It’s the food chain, everyone takes for himself. The daily economy of small-scale gold mining in a village in Côte d’Ivoire

This article analyzes how the mechanization of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Côte d’Ivoire has led to reorganization of work and profit distribution. Côte d’Ivoire’s gold boom came later than its neighbors’, mainly due to the historical prevalence of plantation agriculture. During its expansion from 2013–2014, small-scale gold mining – which currently remains largely illegal – was immediately restructured around mechanized extraction techniques. Based on surveys carried out in a town in central Côte d’Ivoire, we first show that, unlike exclusively artisanal mining, mechanization has introduced greater specialization of activities and an increase in fixed cash remuneration. Secondly, we emphasize that this more hierarchical and inegalitarian logic does not limit the persistance of individual opportunities, due to a fairly tolerant ethos towards embezzlement, and to the possibility of accessing large sums of money. Finally, we show how the multiplication of possible points of rent capture emerging from orpaillage has created an increasingly dense and extensive “local food chain,” as investment increases and a greater diversity of players become involved.