The persistence of informality: Perspectives on the future of artisanal mining in Liberia

• Artisanal mining in Liberia remains a largely informal activity, dominated by subsistence miners.
• Current mining legislation is ill-adapted to the realities of mining in Liberia and fails to significantly encourage formalization as miners cannot afford formalization cost.
• Field research shows the prevalence of informal negotiations between local authorities and miners in order to gain the informal permission to mine.
• Local realities should be used as a starting point for future mining policy reforms, since artisanal mining will remain the dominant mode of resource extraction in Liberia over the next decade.

Throughout most of the developing world, the artisanal and small-scale exploitation of high-value resources such as gold and diamonds, often takes place informally, without the proper legal authorization. Government officials often blame this informality on miners’ unwillingness to comply with legal requirements. However, the lack of government capacity to adequately enforce such legislation, and the question of whether or not that legislation is actually feasible, is rarely considered to be a relevant factor determining the level of informality of artisanal mining operations. Drawing on field research in Liberia, this paper argues that many artisanal miners are in fact operating at various stages of legality, through payment of informal taxes, and following informal agreements made with local government officials. This kind of informal taxation can be seen as a locally grounded formalization, benefiting both cash-strapped artisanal miners who are unable to pay the full fees required by the Mining Code, and underpaid government officials who are presented with an opportunity to supplement their incomes. While illegal in absolute terms, these practices raise important questions regarding the feasibility and legitimacy of the current Mining Code, and the ways in which this crucial economic activity should be regulated in the future.