Paper short abstract:

The paper examines latest discussions of German geoscientists around ‘responsible mining’ in Africa. Attempts of decolonizing technoscientific practice will be studied through the prism of the different arenas where professional subjectivities become expressed, discussed, and challenged.

Paper long abstract:

Although economic anthropology has increasingly responded to calls for “studying up” (Nader 1974) the extractive industries, so far comparatively little research has been conducted on the forms of mobility and subjectivities of the ‘technical’ personnel of multinational mining corporations. This article addresses the specific roles and responsibilities of white geoscientists and mining engineers leading the early phases of mining ventures in the Global South. In the globalized mining space, the latter are often considered as both developers of greenfield territories in the sense of extracting raw materials, and as first comers to represent a multinational company in a given local context. Within the profession, these thoroughly colonial imaginaries seem to be increasingly challenged by the emergence of ‘geoethics’. This professional ethics aims to reflect on the social, political and environmental implications of geoscientific thinking and practice, by advocating, for example, for the consideration of local and indigenous knowledge in mining policy. Based on a review of recent initiatives of German geologists addressing ‘responsible mining’ in African countries and word-wide, this paper discusses novel ways for studying up attempts to decolonize technoscientific practice. It does so by looking at how these questions are debated within research institutions, professional associations and policy forums based in the Global North. More specifically, it studies the German mining world whose protagonists are looking to resume a prominent role in the global metals mining sector.

Nader, L. 1974(1969) Up the Anthropologist — Perspectives Gained From Studying Up. In Dell Hymes(ed.) Reinventing Anthropology, New York:Vintage Books, pp.284-311.