Paper short abstract:

This paper offers an overview of the changes brought to labour by new mining investors in the Congolese copperbelt over the past two decades. In doing so, it sheds new light on how new mining projects become embedded in local society, and contribute to the production of new inequalities

Paper long abstract:

Based on preliminary research, this paper offers an overview of the changes brought to labour by new mining investors in the Congolese copperbelt over the past two decades. Following the decline of the state-owned Gécamines, the population of this poor urban area started to engage in artisanal mining, allowing for the development of new marketing and processing chains. At the same time, the liberalization of the mining sector, associated with the rise of copper and cobalt prices on global markets, caused an influx of foreign companies, who started new industrial mining projects. Since then, a dozen projects have moved into operation, involving the recruitment of several thousands of workers.

To study the impact of these changes on labour in the mining sector, this paper focuses on three key issues: a) mining companies' recruitment processes, and the structuration of the labour market; b) the manner in which artisanal mining has been affected by the development of new industrial projects; and c) the political frictions that have (re-)emerged as a result of these dynamics. In dealing with these issues, the paper sheds new light on how new mining projects become embedded in local society, and at the same time contribute to the production of new inequalities and conflicts