Seminar: Underground Politics in Turbulent Times: Social Dynamics of Gold Mining Projects in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is a young but prolific terrain for industrial gold mining projects, with ten mines built in the last ten years. Gold mines are built in the vicinity of local populations that must organize their livelihoods under difficult ecological circumstances. Only now are the effects of industrial gold mining becoming clear to local administrators and populations. Resistance to mining is growing rapidly, particularly in the current political climate in Burkina. This seminar will examine a case study,  detailing the process from the arrival of an exploration company to the building of a mine through to future plans for building extensions. It will explore the company-community engagements and relations between mining companies (junior exploration companies and major mine builders). It will use the analyses to comment upon the current public debate on large-scale gold mining in Burkina Faso in the transitional, post-Compaore period. It also aims to identify key aspects for improving the way in which companies engage with  groups in civil society that are affected by their presence.