The Political Economy of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Central Zimbabwe

Abstract

Zimbabwe's post-2000 period has been characterised by a dramatic increase in artisanal small-scale mining (ASM), particularly gold mining. Economic decline and rising unemployment meant that ASM provided one of the very few opportunities for survival and capital accumulation. This article provides a contextual analysis of the growth of ASM, together with a detailed discussion of a case study of mining in Totororo, Kwekwe District in central Zimbabwe, based on field research and media reports. Totororo was initially the site of an intense gold rush, which was quasi-formalised through being registered as a small mine. The article situates the discussion of the growth of ASM in the context of the political economy of Zimbabwe's crisis decade and subsequent period of power sharing. It reveals both similarities and differences with the political economy of diamond mining in Zimbabwe, which has attracted greater attention from scholars and the human rights community. Artisanal gold mining in Totororo clearly provided significant survivalist livelihood opportunities. Yet the site was also highly politicised and contested, and the politics of controlling extraction and trade were part of a bigger story of elite accumulation and patronage. The article criticises those who approach ASM only through debates over grass-roots, informal survivalism, and also suggests some of the ways in which elite accumulation has provided not only lucrative opportunities for a broad network of lower ranking party or state agents but also work for locals and itinerant panners who would otherwise be jobless.