Mapping Small‐scale Mineral Production Networks: The Case of Alluvial Diamonds in Ghana

Abstract

In recent years, donors and certain governments have committed to formalizing artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM) — low‐tech, labour‐intensive mineral extraction and processing. Few, however, are able to do so effectively because of a limited knowledge of how the sector operates, who it employs and where the commodities it mines are being channelled. This article argues that a radical reconceptualization of ASM will be needed if these challenges are to be overcome. As a starting point, it calls on donors and policy makers to adopt the Global Production Network (GPN) as a ‘lens’ for analysing the sector's organizational structures. Popular in geography scholarship, the GPN, though rarely used to study the intricacies of largely informal sectors such as ASM, could prove valuable here, aiding with the mapping of key production processes. In this article, the GPN is applied to Ghana's artisanal diamond mining sector, yielding valuable insights into its organization, the roles played by the different individuals who populate it, and the nature of the relationships between these individuals. Such information is key to designing more robust formalization and support strategies for ASM in Ghana; more generally, the exercise provides important lessons for other governments working to achieve similar goals.

Cumulative Effect and Content Variation of Toxic Trace Elements in Human Hair around Xiaoqinling Gold Mining Area, Northwestern China

“…Activities of mineral mining have led to serious pollution of fertile farmlands in many developing countries including some poor and backward areas of western China and were caused by weak awareness of environmental protection, loose administration, and the single pursuit of economic development [ 1 ]. In the past three decades of rapid economic development in China, only a few local governments have issued environmental protection regulations and set protecting financial funds in standardizing mining order, restoration of mining environment, and eliminating outdated technology involving low-tech, labor-intensive mining and mineral processing [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. This choice has suppressed the development of China’s mining economy in the short term.…”

Local elites’ extraversion and repositioning: Continuities and changes in Congo’s mineral production networks

“…It emphasizes the 'territoriality' of networks and pays attention to actors who are not directly involved in production and trade, but play an important role in governing -that is, setting the conditions under which others must operate (Henderson et al 2002). The GPN lense has only recently been used to study extractives (Bridge 2008) and artisanal mining in particular (Geenen 2018, McQuilken 2018, McQuilken & Hilson 2018. We adopt it here not to describe the network as a whole, but to zoom in on one particular actor occupying a central position in such networks: local elites controlling mining rents and labour at the production level.…”

Opportunites and challenges for women's empowerment in the gemstone value chain in Madagascar and Thailand

“…A path-defining paper, and a first application of this theory to ASM, is provided by McQuilken & Hilson (2018) in 'Mapping small-scale mineral production networks: the case of alluvial diamonds in Ghana" and I referred extensively to this work.…”

“…To analyse the gemstone supply chain, it is vital to understand such multiple and often marginal actors including those in the informal and artisanal spaces. The GPN has mostly been used in the formal sector of developed economies, until its recent use by McQuilken and Hilson (2018) in the Ghanaian diamond value chain demonstrated its value for ASM research. To provide a full picture of global supply chains, this survey of the literature will draw on both GVC and GPN analyses of the supply chain.…”

“…The GPN's capacity to provide an almost forensic but flexible framework for uncovering how networks work is used probably for the first time in an ASM setting by McQuilken & Hilson (2018) in mapping the small-scale alluvial diamond industry in Akwatia, Ghana. The ASM sector globally lacks data (World Bank, 2019) and this study shows how GPNs can be used to provide a detailed and multileveled analysis of the network of actors operating across the town illustrating:…”