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Mining Frontiers ? Anthropological and Historical Perspectives (Mainzer Beiträge zur Afrikaforschung vol. 32)
Mining Frontiers Anthropological and Historical Perspectives - Mainzer Beiträge zur Afrikaforschung vol. 32 Author:Katja Werthmann, T. Graetz When valuable minerals are discovered in areas in which government control is weak or contested, artisanal mining springs up and creates new communities, new forms of bonding and alliance, and new divisions and hostilities, or new forms of Integration and Conflict. Since the beginning of the 2000s there has been a boom in studies about non-indus... more »trial mining in Africa, but there is still a lot of work to be done, especially about the social worlds.
Mining and related economic activities can be profitable but also hazardous for individuals, communities and the natural environment. Whether artisanal mining can contribute to economic growth or be replaced by more sustainable livelihoods is a matter of on-going research. The regulation and enforcement of rights and obligations connected with artisanal mining vary from state to state. It is is often seen as a response to poverty, but mining is ancient in several regions of Africa, and we need to understand continuities as well as changes in order to make sense of present-day mining activities. Life in mining camps is also attractive because it empowers social uniors and offers access to alternative life-styles. The motives for taking up mining vary according to the historical, social and political circumstances as well as according to an individual's age, gender and social status.
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CONTENTS:
Günther Schlee:
Preface
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Katja Werthmann / Tilo Grätz:
Introduction
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Eugenia Herbert:
Elusive frontiers - Pre-colonial mining in sub-Saharan Africa
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Raymond Dumett:
Parallel mining frontiers in the Gold Coast and Asante in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
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Paul Richards:
Mining and the Messiah - War and the Masterless classes in Sierra Leone
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Filip De Boeck:
Diamonds and disputes - conflict and local power on the border between Congo and Angola
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Tilo Grätz:
Artisanal gold-mining in Northern Benin between morals and markets