Extraction of Natural Resources in the New Scramble for Africa

Abstract

Land acquisition for mining threatens the peace and sustainability of Africa’s future when it is carried out for the benefit of transnational corporations without accounting for the costs to the local people whose well-being, social, economy, and culture are damaged or for the long-term costs to the natural environment that is polluted and sometimes ravaged for mining processes. Through interviews, observations, focus groups, and comparisons with official and corporate documents, this ethnographic study of a mining region in Tanzania explores the impact of gold mining on local residents and the environment. Sustainable systems require resource extraction that is based on transparent policies that provide equitable benefits to stockholders and stakeholders, as well as exercise corporate social responsibility.