S) (SLA 325055800) Quilpie (S) (SLA
325056150) Unincorp. Far West (SLA 160108809) Warroo (S) (SLA
325057200)
Tables: T01 Selected persons characteristics for time series T25 Industry of
Employment (a) by sex for time series
Census of Population and Housing, 1991. Cat. no. 2101.0
Census of Population and Housing, 1986. Cat. no. 2102.0
Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/
Census þ data
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009, Australian Standard Geographical
Classification Digital Boundaries 2006 GDA94 (Australia), CD ROM, Cat. no.
1259.0.30.002
ROM, Cat. no. 2923.0.30.001
Available from ABS geography department upon request.
 C.J. Moran et al. / Resources Policy 38 (2013) 733–744
Table A1 (continued )
Social capital
Agricultural commodities:
Livestock—total number
Livestock slaughterings
Livestock value of agricultural
commodities produced (VACP)
Mining and agricultural business
turnover
reasonable estimation of the human skills with weighting for
years of experience. Given that labor costs are partly set through
an open market system, potential income associated with a
particular role is also a reasonable way to estimate contribution
to replacement costs.
Social resources are a challenge because expenditure to pro-
vide the wherewithal for the development of social resources
does not guarantee that the social capital will develop (Ballet
et al. 2007). The availability of people, personalities and histories,
for example, can play a major role. Similarly, it may be that
different cultural contexts mean that the same investment in one
location will not result in the same magnitude of social resources
being developed as another. This can be considered analogous to
the common biodiversity ‘‘field of dreams’’ cliché. That is, we
hope that social scientists and practitioners are sufficiently skilled
to work with communities to ensure that investments do have a
good chance of success. In this regard, the acquisition/replace-
ment cost can be an approximation of the social resource store for
monetization.
The issue of monetization of resource stores remains a philo-
sophical challenge for many people. This is often because mon-
etization is equated to intrinsic valuation. Moran et al. (2008)
challenge this. They claim that the time monetization is required
on a resource store is when someone has to make a decision about
expenditure. If there is no expenditure decision to be made, then
there is no need to attach a monetary magnitude on the resource.
(There may be, by some, a desire for this, but that is a different
matter). However, if an expenditure decision is required, then
money is the appropriate currency. We do not claim this is free of
complications or moral dilemmas. However, we feel that a move
to a common and consistent currency is more benefit than cost.
Attempts to mix different currencies or use other common
currencies, e.g., exergy (Krotscheck and Narodoslawsky, 1996),
have merit but are more of a strategic research topic than a
barrier to implementation for pragmatic applied decision making.
Finally, the use of monetization does not mean that resource
stocks and fluxes have to be recorded and managed in this
manner. It remains acceptable to categorize and list the resources
in terms of their direct manifestation (whether physical, aesthetic
or spiritual) so that people do not become distanced from them
when decision making or overall accounting is required. That is,
the reality of the resources should not be replaced by a monetary
statement but rather should be accompanied by one. In this way,
the assessment of cumulative impacts and decisions that relate to
their minimization (degradations of the resources) or maximiza-
tion (accumulation of benefits) do not become abstracted from
the reality of what actually constitutes the resource stores.
743
Aspects of social capital, Australia, 2006, (reissue). Cat.no. 4911.0.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008, Agricultural Survey 2005-06,
Agricultural Commodities: Small Area Data, Australia 2005-06 (reissue). Cat.
no. 7125.0. [Online] Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/
mf/7125.0
Data Cubes [Excel spreadsheet]: NSW SLA Livestock QLD SLA Livestock NSW
SLA VACP Livestock QLD SLA VACP Livestock
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009, Australian Industry, 2007-08. Cat. no
8155.0 [online] Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/
8155.0
Data Cubes [Excel spreadsheet]: Mining Commodities, 2001–02 to 2007–08.
Tables: Table 1 Commodities Produced by Quantity; States, Northern
Territory and Australia; 2001–02 to 2007–08 Table 2 Commodities Produced
by Value ($m); States, Northern Territory and Australia; 2001–02 to 2007–08
Conclusions
It has been accepted that the connection between activities
and resources in a region are important for regional cumulative
impacts assessment. The familiar five forms of capital framework
has been proposed as the basis for selection and measurement of
indicators of states of the system and their changes over time.
Data have been presented for two major land uses, rangelands
grazing and mining, over three regions of significant spatial
extent. We conclude that very useful data can be collected
relatively easily and that in some cases rates of change are also
available. It is concluded that this partial coupling via the
formality of the five capitals has advantages over unconstrained
indicator selection but in turn does not seem to constrain what
can be represented. A method for categorizing coupling and a
pragmatic basis for representing resources in a common currency
has been proposed. We conclude that this sets a reasonable basis
upon which to base research on more formal mathematical
coupling of the forms of capital.
Acknowledgements
We thank Pilippa Hall and Tamar Cohen for assistance in data
collection. Dr G Mudd from Monash University kindly provided
historical mine production and metal content data.
Appendix A
See Table A1
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