ABSTRACT
In Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, the development of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is linked to the emergence and intensification of labor migration directed toward mining areas. Four forms of gold mining mobility can be distinguished: short-term mobility, long-term mobility, transitional mobility, and circular mobility. Based on ethnographic data collection at several gold mining sites in both countries, this chapter aims to illustrate how ASGM migrations are shaped by systems of territorial governance in mining areas. This governance takes various forms: collective at the village level in Guinea, and more individualized in Côte d’Ivoire, where governance is linked to landed property. Since the 2010s, ASGM has been transformed and mechanized, while maintaining an informal status. This evolution is a new context that leads to a more disputed local governance in Guinea and to the reinforcement of the land issue in Côte d’Ivoire. These joint developments reflect the strong links between mobility and territorial governance, two sides of the same coin in the development of gold mining.
