'Centres of excellence' for artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Tanzania: Assumptions around artisanal entrepreneurship and formalization. Issue 2 (April 2020)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- 'Centres of excellence' for artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Tanzania: Assumptions around artisanal entrepreneurship and formalization. Issue 2 (April 2020)
- Main Title:
- 'Centres of excellence' for artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Tanzania: Assumptions around artisanal entrepreneurship and formalization
- Authors:
- Kinyondo, Abel
Huggins, Christopher - Abstract:
- Highlights: Training and demonstration centres are part of strategies to formalize ASM. In sub-Saharan Africa, such centres have a mixed record of success. In 2019 Tanzania established four training, processing and demonstration centres. The Tanzanian centres are partly based on assumptions that ASM is entrepreneurial. Success of the centres in facilitating formalization will depend on affordability and flexibility. The centres may not succeed if they are linked to coercive forms of formalization. Abstract: The Africa Mining Vision reiterates the importance of training centres or 'centres of excellence' (COEs) for artisanal and small-scale mining but historically, these have had mixed results, partly due to a lack of understanding of demand for services. Recently, understanding of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) organizational and financial structures has improved, allowing for a more nuanced comparison of formalization policies that emphasize the 'entrepreneurial' nature of ASM operators and those that foreground the importance of poverty as a driving factor. With World Bank support, Tanzania has recently established several COEs including two for the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector. This article examines the potentials of these centres, based on key informant interviews, as well as a literature review of experiences from other African countries. Further, we analyse activities planned at COEs, within the Tanzanian institutional and policy context, whichHighlights: Training and demonstration centres are part of strategies to formalize ASM. In sub-Saharan Africa, such centres have a mixed record of success. In 2019 Tanzania established four training, processing and demonstration centres. The Tanzanian centres are partly based on assumptions that ASM is entrepreneurial. Success of the centres in facilitating formalization will depend on affordability and flexibility. The centres may not succeed if they are linked to coercive forms of formalization. Abstract: The Africa Mining Vision reiterates the importance of training centres or 'centres of excellence' (COEs) for artisanal and small-scale mining but historically, these have had mixed results, partly due to a lack of understanding of demand for services. Recently, understanding of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) organizational and financial structures has improved, allowing for a more nuanced comparison of formalization policies that emphasize the 'entrepreneurial' nature of ASM operators and those that foreground the importance of poverty as a driving factor. With World Bank support, Tanzania has recently established several COEs including two for the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector. This article examines the potentials of these centres, based on key informant interviews, as well as a literature review of experiences from other African countries. Further, we analyse activities planned at COEs, within the Tanzanian institutional and policy context, which tends to treat ASM as 'entrepreneurs'. We explore implications of the Tanzanian approach for potential formalization of ASM and transformation of ASM operators into medium-scale mining firms; and identify some institutional tensions and risks involved in implementing the COE approach. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Extractive industries and society. Volume 7:Issue 2(2020)
- Journal:
- Extractive industries and society
- Issue:
- Volume 7:Issue 2(2020)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 7, Issue 2 (2020)
- Year:
- 2020
- Volume:
- 7
- Issue:
- 2
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2020-0007-0002-0000
- Page Start:
- 758
- Page End:
- 766
- Publication Date:
- 2020-04
- Subjects:
- artisanal and small-scale mining -- formalization -- training centres -- Tanzania, gold
Mineral industries -- Periodicals
Gas industry -- Periodicals
Petroleum industry and trade -- Periodicals
338.205 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/2214790X ↗
http://www.sciencedirect.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.exis.2020.03.011 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 2214-790X
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 13448.xml