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Unequal Extractions : Reconceptualizing the Chinese Miner in Ghana

Loubere, Nicholas LU orcid ; Lu, Jixia ; Crawford, Gordon and Botchwey, Gabriel (2019) In Labour, Capital and Society 49(2). p.2-29
Abstract
Over the past decade, Chinese migration to Africa has increased rapidly alongside the expansion of Chinese economic engagement with the continent. The entrance of new forms of Chinese industry, aid, commerce and resource exploration has been transformative, prompting debates over whether China in Africa is better described as neo-colonialism or a new form of beneficial developmentalism. One of the most dramatic examples of Chinese migration to—and economic engagement with—an African country is the recent gold rush in Ghana, which started in the mid-2000s with the rapid influx of tens of thousands of Chinese small-scale gold miners from a single poor rural county in China, and continues to this... (More)
Over the past decade, Chinese migration to Africa has increased rapidly alongside the expansion of Chinese economic engagement with the continent. The entrance of new forms of Chinese industry, aid, commerce and resource exploration has been transformative, prompting debates over whether China in Africa is better described as neo-colonialism or a new form of beneficial developmentalism. One of the most dramatic examples of Chinese migration to—and economic engagement with—an African country is the recent gold rush in Ghana, which started in the mid-2000s with the rapid influx of tens of thousands of Chinese small-scale gold miners from a single poor rural county in China, and continues to this day, albeit on a smaller scale. This paper presents a critical examination of how the Chinese miners have been depicted in public, media and academic discourses as a homogenous group, both benefiting from Ghanaian gold extraction and impacting their surroundings in generally uniform ways. Drawing on in-depth fieldwork in both Ghana and China, we argue that this portrayal neglects to highlight the differentiated experiences of the miners and the segmentation that exists within the miner group, which consists of both winners and losers. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Ghana, China, Migration, Mining, small-scale mining, extractivism, unequal distribution
in
Labour, Capital and Society
volume
49
issue
2
pages
2 - 29
publisher
McGill University
external identifiers
  • scopus:85075607507
ISSN
0706-1706
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3f0ad1d1-5041-4b70-b2ca-7d3bb16797e2
alternative location
http://www.lcs-tcs.com/PDFs/49_2/49_2%20-%20Loubere%20Lu%20Crawford%20Botchwey.pdf
date added to LUP
2020-08-15 20:42:40
date last changed
2022-04-19 00:23:35
@article{3f0ad1d1-5041-4b70-b2ca-7d3bb16797e2,
  abstract     = {{Over the past decade, Chinese migration to Africa has increased rapidly  alongside  the  expansion  of  Chinese  economic  engagement  with the continent. The entrance of new forms of Chinese industry, aid,  commerce  and  resource  exploration  has  been  transformative,  prompting debates over whether China in Africa is better described as neo-colonialism or a new form of beneficial developmentalism. One  of  the  most  dramatic  examples  of  Chinese  migration  to—and  economic  engagement  with—an  African  country  is  the  recent  gold  rush in Ghana, which started in the mid-2000s with the rapid influx of  tens  of  thousands  of  Chinese  small-scale  gold  miners  from  a  single poor rural county in China, and continues to this day, albeit on  a  smaller  scale.  This  paper  presents  a  critical  examination  of  how  the  Chinese  miners  have  been  depicted  in  public,  media  and  academic  discourses  as  a  homogenous  group,  both  benefiting from  Ghanaian  gold  extraction  and  impacting  their  surroundings  in generally uniform ways. Drawing on in-depth fieldwork in both Ghana and China, we argue that this portrayal neglects to highlight the  differentiated  experiences  of  the  miners  and  the  segmentation  that  exists  within  the  miner  group,  which  consists  of  both  winners  and losers.}},
  author       = {{Loubere, Nicholas and Lu, Jixia and Crawford, Gordon and Botchwey, Gabriel}},
  issn         = {{0706-1706}},
  keywords     = {{Ghana; China; Migration; Mining; small-scale mining; extractivism; unequal distribution}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{2--29}},
  publisher    = {{McGill University}},
  series       = {{Labour, Capital and Society}},
  title        = {{Unequal Extractions : Reconceptualizing the Chinese Miner in Ghana}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/82696451/49_2_Loubere_Lu_Crawford_Botchwey.pdf}},
  volume       = {{49}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}