Friends or foes: Can large-scale mining companies partner with small-scale miners? Yes, they can?

Abstract

This paper (re)examines the nexus between large-scale mining (LSM) activities and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operations. Broadly speaking, the existing combative resource politics between the two mining entities has created room for the emergence of divergent opinions on sustainable solutions encapsulated in standpoints of ‘cohabitation’ vis-à-vis ‘autonomy’. Employing ‘partnership’ as an analytical lens, this study provides a refreshing perspective of the ‘cohabitation’ of LSM and ASM where they develop and flourish together. Firmly rooted at the base of this success, however, is the formalisation canon that has long ignored the partnership opportunities for ASM operations in many resource-rich countries. We, therefore, argue for formalisation policies to design cohabitation agreements that focus on creating synergies devoid of resource conflicts. Further, we discuss ways through which resources that cannot be fully enclosed by LSM companies can become sources of compromise and negotiation rather than of conflict and violence.