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When miners become “foreigners”: Competing categorizations within gold mining spaces in Guinea

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  • Bolay, Matthieu

Abstract

Drawing on ethnographic research and problem-centered interviews in Guinean mining areas, this paper presents a comparative reading of the conflicting conceptions of what constitutes a “mining community.” First, I explore how independent artisanal miners describe and identify their activity. The weight of autochthony conventions is discussed concerning their insertion both in the mining fields and in their living locations. Second, I focus the case study on how the corporate social responsibility (CSR) interventions toward the mining community, commissioned by a gold mining company in Guinea, are interpreted by the artisanal miners. The analysis of the deployed discourses and related interventions delineate what is defined as the mining community in CSR programs, and how these interventions shape new understandings of the company׳s territory among the miners.

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  • Bolay, Matthieu, 2014. "When miners become “foreigners”: Competing categorizations within gold mining spaces in Guinea," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 117-127.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:40:y:2014:i:c:p:117-127
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2014.02.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gavin Hilson & Mark Hirons & Laurent E. Cartier & Michael Bürge, 2011. "Agriculture And Artisanal Gold Mining In Sierra Leone: Alternatives Or Complements?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(8), pages 1080-1099, November.
    2. Nyame, Frank K. & Andrew Grant, J. & Yakovleva, Natalia, 2009. "Perspectives on migration patterns in Ghana's mining industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1-2), pages 6-11.
    3. John Sharp, 2006. "Corporate social responsibility and development: An anthropological perspective," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 213-222.
    4. Gavin Hilson & Mark Hirons & Roy Maconachie, 2011. "Re‐Agrarianising Livelihoods In Post‐Conflict Sierra Leone? Mineral Wealth And Rural Change In Artisanal And Small‐Scale Mining Communities," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(8), pages 1054-1067, November.
    5. Gilberthorpe, Emma & Banks, Glenn, 2012. "Development on whose terms?: CSR discourse and social realities in Papua New Guinea's extractive industries sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 185-193.
    6. Bryceson, Deborah Fahy & Jønsson, Jesper Bosse, 2010. "Gold Digging Careers in Rural East Africa: Small-Scale Miners' Livelihood Choices," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 379-392, March.
    7. Cris Beauchemin & Philippe Bocquier, 2004. "Migration and Urbanisation in Francophone West Africa: An Overview of the Recent Empirical Evidence," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(11), pages 2245-2272, October.
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    1. Engels, Bettina, 2016. "Mining conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa: Actors and repertoires of contention," GLOCON Working Paper Series 2, Freie Universität Berlin, Junior Research Group "Global Change – Local Conflicts?" (GLOCON).
    2. Didier Ruedin, 2021. "Decision-Making Under Uncertainty: African Migrants in the Spotlight," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 182-185.
    3. Hilson, Gavin & Hilson, Abigail & Maconachie, Roy, 2018. "Opportunity or necessity? Conceptualizing entrepreneurship at African small-scale mines," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 286-302.
    4. Katz-Lavigne, Sarah, 2020. "Distributional impact of corporate extraction and (un)authorised clandestine mining at and around large-scale copper- and cobalt-mining sites in DR Congo," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    5. Matthieu Bolay, 2021. "Disentangling Mining and Migratory Routes in West Africa: Decisions to Move in Migranticised Settings," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 235-246.
    6. Devenin, Veronica & Bianchi, Constanza, 2019. "Characterizing a mining space: Analysis from case studies in Chile and Australia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Didier Ruedin, 2021. "Decision-Making Under Uncertainty: African Migrants in the Spotlight," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 182-185.
    8. Bester, Vidette, 2022. "A corporate social responsibility conceptual framework to address artisanal gold mining in South Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Huggins, Christopher & Kinyondo, Abel, 2019. "Resource nationalism and formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining in Tanzania: Evidence from the tanzanite sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    10. Peter Davis Sumo, 2019. "Impacts of Ebola on Supply Chains in MRB Countries: Using Liberia as a Case Study," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 8(3), pages 122-139, May.
    11. Bester, Vidette & Groenewald, Liela, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and artisanal mining: Towards a fresh South African perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).

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