Social Reproduction in Sites of Artisanal Mining – A Comparison of Ghana and South Africa

In “Social Reproduction in Sites of Artisanal Mining – A Comparison of Ghana and South Africa”, Hibist Kassa considers how social reproduction is shaped by, and in turn shapes socio-economic and socio-ecological relations in and around sites of petty commodity production and petty capitalism in mining.

This paper is part of Nawi Collective’s “Care under Social Reproduction” series. Nawi Collective is a Care Economies in Context project partner.

Citation

Kassa, H. (2026). Social Reproduction in Sites of Artisanal Mining – A Comparison of Ghana and South Africa. https://dev.nawi.africa/kofa/website-admin/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Social-Reproduction-in-sites-of-Artisanal-Mining-HIbist-Kassa.pdf

Abstract

This paper examines accumulation processes in artisanal mining, focusing on petty commodity production and its interaction with social reproduction. In this context, social reproduction compensates for the gaps left by the State and markets, while being shaped by coercive mechanisms embedded in mining regulations, social norms, and practices. These factors support the labour process in mineral extraction, particularly enabling the super-exploitation of labour—including women’s care work—and contributing to environmental degradation. The tension between social reproduction in artisanal mining and the environmental destruction it accelerates stems from the pressure to maximize profits driven by capitalist accumulation, large-scale mining operations, and global market demand. This conflict is further intensified by the precarious conditions under which the labour process is organised. This paper specifically focuses on social reproduction in artisanal mining coexisting and in conflict with large-scale mining in South Africa and Ghana from the year 2015 to 2019. While in South Africa artisanal miners experienced persistent criminalisation, in Ghana criminalisation culminated in a nationwide moratorium in 2017. In both instances, the States’ efforts to regulate mining contrast with the liberalisation of the mining sector, and their bias towards corporate interests, which also affects environmental protection. There was also a distinct lack of or inadequate social provisioning that eroded protections that could cushion retrenched mineworkers, plus the unemployed and informal workers in times of crisis. The paper argues that social reproduction in petty commodity production and petty capitalism in mining is shaped by and shapes the labour process and socio-ecological relations. The State deploys coercion in a manner that disorganises production relations and connects social reproductive work to re-centre accumulation strategies dominated by corporate-led extraction. The mining regime and global extractive production systems have created precarious social, economic, and ecological conditions that remain unresolved. As a result, artisanal and small-scale mining persists.