Framing spaces as (il)legitimate: “dirty” cobalt and the (mis)uses of artisanal and small-scale mining sites in south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

ABSTRACT As large-scale mining (LSM) companies and other commercial actors capitalise on a demand boom for Congolese cobalt, they have framed artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) spaces as problematic and illegitimate to make themselves appear “cleaner” than locally legitimate artisanal mining. Firms have emphasised the negative facets of artisanally mined cobalt, characterising their own production as “clean” and problem free. Capitalist actors’ framing of artisanal mining spaces as “illegitimate” or “dirty” is a powerful narrative that produces significant consequences. First, ASM, a minority of total cobalt production, becomes the focus of negative publicity; this framing erases the negative impacts of LSM. In turn, illicit “taxation” by public and private security forces at LSM sites is overlooked despite its systemic, organised nature. Next, the framing obscures the multiple interconnections between ASM and LSM. Finally, the framing of ASM spaces allows capitalist actors to claim these spaces to reshape and “organise” them.