Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

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

  • Original Article
  • Published:
The European Journal of Development Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. ‘Artisanal’ mining is a non-mechanized, manual mode of production, which is highly labour-intensive, but does require relatively little capital investment. The difference between artisanal and small-scale mining is that the former may involve only individuals and families and is purely manual, whereas the latter, to a certain extent, is mechanized and may involve small companies. ‘Industrial’ production on the other hand is both large-scale and mechanized. It does require a lot of capital, but needs a smaller labour force per unit of production. In the literature, ‘artisanal’ and ‘small-scale’ are sometimes used interchangeably. We will adhere in this article to ‘artisanal’ mining as this is more appropriate for labelling activities in the DRC, although the miners we have studied may make use of small machines like water pumps and compressors.

  2. For a discussion of formalization in the DRC, see Geenen, 2012.

  3. The Journal of International Development (n.23) had a special issue on the linkages between subsistence farming and artisanal mining. Rachel Perks (2011) wrote a contribution on exit options out of artisanal mining in the DRC.

  4. For some of the more recent publications, see Enough (2009), Global Witness (2009), Human Rights Watch (2005), International Alert (2009), Pole Institute (2010), Prendergast and Lezhnev (2009), Spittaels and Hilgert (2008), Sullivan and Atama (2010) and the reports of the UN Group of Experts.

  5. In the east, this is a relatively recent process, whereas in the province of Katanga, with its large reserves in copper and cobalt, the industrial revival started earlier (Cuvelier, 2011).

  6. The names of all interviewees have been anonymized. For previous analyses of, respectively, gold exploitation and trade, see Geenen (2011a, 2011b).

  7. This section is based on archival work (archives of the Royal Museum for Central Africa and personal archives of a former Sominki director).

  8. Laurent Kabila handed the abovementioned concessions over to the state-owned company Somico in 1998. Banro took this matter to the USA Federal Court for Foreign Sovereign Immunities, disputing the loss of Sominki's concessions and demanding a compensation of US$ 1 billion. However, on 16 January President Laurent Kabila was murdered and succeeded by his son Joseph. During the new president's visit to the United States, Banro invited the Congolese government to negotiate a ‘gentlemen's agreement’, which was eventually signed on 18 April 2002. The agreement restored all titles and rights to Banro, but on the ground the context was still uncertain and violent.

  9. The same distribution system is used in other contexts; see Jønsson and Fold (2009, p. 217).

  10. We managed to identify at least 90 per cent of all operational buying offices. We did not identify the local traders who are operating besides the buying offices and combining the purchase of gold with other economic activities, such as women who are selling food at the market, but who also buy and sell gold. The differentiation between ‘big’ and ‘small’ offices is made on the basis of different pieces of information obtained during fieldwork: over 60 interviews with local traders (asking people to mention the ‘big traders’ in town), a survey carried out among 20 buying offices, interviews with local state agents, observations. The ‘size’ of a buying office must be understood in terms of purchased volumes.

  11. Data from local division of the Mining Administration, August 2009.

  12. Interviews with traders in Bukavu. The formulas are fixed and guide the price-setting, although not all individual traders use these formulas.

  13. As our article focuses on the local level, we will not provide more details. For more information see different reports of the UN Group of Experts on the DRC: www.un.org/sc/committees/1533/egroup.shtml.

References

  • Andrew, J.S. (2003) Potential application of mediation to land use conflicts in small-scale mining. Journal of Cleaner Production 11 (2): 117–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ballard, C. and Banks, G. (2003) Resource wars: The anthropology of mining. Annual Review of Anthropology 32 (1): 287–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banchirigah, S.M. (2008) Challenges with eradicating illegal mining in Ghana: A perspective from the grassroots. Resources Policy 33: 29–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barry, M. (ed.) (1996) Regularizing informal mining. A summary of the proceedings of the International Roundtable on Artisanal Mining Organized by the World Bank, Washington, D.C., May 17–19, 1995. Washington, The World Bank, Industry and Energy Department.

  • Bebbington, A., Hinojosa, L., Humphreys Bebbington, D., Burneo, M.L. and Warnaars, X. (2008) Contention and ambiguity: Mining and the possibilities of development. Development and Change 39 (6): 887–914.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryceson, D.F. and Jønsson, J.B. (2010) Gold digging careers in rural East Africa: Small-scale miners’ livelihood choices. World Development 38 (3): 379–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bulambo Katambu, A. (2002) Capitalisme minier et droits de l’homme en RDCongo. La croisade des Nindja contre la Société Minière et Industrielle du Kivu. Huy (Belgium): Les Editions du Trottoir.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, B. (ed.) (2009) Introduction. In: Mining in Africa. Regulation and Development. London and New York: Pluto Press, pp. 1–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuvelier, J. (2011) Between hammer and anvil: The predicament of artisanal miners in Katanga. In: A. Ansoms and S. Marysse (eds.) Natural Resources and Local Livelihoods in the Great Lakes Region in Africa: A Political Economy Perspective. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave MacMillan, pp. 215–236.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). (2002) Loi no 007/2002 du 11 juillet 2002 portant Code Minier.

  • Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). (2003) Décret no 038/2003 du 26 mars 2003 portant Règlement Minier.

  • Enough. (2009) A Comprehensive Approach to Congo's Conflict Minerals. Washington DC: Enough Project.

  • Fisher, E., Mwaipopo, R., Mutagwaba, W., Nyagne, D. and Yaron, G. (2009) ‘The ladder that sends us to wealth’: Artisanal mining and poverty reduction in Tanzania. Resources Policy 34 (1): 32–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrett, N. and Mitchell, H. (2009) Trading Conflict for Development. London: Resource Consulting Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geenen, S. (2011a) Constraints, opportunities and hope: Artisanal gold mining and trade in South Kivu (DRC). In: A. Ansoms and S. Marysse (eds.) Natural Resources and Local Livelihoods in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. A Political Economy Perspective. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 192–214.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Geenen, S. (2011b) Relations and regulations in local gold trade networks in South-Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. Journal of Eastern African Studies 5 (3): 427–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geenen, S. (2012) A dangerous bet. The challenges of formalizing artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Resources Policy, doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2012.02.004.

  • Geertz, C. (1978) The bazaar economy: Information and search in peasant marketing. The American Economic Review 68 (2): 28–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Global Witness. (2009) Faced with a Gun, What Can You Do? War and the Militarization of Mining in Eastern Congo. London: Global Witness.

  • Grätz, T. (2009) Moralities, risk and rules in West African artisanal gold mining communities: A case study of northern Benin. Resources Policy 34 (1): 12–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffiths, J. (1986) What is legal pluralism? Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 24 (1): 1–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, K. (1988) Kinship, contract, and trust: The economic organization of migrants in an African city slum. In: D. Gambetta (ed.) Trust. Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations. New York, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 176–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hentschel, T., Hruschka, F. and Priester, M. (2003) Artisanal and Small-scale Mining. Challenges and Opportunities. London: International Institute for Environment and Development [IIED].

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilson, G. (2002) An overview of land use conflicts in mining communities. Land Use Policy 19 (1): 65–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilson, G. (2009) Small-scale mining, poverty and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa: An overview. Resources Policy 34 (1): 1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilson, G. (2010a) ‘Once a miner, always a miner’: Poverty and livelihood diversification in Akwatia, Ghana. Journal of Rural Studies 26 (3): 296–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilson, G. (2010b) Child labour in African artisanal mining communities: Experiences from Northern Ghana. Development and Change 41 (3): 445–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilson, G. (2011) Artisanal mining, smallholder farming and livelihood diversification in rural Sub-Saharan Africa: An introduction. Journal of International Development 23 (8): 1031–1041.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilson, G. and Yakovleva, N. (2007) Strained relations: A critical analysis of the mining conflict in Prestea, Ghana. Political Geography 26 (1): 98–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinton, J.J., Veiga, M.M. and Veiga, A.T.C. (2003) Clean artisanal gold mining: A utopian approach? Journal of Cleaner Production 11 (2): 100–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Human Rights Watch. (2005) The Curse of Gold. Democratic Republic of Congo. New York: Human Rights Watch.

  • International Alert. (2009) Etude sur le rôle de l’exploitation des ressources naturelles dans l’alimentation et la perpétuation des crises de l’Est de la RDC. London: International Alert.

  • Jønsson, J.B. and Fold, N. (2009) Handling uncertainty: Policy and organizational practices in Tanzania's small-scale gold mining sector. Natural Resources Forum 33 (3): 211–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitula, A.G.N. (2006) The environmental and socio-economic impacts of mining on local livelihoods in Tanzania: A case study of Geita district. Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (3–4): 405–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyon, F. and Porter, G. (2007) Market institutions, trust and norms: Exploring moral economies in Nigerian food systems. Cambridge Journal of Economics 33 (5): 903–920.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazalto, M. (2009) Governance, human rights and mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In: B. Campbell (ed.) Mining in Africa. Regulation and Development. London and New York: Pluto Press, pp. 187–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meinzen-Dick, R.S. and Pradhan, R. (2002) Legal Pluralism and Dynamic Property Rights. Washington: International Food Policy Research Institute [IFPRI].

    Google Scholar 

  • Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD). (2002) Breaking New Ground: Mining, Minerals, and Sustainable Development. London: Earthscan Publications for IIED and WBCSD.

  • Perks, R. (2011) ‘Can I go?’ exiting the artisanal mining sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Journal of International Development 23 (8): 1115–1127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pijpers, R.J. (2010) Busting diamonds, booming gold: Crisis, gender, and money in the Sierra Leone mining sector. In: C. Panella (ed.) Worlds of Debts. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Gold Mining in West Africa. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Rozenberg Publishers, pp. 79–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pole Institute. (2010) Blood Minerals. The Criminalization of the Mining Industry in Eastern DRC. Goma (DRC): Pole Institute.

  • Prendergast, J. and Lezhnev, S. (2009) From Mine to Mobile Phone. The Conflict Minerals Supply Chain. Washington DC: Enough Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ribot, J.C. and Peluso, N.L. (2003) A theory of access. Rural Sociology 68 (2): 153–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sikor, T. and Lund, C. (2009) Access and property: A question of power and authority. Development and Change 40 (1): 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spittaels, S. and Hilgert, F. (2008) Mapping Conflict Motives: Eastern DRC. Antwerp, Belgium: IPIS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, D. and Atama, N. (2010) Digging in. Recent Developments on Conflict Minerals. Washington DC: Enough Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vlassenroot, K. and Raeymaekers, T. (2004) Divisé en deux. Or et identité sociale à Kamituga (Sud-Kivu). In: S. Marysse and F. Reyntjens (eds.) L’Afrique des Grands Lacs, Annuaire 2003–2004. Paris: L’Harmattan.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Benda-Beckmann, K. (1981) Forum shopping and shopping forums: Dispute processing in Minangkabau village. Journal of Legal Pluralism (19): 117–159.

  • Werthmann, K. (2009) Working in a boom-town: Female perspectives on gold mining in Burkina Faso. Resources Policy 34: 18–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2008) Democratic Republic of Congo. Growth with Governance in the Mining Sector, Oil, Gas, Mining and Chemicals Department, Africa Region. Washington: World Bank. Report No. 43402-ZR.

Download references

Acknowledgements

I especially thank my research assistants Gabriel Kamundala, Francine Iragi, Alliance Mango, Elly Habibu, as well as all interviewees. I am grateful for the valuable comments and insights from two anonymous reviewers and from An Ansoms and Stefaan Marysse.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Development Policy and Management (IOB), University of Antwerp, Antwerpen

    Sara Geenen

Authors
  1. Sara Geenen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

This article has been developed from a paper originally presented at the EADI-DSA 2011 Annual Conference: ‘Rethinking Development in an Age of Scarcity and Uncertainty’, York, 19–22 September 2011.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Geenen, S. ‘Who Seeks, Finds’: How Artisanal Miners and Traders Benefit from Gold in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Eur J Dev Res 25, 197–212 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2012.19

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2012.19

Keywords

Search

Navigation