Dynamics of Artisanal Gold Mining Practice and Governance in The
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Mining for the Future: Dynamics of Artisanal Gold Mining Practice and Governance in the Balan-Bakama (Mande, Mali) by Esther Elisabeth Margretha Kühn A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Anthropology University of Toronto © Copyright by Esther E.M. Kühn 2017 Mining for the Future: Dynamics of Artisanal Gold Mining Practice and Governance in the Balan-Bakama (Mande, Mali) Esther Elisabeth Margretha Kühn Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Anthropology University of Toronto 2017 Abstract This dissertation examines the social organization of artisanal gold mining in the Balan-Bakama, a zone of the Mande area of southern Mali (West-Africa). Based on fieldwork conducted primarily in 2010-11 I show how villagers and specifically their male and female mining authorities govern mining sites in the territory of their village. Unlike many artisanal mines that are described in the literature as enclaves disconnected from surrounding communities, Balan- Bakama artisanal mines are part of a locally placed extractive economy. Most inhabitants of the Balan-Bakama are both subsistence farmers and artisanal gold miners (at home or as seasonal migrants). These livelihood activities had traditionally been bound to the rainy season and dry season respectively. With a steadily rising gold price, women miners were increasingly engaged in rainy season surface mining while men mined using the new hard-rock mining technique. With placer mining, these techniques form the set of three artisanal mining techniques applied in the Balan-Bakama. ii In Mande, gold is categorized as owned by bush spirits who control the uncivilized space beyond villagers’ fields. In order to be able to mine safely and successfully, communities and individual miners are obliged to convince bush spirits to share their gold with humans and to refrain from causing accidents. People are able to gain access to gold through sacrifices, by following the rules of mining sites and by avoiding conflict. If local miners are successful, they will be joined by seasonal migrant miners. In an area characterized by high rural-urban migration but some rural-rural migration, village communities try manipulate migration patterns by stimulating mining to retain young men. Hoping to expand the village in order to achieve a locally defined modernity and form a closer connection to regional centers villagers work to attract informal miners and industrial mining corporations. iii Résumé Français Cette thèse examine l'organisation sociale de l’orpaillage artisanale dans le Balan-Bakama, une zone de la Manding dans le sud du Mali (Afrique de l'Ouest). Sur la base du travail de terrain mené principalement en 2010-2011 je montre les façons dont les villageois et plus précisément leurs autorités minières masculines et féminines contrôlent les sites miniers sur le territoire de leur village. Contrairement à de nombreuses mines artisanales, décrites dans la littérature comme des enclaves déconnectées des communautés environnantes, les mines artisanales de Balan- Bakama font partie d'une économie extractive placée localement. La plupart des habitants du Balan-Bakama sont à la fois des agriculteurs de subsistance et des orpailleurs (chez eux ou en tant que migrants saisonniers). Ces activités de subsistance étaient traditionnellement liées respectivement à la saison des pluies et à la saison sèche. Avec un prix d’or en hausse constante, les femmes étaient de plus en plus impliquées dans les mines de surface pendant la saison des pluies tandis que les hommes ont exploités des mines à l'aide de la nouvelle technique d'extraction de roche dure. Avec l'exploitation des placers, ces techniques forment l'ensemble des trois techniques minières artisanales appliquées dans le Balan-Bakama. Dans le Manding, l'or est classé comme appartenant à des esprits de brousse qui contrôlent l'espace non civilisé au-delà des champs des villageois. Afin de pouvoir creuser en toute sécurité et avec succès, les communautés et les mineurs individuels sont obligés de convaincre les esprits de partager leur or avec les humains et de s'abstenir de causer des accidents. Les gens peuvent accéder à l'or grâce à des sacrifices, en suivant les règles des sites miniers et en évitant les conflits. Si les mineurs locaux réussissent, ils seront accompagnés par des mineurs migrants saisonniers. Dans une zone caractérisée par une forte migration rurale-urbaine, mais aussi de la iv migration rurale-rurale, les communautés villageoises essaient de manipuler les tendances migratoires en stimulant les mines afin de retenir les jeunes hommes. Dans l'espoir d'élargir le village afin d'atteindre une modernité définie localement et de se rapprocher des centres régionaux, les villageois travaillent pour attirer les mineurs informels et les entreprises minières industrielles. v Acknowledgements This dissertation is based on fieldwork carried out in the Balan-Bakama in the year 2010-11 and preliminary fieldwork in early 2010 when I was based in Bancoumana. I am grateful to my hosts Diakaridia Keita, Saran Magassouba, Nantene Doumbia and Nankinja Bakayogo for worrying about me and for explaining so many things about life in the Balan-Bakama and to the inhabitants of their compound and especially its lutigi Madi Keita who granted me access. Agnes Kedzierska-Manzon graciously allowed me to build on her host-guest relationships in Selofara. I thank Madi Kama Keita for accompanying me to so many interviews in the Balan- Bakama and for worrying about the completeness of my data. I also thank Jogo Diabate, Ibrahim Camara and Mahamadou Keita for their enthusiasm and thorough translations during interviews in Balan-Mansala and Selofara. Several people of different villages of the Balan-Bakama told me that they were one community and that even though I lived in Selofara, they were all my hosts. I am so grateful that they acted on this declaration and always made me feel welcome in their homes, communities and at their mining sites. People were always willing to answer my questions, especially the chiefs of mines and their assistants for whom I had many questions. I thank the staff of the town hall of Balan-Mansala, and especially its then-mayor Lansine Keita, for access and for hosting me during two weeks in December 2016. I also thank the directors and teachers of the school in Selofara who were welcoming and supportive. I am grateful for the care of my hosts Modibo Diabate and Assetou Diabate in Bancoumana where I had previously done research and which had become my home in Mali before I moved to Selofara. I feel privileged for having been become part of the family and vi especially for being entrusted with their two grandchildren. Over the years I have learned so much from Modibo, Assetou and their extended family. I would like to single out Sidi Diabate, who accompanied me to many different mining sites during the preliminary stage of the research when I was based in Bancoumana. Elsewhere in Mande, Daouda Diawarra, Moussa Traore and Daouda Keita and their families were wonderful hosts who made me feel welcome and taught me about their communities and about local variations in artisanal gold mining. In Bamako the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique and counterpart Institut des Sciences Humaines kindly authorized fieldwork in Mali. I am grateful for the hospitality I experienced at the National Archives in ACI 2000 and at Koulouba, and at the Direction Nationale de la Geologie et des Mines. I thank the Africa team of BBC World for their invitation to join them in filming at the Kankou Moussa refinery in Bamako and their kindness when they filmed at the artisanal gold mines of Selofara at the invitation of the village chief and me. I thank geologist Fouseyni Diakite for clearly explaining geological concepts of artisanal gold mining. Many thanks to advisor Professor Michael Lambek for his support, patience and careful editing. I also thank the other members of the committee for their helpful comments. Research was funded through a ‘University of Toronto Fellowship’, a ‘Short-term Research Grant for Doctoral Students’ Centre d’études de la France et du monde francophone at the University of Toronto, the ‘Graduate Expansion Fund’, and a ‘Department of Anthropology Conference Travel and PhD Pilot Research Fund’. The ‘Faculty of Arts and Science Fund for Study Elsewhere of Less Commonly Taught Languages for Research Purposes’ funded my participation in a vii Bamana/Maninka language course and language learning during preliminary research. My current employer World Renew allowed me time to write during study leave, I am grateful for the recognition of the value of anthropological fieldwork. I thank Jan Jansen for introducing me to fieldwork in Mande and Sabine Luning for introducing me to the topic of artisanal gold mining and both for inviting me to an insightful trip to Dagala. My parents, siblings and extended family are a constant source of support no matter where I land. I cannot thank them enough. Above all, I am grateful for and always proud of Djessou (Johanna) and Solu. viii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ ii Résumé Français .......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................