‘Who Seeks, Finds’: How Artisanal Miners and Traders Benefit from Gold in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Sara Geenen ()
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Sara Geenen: Institute of Development Policy and Management (IOB), University of Antwerp, Antwerpen.

The European Journal of Development Research, 2013, vol. 25, issue 2, 197-212

Abstract: In a context of intensifying struggles to secure access to mineral resources, governments systematically endorse large-scale mining. In many regions, though, artisanal mining is a very important livelihood, from which different groups of people derive benefits. Understanding the micro-functioning of this sector, and thus understanding how people gain access to mineral resources, is a primary task for development actors. This article seeks to describe and analyse empirically how people benefit from artisanal mining and trade and which institutions and power relations shape their ability to benefit. Using the gold mines in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as a case study, the article demonstrates that artisanal miners and traders not only face constraints but also seize opportunities through forum shopping, personal relations and ‘informal’ norms. It also shows how people use ‘access mechanisms’ to secure access to the gold and to mitigate the uncertainties created by the particular institutional context.Dans un contexte où les luttes pour sécuriser l’accès aux ressources minérales s’intensifient, les gouvernements soutiennent systématiquement l’exploitation minière à grande échelle. Pourtant, dans de nombreuses régions, l’exploitation minière artisanale est un moyen de subsistance très important, bénéficiant différents groupes. Comprendre le micro-fonctionnement de ce secteur et comment leurs acteurs accèdent aux ressources minérales est essentiel pour le développement. Cet article a pour but de décrire et d’analyser empiriquement comment les populations tirent profit de l’exploitation et du commerce miniers, et quelles institutions et relations de pouvoir façonnent leur capacité à en bénéficier. En utilisant les mines d’or de l’est de la République démocratique du Congo comme étude de cas, nous démontrons que les petits exploitants miniers font certes face à des contraintes, mais peuvent également saisir de nouvelles opportunités par l’intermédiaire de relations personnelles, d’exploitation de normes ‘informelles’, et des processus de surenchère. Nous examinons également comment les populations concernées utilisent certains ‘mécanismes d’accès’ pour sécuriser l’accès à l’or et lutter contre les incertitudes propres au contexte institutionnel.

Date: 2013
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