The meanings of mining: A perspective on the regulation of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in southern Ecuador

Abstract

Before Christmas 2016, an elementary school in Zaruma, Ecuador was swallowed by a collapse in the ground linked to illegal gold mining activity taking place underneath the town. This incident, along with widespread environmental contamination, proved distressing for the inhabitants of the district of Portovelo-Zaruma (P-Z). However, the revenues from this mining activity sustains the livelihoods of local people, including supplying revenue to support regional investments in agro- and aquaculture. The Ecuadorian Government has intensified its efforts to address the problems of control and regulation but the results thus far are underwhelming and partial. This paper reflects on why this is the case by untangling the complexities of the mining taking place and its regulation. I argue that current state intervention is dominated by the discourse of natural science, in deep need of complementation from critical social science in order to convey the deeper causes of the sector's problem. By employing a perspective from the tradition of political ecology, the paper represents a first step towards opening up this context to the social sciences. The analysis contributes to the growing literature on artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), particularly to discussions about its contentious character and regulation.