An ethical turn in African mining: voluntary regulation through fair trade

In recent decades there has been an ethical turn in expectations of how African mineral production and trade should be conducted. Good labour conditions, the absence of conflict and mining’s potential for securing economic, social and environmental benefits are being demanded in the jewellery trade. As a consequence the quality of precious and semi-precious metals and gemstones is now being judged on their ethical credentials in addition to their aesthetic and mineral qualities. Mineral production for industrial manufacture, particularly in the electronics industry, is also coming under scrutiny. Adding value through ethics is closely associated with the use of voluntary (non-state) regulation. This includes standards and associated certification and labels, which have been widely adopted by the minerals and metals sector in efforts to ensure improvements in the social and environmental conditions of production and to enable access to the profitable and expanding global ‘ethical market’. In this chapter, we focus on ethical trading schemes that incorporate voluntary regulation, by using artisanal gold mining in Tanzania and the sale of gold through international fair trade markets as an exemplar to consider the development dynamics that emerge from ethical schemes.

Artisanal mining's democratizing directions and deviations

Artisanal miners have tended to be portrayed in the literature and media as people who work hard and play hard, not infrequently depicted as ‘rough diamonds’ likely to cross the boundaries of appropriate behaviour through pursuit of wealth and flamboyant living, often at the cost of local environmental damage. A popular alternative image is that of marginalised labourers, driven by poverty to toil in harsh conditions and pursuing mining livelihoods in the face of national governments and large-scale mining companies’ subversion of their land and mineral rights. Both views reflect partial realities, but are inclined to exaggerate the position of miners as mischief-making rogues or victims. Through documentation of the multi-faceted nature of Tanzanian artisanal miners’ work and home lives during the country’s on-going economic mineralisation, we endeavour to convey a balanced rendering of their aspirations, occupational identity and social ties. Our emphasis is on their working lives as artisans, how they organise themselves and contend with the risks of their occupation, including their engagement with government policy and large-scale mining interests.

Occupying the margins: Labour integration and social exclusion in artisanal mining in Tanzania

This article examines the marginal position of artisanal miners in sub-Saharan Africa, and considers how they are incorporated into mineral sector change in the context of institutional and legal integration. Taking the case of diamond and gold mining in Tanzania, the concept of social exclusion is used to explore the consequences of marginalization on people's access to mineral resources and ability to make a living from artisanal mining. Because existing inequalities and forms of discrimination are ignored by the Tanzanian state, the institutionalization of mineral titles conceals social and power relations that perpetuate highly unequal access to resources. The article highlights the complexity of these processes, and shows that while legal integration can benefit certain wealthier categories of people, who fit into the model of an 'entrepreneurial small-scale miner', for others adverse incorporation contributes to socio-economic dependence, exploitation and insecurity. For the issue of marginality to be addressed within integration processes, the existence of local forms of organization, institutions and relationships, which underpin inequalities and discrimination, need to be recognized.