Prostitution or partnership? Wifestyles in Tanzanian artisanal gold-mining settlements

Tanzania, along with several other African countries, is experiencing a national mining boom, which has prompted hundreds of thousands of men and women to migrate to mineral-rich locations. At these sites, relationships between the sexes defy the sexual norms of the surrounding countryside to embrace new relational amalgams of polygamy, monogamy and promiscuity. This article challenges the assumption that female prostitution is widespread. Using interview data with women migrants, we delineate six ‘wifestyles’, namely sexual-cum-conjugal relationships between men and women that vary in their degree of sexual and material commitment. In contrast to bridewealth payments, which involved elders formalising marriages through negotiations over reproductive access to women, sexual negotiations and relations in mining settlements involve men and women making liaisons and co-habitation arrangements directly between each other without third-party intervention. Economic interdependence may evolve thereafter with the possibility of women, as well as men, offering material support to their sex partners

Scratching the surface. Exploring women’s roles in artisanal and small-scale gold mining towns in Tanzania.

Promotor: Steven Van Wolputte. (Funded by VLIR) This thesis contributes to an understanding of the different roles women play in artisanal and small-scale gold mining towns. Fluctuations in the stock market can be attributed, to a certain degree, to investor sentiment. This "speculative trade", as it is called, has profound consequences both on a global and a local level and lies at the heart of the gold market. As a result of the global financial crisis for example, many countries now rush to increase their gold reserves. But not only nation-states or investor corporations are attracted to the gold trade. Far away from big financial centers like New York, London or Beijing, millions of men and women try to eke out a living by digging up the precious metals and minerals. This doctoral research focuses on miner families in small-scale gold mining settlements in Tanzania. It pays specific attention to women’s livelihood strategies, and the rapid unfolding new family structures they make part of. Remarkably, though, only scant attention has been paid to women living in mining communities. Often, moreover, the few existing analyses confine themselves to bland platitudes about the role of women in “male” environments often discussed in terms of prostitution. This doctoral thesis, wants to move beyond this stereotype. It challenges the male hegemony in the mines and highlights women’s agency. Against a background of uncertainty, inequality and changing gender relations, this thesis perceives artisanal gold mining as a viable livelihood strategy for women and their families. Key words: Women in mining, female miners, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, gold, Tanzaniastatus: publishe

Women in artisanal and small-scale mining: Challenges and opportunities for greater participation. Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), Winnipeg

ASM has grown significantly with approximately 40.5 million people directly involved, and an additional 150 million dependent on the sector for their livelihood. Though not often acknowledged, the role of women in ASM is significant, as they make up around 30 per cent of the total workforce, and up to 50 per cent in some regions. Although cultural and historical aspects have relegated women’s participation to the periphery, women have always been part of the mining workforce.\ua0However, the cultural and institutional constraints women face have ensured their involvement in the most value-bearing places such as pits and fair markets is practically non-existent. Any mechanism aimed at bringing solutions to the issues\ua0needs to be founded on a comprehensive study

Ocean alkalinity enhancement through enhanced silicate weathering in coastal areas: a long-term mesocosm study

Enhanced silicate weathering (ESW) in coastal environments is a promising method for ocean alkalinity enhancement. The idea behind ESW is to generate alkalinity by application of silicate minerals in coastal areas, where waves, currents and bioturbation can speed up the weathering rate. Due to its potentially large CO2 sequestration capacity and relatively high technological readiness, allowing rapid upscaling, coastal ESW currently receives substantial interest from researchers and policymakers. However, the vast majority of studies on ESW have been conducted in idealised laboratory conditions, while research on the method in natural environments is lacking. As a result, the CO2 sequestration efficiency and environmental risks when applying ESW in the field remain largely unknown. Here we present results from the first and longest-running mesocosm experiment investigating ESW and associated CO2 uptake in coastal marine sediments. Using tanks containing one square meter of natural seafloor each, we have studied biogeochemical cycling in sediment treated with the fast-weathering silicate mineral olivine. Lugworms (Arenicola marina) were added to some tanks to investigate the effect of bioturbation on the olivine dissolution rate, as well as the impact of olivine addition on biota. In the mesocosms, we quantified the sedimentary release of alkalinity and other weathering end-products (trace metals and dissolved silicate). Five years into the experiment, olivine dissolution is obvious from an elevated sedimentary alkalinity release and decreased average olivine grain size. The elevated alkalinity release has further led to higher CO2 sequestrations in tanks with olivine. Based on the results from this unique mesocosm setup, we will discuss the large-scale effect of ESW on biogeochemical cycling in coastal ecosystems