Mining and Marine Resources in Africa PDF

Mining and Marine Resources  Mineral Production in Africa – Mining :- the extraction of precious minerals and other useful materials from the earth’s surface through open cast or deep shaft methods” (Benning and Asiedu, 2008) – Mineral Mining is an important sector of Africa’s economy....

Mining and Marine Resources  Mineral Production in Africa – Mining :- the extraction of precious minerals and other useful materials from the earth’s surface through open cast or deep shaft methods” (Benning and Asiedu, 2008) – Mineral Mining is an important sector of Africa’s economy. employment avenues foreign exchange earnings …………… ……………  Mineral Production in Africa In terms of mineral wealth, Africa stands tall After almost two centuries of domestic and foreign exploitation, Africa still has - 99% of world’s chromite reserves; 85% of platinum; 81% of phosphate; 68% of cobalt; and 54% of gold. Africa produces 70% of the world’s platinum, 54% of its cobalt and 16% of its bauxite. Considerable quantities of petroleum, largest reserve of manganese (USGS, 2011)  Mineral Production in Africa Minerals rank – 1st on the list of export of 28 countries (e.g. CAR, Congo, Tanzania, Eritrea) – 2nd in 13 countries (e.g. Angola, Ghana, Sudan, Zambia) – 3rd in 12 countries (e.g. Algeria, Botswana, DRC, S/Africa) Mineral production also provides a substantial number of employment (Ofori- Amoah, 2019)  Evolution and Development of Mineral Production in Africa Precolonial Period ▪ Mineral production in Africa predates the colonial period – From ancient Egypt to the era of colonialism, Africans learned to search for (exploit) and use minerals. – The mineral wealth of some African countries led to some of the important civilizations such as Western Sudanese Empires and forest states of W/Africa. *The prominence of gold in the Asante and Zimbabwe Kingdoms *Iron ore mining among the people of North and South Africa *copper mining and usage in areas such as Zambia and DRC Evolution and Development of Mineral Production in Africa Colonial Period – The colonial period established European control over mineral production in Africa. – Colonial mining activities began in South Africa with the exploitation of copper deposits in the 1850s *But diamonds and gold raised the profile of colonial mining in S/Africa. *This brought in about 30,000 individual prospectors to S/Africa. Evolution and Development of Mineral Production in Africa Colonial Period – Uncontrolled digging and lack of sophisticated technologies and capital – Consolidation of resources in 1889 by DeBeers and Kimberly Mines ❖Introduction of two types of mining to Africa - Mining system of precolonial era – Artisanal mining - Corporate-based mining system – Industrial/large- scale mining ❖ Company compound/town Evolution and Development of Mineral Production in Africa Postcolonial Period – At the return to independence, Africa’s mining sector was dominated by foreign subsidiary firms. – The sector offered fewer and low-skilled jobs to the African (Zambia 15%, DRC 2%) Nationalization of mining operations – Managerial incompetence – Financial mismanagement – Political interference – Low investments Mineral Production in East Africa – EA has a wide variety of minerals; however, only a few deposits are large enough to be of value – Not all of the minerals are being exploited. – The distribution of the minerals is determined by the geological formations – The exploitation of the minerals is influenced by *the size/amount of the deposits *how accessible the mineral is *world prices of the commodity *politics  Mineral Production in East Africa Important Minerals Country Minerals Tanzania Diamond, Gold, Tin, Phosphate, coal and iron ore Uganda Copper, Tin, Phosphate, Petroleum Oil*, Beryl*, Gold Kenya Gold Rwanda Tin  Mineral Production in East Africa * Beryl is mined on a small-scale in South–West Uganda – useful for the production of atomic energy and fatigue resistant alloys * Large deposits of oil have been discovered in Uganda – Crude oil reserves (6.5 billion barrels) * Increased small-scale gold mining activities  Challenges of Mineral Production in East Africa Low rents/taxes Environmental degradation Social vices ……………….. ………………… ………………… How to enhance benefits of the mining industry Reasonable negotiations and mutually acceptable balance between interests of investors and countries Sensitivity to time factors such as market conditions Values of human rights must be upheld Host countries’ political and economic situation ……………….. ………………..  Marine Resources Africans are not only farmers…….. Fisheries classified by location – Ocean/marine fisheries (i.e consist of open seas) – Inland fisheries (i.e extraction from inland waters) By technological sophistication, they are artisanal or industrial. Industrial fisheries use advanced equipment and technologies –boats propelled by gas/electric engines and sophisticated fishing gear.  Marine Resources Marine fishes – broadly classified as demersals and pelagics Demersals : live at or near the bottom and include cod, haddock, hake, pollock and the flatfish family. Pelagics : live near the surface and include herrings, tuna etc  Pre and colonial Fishing in EAR The Luo of Kenya engagement in fishing – Developed several methods of fishing including The use of basket traps and herding for lake fishing Stockades and weirs for fishing in rivers and areas of Lake Victoria *Fisheries were not a colonial priority compared to farming and mining (Colonial Era) Developments Colonial government enacted a law setting the minimum mesh for gill net at 127mm in 1933 – Decline of indigenous species in spite of law due to increase in number of fishermen – Colonial admin introduced four species of tilapia to the lake from 1952-1963  Colonial Period Establishment of fisheries institutions and commissioning of several fisheries studies. e.g Lake Victoria Fisheries Service of 1947; East Africa Fisheries Research in Zanzibar Post-colonial Commercialization of fishing Dismantling of colonial institutions  Post-colonial Period Challenges of fisheries management – Over dependence on fishery resources – Use of illegal fishing gears – illegal methods of fishing – Harvesting of endangered species – ……………………………… – ……………………………… ❖Introduction of the African Fisheries Reform Strategy