Testimonial evidence
- the identity of the group or individuals operating the mine (or other sites for resource extraction);
- the nature of the operations, including when they commenced, how the operations took place, how the resources were moved out (and to whom they were sold);
- the circumstances under which the company gained access to or took over operations of the resources;
- the impact of the company taking control of the local community;
- the nature of payments or other contributions by the company to the community and to the local (formal) authorities;
- any threats or violence by the company, or its contracted security providers, in relation to access, control and operation of the resources;
- any threats or violence by local security forces (whether formal or informal) in relation to access, control and operation of the resources, and of relationships between the company and those forces:
- Sources may include workers at the site; community members; government officials (especially local government; and finance officials such as taxation or customs); transport officials (nearby airport or air traffic controllers; rail officials…); suppliers of materiel; customers of the company.
Documentary evidence
- Documents relating to the extraction of resources (e.g. regulatory filings, tax or royalty documentation);
- trade records demonstrating the export of resources (e.g. bills of lading, export records, import records, customs documentation, tax or excise documentation, third party trade databases, shipping records);
- financial records demonstrating payments made by or to the company regarding its operations in the relevant country;
- legislation or public records demonstrating ownership of the resources in question;
- statements by formal government authorities on whether company was authorized to use the resources;
- agreement granting access to or licensing of the resources (especially if with armed group);
- regulatory filings or annual reports making statements on operations in country in question;
- internal corporate documentation discussing access to and operation of the resources (board meeting minutes, agendas, emails…);
- other statements or press releases by the company or its executives;
- audit records of the company and of its customers;
- travel records of company personnel, if indicating travel to the region or location of the resources;
- documentation from suppliers of the company (especially provision of heavy machinery, chemicals, key transport services), including maintenance contracts or supply of spare parts.
Physical evidence
- Samples of the resources extracted;
- scientific analysis of resources, to corroborate origin;
- samples of nearby water or land (which may indicate chemicals used in certain extractive processes).
Digital evidence
- Geospatial (satellite) imagery showing establishment, operation and expansion of the mine or other facility extracting or exploiting the resources;
- imagery showing operations (extraction, company personnel or vehicles, transport of resources…);
- emails or social media posts by company personnel or local population indicating operations and identity of individuals or groups present.
