Social minefield

This research project by Marijke Verpoorten, Nik Stoop and Janvier Kilosho studied the nexus between mineral resources, employment opportunities and conflict in the artisanal gold mining sector of South-Kivu. Their research concentrated on Kamituga, where they have completed three rounds of fieldwork:

  • June 2013: Census of artisanal gold mining pits and actors
  • May-June 2014: First pilot of research phase I
  • December 2014: Second pilot of research phase I & exploring options for phase II
  • May 2015: Survey

The survey instruments can be found here:

Stoop et al_Appendix Kamituga Survey Report

Stoop et al_Kamituga Survey Report

The first results can be read in The social minefield of gold digging in South Kivu, which has been published as an IOB Analysis and Policy Brief. You can find more information on the research progress on Nik Stoop’s website.

In 2020, Nik and Marijke published an article together with Sara Geenen, quantifying how much artisanal miners earn, and trying to find out what determines their earnings. The article is published in Resources Policy. The author copy can be found here: Geenen, Stoop and Verpoorten 2020_How much do artisanal miners earn_author copy

DSC01607 Nik en Janvier

Pictures ©Sara Geenen and Nik Stoop