Pulling the rug out from under: The land tenure dynamics of mining concessions in sub-Saharan Africa

Recent developments in GIS mapping have shown there are significant overlaps between mining concessions and pre-existing forms of land tenure. Yet, there is limited research that analyses the impact of these overlaps on relevant developmental issues - particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In an effort to remedy this situation, this article pieces together existing research on the sub-Saharan African region to argue that these overlaps can push pre-existing land users to the margins of land access, which when combined with the indirect forms of environmental degradation unleashed by overlapping land rights can spark community-company conflict in turn increasing risk for investors. Therefore, greater attention needs to be paid to exploring the social, economic and environmental transformation of land in the context of mining concessions, while concessionary contracts need to incorporate an improved understanding of pre-existing land use patterns through community-led mapping and discussion.