Abstract
As in many other resource-rich African countries, the liberalization of the copper mining sector in the D. R. Congo in the 2000s has caused an influx of foreign investors who have started new mining projects. Drawing inspiration from Foucault, this article aims to shed new light on the government of such projects. To do so, it takes as a case study the HR management policy of a mining project first developed by a South African junior company and then bought out by a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the analysis shows that putting in place HR techniques such as recruitment methods, industrial relations procedures, or personnel administration tools do not follow a single power rationality. Caught in complex power games, these techniques have distinctive historical backgrounds, ends, and effects. Such an approach, it is argued, allows to develop a more complex understanding not only of the process through which mining companies localize their operations, but also of the changes brought by Chinese capital in Africa.
Highlights
The Congolese copperbelt has been one of the most striking examples of the African mining boom in the 2000s
Beyond the mining projects developed by Chinese central State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and processing facilities owned by Chinese firms, several mining projects previously developed by private global companies have been bought out by Chinese state, private, or mixed
Focusing on various governmental techniques, I argue in the conclusion, allows the development of a more complex understanding of the process through which mining companies localise their operations, and of the changes brought by Chinese capital in Africa
Summary
The Congolese copperbelt has been one of the most striking examples of the African mining boom in the 2000s. A dozen mining projects — most in a joint venture with Gécamines — have started the production phase.. A dozen mining projects — most in a joint venture with Gécamines — have started the production phase.1 Independent of these industrial mining projects, there has been an impressive expansion of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) since the late 1990s. In the 2000s, Gécamines and the Congolese government have signed several mining contracts with Chinese central State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), the most famous being the resource-for-infrastructure Sicomines deal. Beyond the mining projects developed by Chinese central SOEs and processing facilities owned by Chinese firms, several mining projects previously developed by private global companies have been bought out by Chinese state, private, or mixed
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