Tracing gendered and classed dimension of formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining efforts in Mozambique

Many formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) policies in Africa emphasize increasing tenure security through mining titles and the mandatory creation of cooperatives. These are promoted as a means of poverty-alleviation, reducing environmental harms, and ensuring community benefits, which could include the empowerment of women. Drawing from research conducted in gold ASM areas in Manica, Mozambique together with analyses of transnational law and policy on miners’ cooperatives and ASM formalization interventions, this paper examines how these efforts have expressed significant gendered and class inequities. It analyses how the authority and control rights of the associations/cooperatives privilege men who are local political or economic leaders, which in one case was widely celebrated as an early and leading example of the benefits of formalization. The result, we find, was reduced access to gold mining livelihoods for women. Our analysis underscores the importance of examining who actually receives control rights in formalization efforts and how these are gendered and classed in practice, rather than assuming the declared collective benefits such as gender empowerment will emerge from them.