Qualitative Analysis of Social Differences within the Gold mining Value Chain : Case of Shurugwi Mining Sites, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study is an analysis of social differences in the value chain of small scale artisanal miners in the Shurugwi area in Zimbabwe. Artisanal mining drives the economy of several developing nations including Zimbabwe. However, the different actors in the value chain of the sector play different roles and the power they yield in the process affects what they get in the process and this in turn creates social differentiation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify factors which influence inequalities (social differences) within the Shurugwi artisanal mining value chain. This was a qualitative case study where purposive sampling was used to come up with a sample of 20 gold miners, 8 buyers and 2 millers who operated in the Shurugwi area. Data was collected through interviews and analysis of data was done thematically. This study established that elite players in the gold mining value chain in Shurugwi District, derived most of the benefits while artisanal miners were confined to a life of perpetual poverty, which was a vicious circle and had become hereditary, with sons of miners following the livelihood paths of their fathers. The elite players on the other hand, were presented as sophisticated and although they were mostly not directly involved in the gold extraction activities, they reaped most of the rewards, either as owners of gold claims (who employed others to prospect for gold) or through cheap purchase and processing activities. The study recommends that clear guidelines, guiding the operations of small scale mining activities in the country be collaboratively formulated and implemented to evenly spread the benefits of small scale gold mining activities through the value chain. This research suggests that similar researches be carried out in other small scale gold mining areas in the country so that a more holistic picture of the nature of interactions in the small scale gold mining sector value chain can be grasped. Thereafter, appropriate intervention strategies can then be crafted to manage the nature of these interactions and the resultant social stratifications.