Illegal Mining: Organized Crime, Corruption, and Ecocide in a Resource-Scarce World

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Abbreviations and Acronyms
List of Figures
List of Tables
Part I Introduction
1 The New Eldorado: Organized Crime, Informal Mining, and the Global Scarcity of Metals and Minerals
	Introduction
	Global Concern with Illicit Trafficking in Precious Metals and Minerals as Organized Crime Activity
	Diversification of Organized Crime into Illegal Mining and Trafficking in Metals and Minerals
	Illegal Extractivism by Non-state Armed Groups
	Illegal vs. Informal Mining
	Corruption and Corporate Crime in the Mining Industry
	The Environmental and Social Harms of Illegal Mining
	This Book’s Contribution to Scholarship
	Structure of the Book
	References
2 Why Organized Crime Seeks New Criminal Markets
	Introduction
	What Organized Crime Does
	How Criminal Markets Are Chosen
	How Organized Crime Groups Select Individual Criminal Markets
	Why (Not) Illicitly Extracted and Traded Metals and Minerals?
	Future Directions
	References
3 The Queer Ladder of Social Mobility: Illegal Enterprise in the Anthracite Mining Region of Pennsylvania in the Interwar Decades (1917–1945)
	Introduction: Deindustrialization, Depression, and Illegal Enterprise
	Illegal Enterprise and the Restructuring of the Anthracite Industry
	The Bootleg Alcohol Trade
	Workingman’s Playground: Sex Tourism, Gambling, and Municipal Corruption in Scranton
	Conclusion: Industrial Succession and the Legacy of Anthracite Mining
	References
Part II Organized Crime in the Mining Sector
4 Links Between Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining and Organized Crime in Latin America and Africa
	Introduction
	The Role of Criminality in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector
		Informal Versus Illegal Artisanal and Small-Scale  Gold Mining
		Aggravating the Negative Impact of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining
		Latin America
		Africa
	Trafficking in Persons for Labor Exploitation in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining
		The Demand for Labor in ASGM Creates Vulnerability on a Global Scale
		Latin America
		Africa
	Trafficking in Persons for Sexual Exploitation in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining
		Latin America
		Africa
	Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining and Migrant Smuggling
	Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining, Drug Trafficking, and Money Laundering
	Conclusion
	References
5 The Diversification of Organized Crime into Gold Mining: Domination, Crime Convergence, and Ecocide in Darién, Colombia
	Introduction
	The Colonial History of Darién and the Search for Gold
	From (Neo)Colonial Interventions to Organized Crime Involvement
	The Diversification of Organized Crime
	Convergence and Transformation: Cocaine or Gold?
	Domination and Social Embeddedness: They Have Eyes Everywhere!
	Crime Mutualism and Alliances: No, It’s the Mayor…
	Diversification, Land Grabbing, and Ecocidal Harm: It Destroys Everything Around Us!
	Conclusion
	References
6 Where the Metal Meets the Flesh: Organized Crime, Violence, and the Illicit Iron Ore Economy in Mexico’s Michoacán State
	Introduction
	The Knights Templar Cartel: Origins and Activities
	The Micro-Geopolitics of Organized Crime
	The Iron Ore and the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas
	From Meth to Iron Ore
	Infiltration of the Iron Ore Production Process by Means of Coercion
	The Role of the Mexican State
	Conclusion
	References
7 Diamond Mining, Organized Crime, and Corruption
	Introduction
	A Brief History of Diamond Mining
	Mining: The First Stage of the Diamond Pipeline
	Informal Mining
	Theft and Smuggling
	Mining “Conflict Diamonds”
	Corruption
	Conclusion
	References
8 Warlords and Their Black Holes: The Plunder of Mining Regions in Afghanistan and the Central African Republic by Organized Crime
	Introduction
	Politicized Organized Crime
	Black Holes
	Afghanistan
		Background
		The Kuran wa Munjan Black Hole
	Central African Republic (CAR)
		Background
		Mining Hatred: Abdoulaye Hissène
	Conclusion
	References
Part III Organized Crime and Informal Mining
9 Shadowy Deals with “Sunny Stone”: Organized Crime, Informal Mining, and the Illicit Trade of Amber in Ukraine
	Introduction
	The Nexus Between Organized Crime and the Informal Economy
	Amber “Honeypots”: Extralegal Extraction
	Cross-Border Smuggling and Distribution of Amber
	Challenges of Formalizing Informal Amber Mining
	Conclusion
	References
10 Between Informality and Organized Crime: Criminalization of Small-Scale Mining in the Peruvian Rainforest
	Prologue: Entering the Jungle
	Introduction
	A Green Criminological Perspective
	Setting the Stage: The Formalization of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Peru
	Conflicting Narratives About Mining in Peru
	The Criminalization of Informal Gold Mining
	Miners That Care and Miners That Do Not Care
	Blurring the Line Between the Illegal and the Informal
	The Victimization of Informal Miners
	Conclusion
	References
11 When Gold Speaks, Every Tongue Is Silent: The Thin Line Between Legal, Illegal, and Informal in Peru’s Gold Supply Chain
	Introduction
	Organized Crime and Informal Gold Mining
	Methodology
	Peru’s Gold Supply Chain
		The Supply of Chemicals and Equipment
		The Production of Gold
		Trading Gold in Wholesale Markets
	The Thin Line Between Legal, Illegal, and Informal
	Conclusion
	References
12 Migrant Workers, Artisanal Gold Mining, and “More-Than-Human” Sousveillance in South Africa’s Closed Gold Mines
	Introduction
	First You Are a Criminal, then You Commit a Crime
	Life Underground
	Surface Tensions
	Disrupting Mineral and Artisanal Mineworker Surveillance
	A Fugitive Substance
	Un-labeling Migrant Miners
	Conclusion
	References
13 Digging into the Mining Subculture: The Dynamics of Trafficking in Persons in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining of Peru’s Madre de Dios
	Introduction
	Major Patterns of the Exploitation of Workers in Informal Mining
	Exploitation of Male Workers in Peru’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining
	Internal Migration and Recruiting from Ethnic Diasporas
	Prostibares: Alcohol and Sex as a Means of Indirect Coercion
	Peru’s Steps Toward Bringing an End to Human Trafficking
	Conclusion
	References
Part IV Mining, Corruption, and Money Laundering
14 Crude Oil’s Ugly Sister: The Political-Criminal Nexus and Corruption Inside Nigeria’s Solid Minerals and Mining Sector
	Introduction
	The Predatory State and State Crime
	The Political-Criminal Nexus in Nigeria
	Mining Solid Minerals in Nigeria
	Informal Miners, Criminals, and Corrupt State Officials
	Conclusion
	References
15 Min(d)ing Corruption in International Investment Arbitration
	Introduction
		The Importance of Regulation of International Investments in Mining Projects to Fight Corruption
		Fundamentals of International Investment Law and International Investment Arbitration
	How Corruption Is Dealt with in Different Stages of the Arbitral Process
		Jurisdiction
			The Notion of Jurisdiction
			Legality of an Investment
		Admissibility
		Merits
		Counterclaims
	Conclusion
	References
16 All that Glitters: Money Laundering Through Precious Metals and Minerals
	Introduction
	The Basics of Money Laundering
	Money Laundering Associated with Gold and Diamonds
	Direct Purchase of Gold with the Proceeds of Crime
	Mining Activity as a Smokescreen for the Laundering of Proceeds Generated by Other Criminal Activity
	Trade in Gold of Dubious Origins and the Role of Refineries
	Acquisition of Diamonds with Proceeds of the Drug Trade as a Means of Money Laundering
	Diamond Laundering Schemes
	Conclusion
	References
Part V Environmental Harm from Mining Activities
17 The Prevention of Green Crimes in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Peru: Translating Laws into Practice
	Introduction
	Green Criminology: Understanding the Failures of Policy Implementation
		Green Crimes and Environmental Harms
		Explaining the Factors Shaping Policy Implementation
	Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) in Peru
	Data Collection and Research Methods
	Findings
		National Policies for Formalizing Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM)
	Factors Influencing Policy Implementation
		Multiple Territorial Jurisdictions
		Communication and Coordination Mechanisms
		Resource Allocation and the State’s Organizational Capacities
		Adapting Policies to Site-Specific Contexts
	Conclusion
	References
18 Mining as Ecocide: The Case of Adani and the Carmichael Mine in Australia
	Introduction
	The Crime of “Ecocide”
	Adani and the Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project
		The Harms
		Denial of Harms
			Defense of Economic and Moral Necessity
			Denial of Injury and Responsibility
	Ecocide and the Carmichael Project
		Denial of Responsibility Versus Superior Responsibility
		Denial of Injury Versus Strict Liability
	Conclusion
	References
19 Eco-Justice and Destructive Mining in Australia: Lessons from the New South Wales Land and Environmental Court
	Introduction
	Mining in Australia
	Environment, Ecological, and Species Justice
	The New South Wales Land and Environmental Court
		Ecological Considerations
			The Bulga Mine Case
			The Gloucester Resources Limited Case
		Indigenous People
			The Williams Case
			The Gloucester Resources Limited Case
		Climate-Related Court Assessments
		Right-Wing Backlash
		Eco-Justice in Practice
	Conclusion
	References
Index