ABSTRACT
The twenty-first century has witnessed Sub-Saharan Africa’s re-emergence on the world stage of commodity export. A dramatic surge in mining is catalyzing fundamental change with the potential to transform or trammel personal and national destinies. As the continental economy expands, virtually everyone is affected in one way or another, most of all mineworkers and residents of mining settlements who are riding the crest of opportunity and risk associated with a global commodity boom. They are at the vortex of profound social transformation.
