Productivity and profitability: Investigating the economic impact of gold mining mechanisation in Kamituga, DR Congo

Abstract

In South Kivu Province of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the use of new technologies in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has proliferated over the course of the last decade. Based on a case study of ASGM mechanisation in the major mining town of Kamituga, we investigate the economic impact of this process on the productivity of ASGM and the profitability of its operations. Drawing on a wide range of qualitative and quantitative data, we challenge the common perception of ASGM as traditional, conservative, and unproductive. We demonstrate that on the contrary, ASGM operators in Kamituga make use of sophisticated and productive machinery in their quest to profit from their activities. With the recent emergence of ball mills and other forms of mining technology, gold production in Kamituga now carries a distinctly 'small-scale' character.