Mining what is not mine: Artisanal gold mining in Gwanda, Zimbabwe

Edmore Mwandiringana, Jingzhong Ye

Corresponding author: Jingzhong Ye, e-mail: yejz@cau.edu.cn

The Extractive Industries and Society, Published online

Abstract: This study examines the internal dynamics of artisanal gold mining, focusing on the extraction and distribution of value in the artisanal mining sector. It argues that the youth remain disenfranchised despite being the producers of value. The value of mining does not stay in the hands of the youths who produce it. The state has been blocking the youths from formally participating in and benefiting from artisanal mining in Zimbabwe’s countryside through exorbitant prospecting and pegging fees in foreign currency as well as the issuance of blanket EPOs thereby forcing them into wage-labour relations. Youths are exploited as labourers by the classes of capital who own mining claims in the countryside. However, youths resist exploitation through various means, accessing the resources otherwise shut to them.

Keywords: Artisanal mining; Capital accumulation; Proletariat; Extractivism; Exploitation

Mining what is not mine-Artisanal gold mining in Gwanda, Zimbabwe.pdf

Link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2023.101217