Abstract
In recent years, donors and certain governments have committed to formalizing and supporting artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)–lowtech, labour-intensive mineral extraction and processing. Few, however, are able to do so effectively because of a limited knowledge of how the sector operates, who it employs and where the commodities it mines are being channelled. This article argues that a radical re-conceptualization of ASM will be needed if these challenges are to be overcome. As a starting point, it calls on donors and policymakers to adopt the Global Production Network (GPN) as a ‘lens’ for analyzing the sector’s organizational structures. Popular in geography scholarship, the GPN, though rarely used to study the intricacies of largely-informal sectors such as ASM, could prove valuable here, aiding with the mapping of key production processes. The GPN was applied to Ghana’s artisanal diamond mining sector, research which yielded valuable insight about its organization, the roles played by the different individuals who populate it, and the nature of the relationships between these individuals. This information is a key to designing more robust formalization and support strategies for ASM in the country, and the exercise, overall, provides important lessons for other governments working to achieve similar goals.