Large-scale mining: no visible benefits to mineral-rich African states

The article presents an analysis on the current lack of visible benefits to mineral-rich African states, despite growth and development of the minerals sector over past years through foreign direct investment (FDI). It considers the development of large-scale mining on the continent from a historical perspective, addressing different initiatives by donors and legal reforms over past years, and demonstrating how the processes by which mining was privatized in Africa, led to the demise of the role of the state in the management of this industry. It concludes by affirming the FDI and transnational corporations inevitably have a role to play in the development of a prosperous mining sector for Africa, but the political implications of their actions must be better understood.

France Bourgouin. 2011. The politics of large-scale mining in Africa: domestic policy, donors, and global economic processes. The Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, vol. 111: 525-529.