ABSTRACT
Mining development shapes livelihoods, not only in areas with mines and associated infrastructure but also in areas further away that provide labor and other resources for mining operations. In doing so, mining generates material and non-material flows well beyond the perimeter of the mine itself. Drawing on complementary studies conducted by the authors, this chapter sheds light on how mining activities in the North Province of New Caledonia have transformed Kanak territories, livelihoods, and mobilities. Its analytical approach incorporates multiple scales – from the household (via a livelihoods approach) to the clan, province, and national territory – and sees territorial transformations as entailing a twofold re-arrangement, both material and non-material. This chapter starts by describing the circulation of mining employees following the stages of the mining cycle and goes on to explore the evolution of livelihoods in the mining territory and its margins between the construction stage (2006–2014) and development stage (2014–today). It demonstrates the evolution of different household assets in these territories using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative approaches, identifying material flows and non-material ones, which are more difficult to perceive. In the process, it questions the concept of “mining enclave.”
