Tangled up in Blue: Tanzanite Mining and Conflict in Mererani, Tanzania

Abstract

The ownership of Tanzania's mineral wealth and the governance of its extraction have been intensely contested and debated issues in Tanzania in recent years. This article explores the conflictual relations between the small-scale/artisanal and large-scale industrial mining sectors in Tanzania through the case of the tanzanite industry in Mererani. It argues that the many changes in the government's approach to regulating mineral extraction as well as the government's inability to regulate the mining sector have played a vital part in aggravating tension between different parties involved in the extraction process. This has allowed for the emergence of a plurality of governance regimes in Mererani and consequently further increased tension in the sector. The article also highlights that the grievances voiced by the small-scale mining community mirror and tap into the rhetoric of the former ujamaa policies of Julius Nyerere and TANU.

Keywords:

• Industrial mining
• small-scale mining
• conflict
• Tanzania
• governance
• tanzanite