Resource nationalist legislation in Tanzania may help artisanal miners

Tanzania's mining sector has long been dominated by conflicting interests between large-scale mining (LSM), and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). From the mid-1990s, changing governments promoted large-scale mining in order to attract foreign investments.

However, a gradual shift in policies towards facilitating artisanal and small-scale miners can be observed over the last couple of decades. This is linked to the re-emergence of resource nationalism in the country.

The development has the potential to promote more pro-ASM business models, but much depends on implementation. This is the argument in a recent article published in Resources Policy, ‘Mining-sector dynamics in an era of resurgent resource nationalism: Changing relations between large-scale mining and artisanal and small-scale mining in Tanzania’ , involving DIIS researcher Rasmus Hundsbæk Pedersen and a number of other researchers.

The article analyses three types of dynamics that have the potential to improve the lot of artisanal and small-scale miners in Tanzania, namely strengthened rights, stronger support programmes, and the emergence of medium-scale miners, who may help introduce new technology and skills to artisanal miners.

However, the authors also argue that the Tanzanian state must play a more effective role if actual benefits are to materialize. Experience suggests that the recent emphasis on the redistribution of rights and revenues from foreign large-scale mining may end up benefitting larger domestic business interests and state coffers more than artisanal miners as envisaged.

The paper is co-authored by:

• Willison Mutagwaba(MTL Consulting Company Limited, Tanzania)
• Jesper Bosse Jønsson (COWI, Tanzania)
• George Schoneveld (Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Nairobi, Kenya)
• Thabit Jacob (Roskilde University, Denmark, and University of Dodoma, Tanzania)
• Maisory Chacha (Palladium Group Tanzania Ltd, Tanzania)
• Xiaoxue Weng (Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Nairobi, Kenya)
• Maria G. Njau (Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway)