The politics of minion: Foreign direct investment, the state and artisanal mining in Tanzania.

Abstract

This chapter focusses on the recent growth in Tanzania’s gold mining industry led by the influx of foreign capital and large scale mining (LSM) efforts, exploring the ensuing consequences on the local artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. Building upon the theoretical underpinning of political anthropology, the discussion considers the active role played by state elite in orchestrating and controlling FDI flows in the mining sector and the contentious articulation between ASM and (LSM) mining interests. The rapid development of LSM activities in countries such as Tanzania has created a situation where ASM interests in terms of access to land and protection of labour are increasingly excluded from political interest and discourse.

Citation

Bourgouin, F. The politics of minion: Foreign direct investment, the state and artisanal mining in Tanzania. In: Mining and social transformation in Africa: Mineralizing and democratizing trends in artisanal production. Routledge, Abingdon, UK (2014) 148-160. ISBN 9780415833707

The politics of minion: Foreign direct investment, the state and artisanal mining in Tanzania.

Published 1 January 2014