1 Mineralising Africa and Artisanal Mining’s Democratising Influence Deborah Fahy Bryceson and Jesper Bosse Jønsson in Bryceson, D.F., E. Fisher, J.B. Jønsson, R. Mwaipopo (eds) (2014) Mining and Social Transformation in Africa: Mineralizing and democratizing trends in artisanal production. London: Routledge, pp. 1-22. The 21 st century has witnessed Sub-Saharan Africa’s re-emergence on the world stage of commodity export. A dramatic surge in mining is catalysing fundamental change with the potential to transform or trammel personal and national destinies. As the continental economy expands, virtually everyone is affected in one way or another, most of all mineworkers and residents of mining settlements who are riding the crest of opportunity and risk associated with a global commodity boom. They are at the vortex of profound social transformation. At present, juxtaposed to decades of entrenched economic recession, the current exploitation of Sub-Saharan Africa’s rich mineral wealth is generating increased prosperity for some and impoverishment for others. Rape or redemption? There is an extensive literature on mineral booms of this nature discussing a so-called resource curse, Dutch disease and a paradox of plenty (Sachs & Warner 2001; Robinson, Torvik & Verdier 2006). For better or worse, foreign direct investment has been on an upward trajectory, spurred by rising prices for gold and other valuable metals, along with diamonds and other precious stones (Bush 2008). This volume, however, extends well beyond the world of foreign investment and corporate mining to an exploration of the artisanal mining sector, especially its core, the excavation of minerals by African mine claim owners, pit holders and diggers and its effects on local settlements. In several respects, artisanal mining averts the pitfalls of the mineral resource curse that has pre-occupied economists, boosting labour absorption in national economies, raising purchasing power and enhancing the multiplier effect in local economies of mineral resource-rich areas. We define artisanal mining as individual or collective labour-intensive mineral extraction with limited capital investment using basic tools, manual devices or simple portable 2 machinery. Overwhelmingly, artisanal mining pits constitute a male domain but women are close at hand, engaged in panning, mineral processing and service sector activities. We use the term ‘mineralising’ to denote the alteration in both the form and content of the African continent’s social, political and cultural foundations arising from the growing importance of mining in national, local and household economies. The word mineralisation used in biology, geology and soil science refers to chemical processes altering the organic or inorganic composition of original base substances. The analogy is apt for the continent’s political economy and society. Over the past thirty years, a swathe of African countries have experienced deepening agricultural malaise, most apparent in smallholder commercial crop production, leading to marked deterioration in the productive and exporting capacity of nation-states and rural households (Bryceson 2002). Artisanal mining has appeared as one potentially lucrative alternative to agriculture, gaining in momentum over the last two decades (e.g. Benin: Grätz 2002; Burkina Faso: Luning 2006; Democratic Republic of Congo: De Boeck 1999; Ghana: Hilson & Potter 2005; Madagascar: Walsh 2003; Sierra Leone: Richards 1996; Maconachie & Binns 2007; Zimbabwe: Mabhena 2012). Wherever it commences in the African countryside, artisanal mining is transformative and organisationally distinct from the economic principles and social ties that pervade smallholder agriculture and pastoralism. Five salient and inter-related themes have emerged in the African artisanal mining literature: first, debate about the significance of artisanal mining livelihoods for poverty alleviation; second, contentious relations between artisanal and large-scale mining with regards to land, mineral rights and labour; third, artisanal miners’ extraction of so-called conflict minerals; fourth, legal aspects of artisanal mining production and exchange; and fifth, the environmental hazards associated with artisanal mining. Our edited collection probes the largely undocumented social and cultural dimensions of African artisanal mining, which are altering the form and content of relations within the household, local community and at national level, using Tanzanian case study material for illustration. At the centre of this trajectory is the emergence of new occupations and lifestyles within the mining settlements. We draw inspiration from Sennett’s (2008) analytical insights into the evolution of artisanal craftsmanship and its reverberations for the wider society. His focus is on those who work primarily with their hands and hand-held tools through world history. Sennett’s depiction of their visceral relationship to their