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ID160683
Title ProperRegulating the old game of smuggling? coltan mining, trade and reforms in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
LanguageENG
AuthorWakenge, Claude Iguma
Summary / Abstract (Note)This article examines the smuggling of coltan into and out of artisanal mining areas in northern Katanga where the ITRI Tin Supply Chain Initiative (iTSCi), a policy on conflict minerals, tries to improve transparency in trading tin, tantalum (coltan) and tungsten. The article approaches smuggling from a sociology of economic life perspective, closely examining how and why artisanal miners and mine-based middlemen (négociants) helped smugglers (hiboux) in the trafficking of coltan. The findings indicate that the social networks in which miners and mine-based négociants are embedded allow the miners, négociants and smugglers to maintain close relationships and to breach official regulations, but miners and mine-based négociants also rely on the same networks to cheat in their dealings with the smugglers. This article concludes that, rather than considering coltan mining areas to be ‘enclaves of regulations’, understanding and addressing smuggling at both local and broader contexts call for a comprehensive, more contextualised approach.
`In' analytical NoteJournal of Modern African Studies Vol. 56, No.3; Sep 2018: p.497-522
Journal SourceJournal of Modern African Studies 2018-09 56, 3
Key WordsDemocratic Republic of the Congo ;  Coltan Mining ;  Trade and Reforms