“Orpaillage pays for everything”: How artisanal mining supported rural institutions following Mali's coup d’état

•I discuss the coup d’etat in Mali and the effects of this on rural institutions.•I show how small-scale mining provided funding to families and institutions in rural Mali.•I call for formalization of Mali's small-scale mining industry.

This paper argues that during the period after the March 2012 coup d’etat in Mali, rural institutions in gold-rich areas of country shifted their revenue dependence away from the state and instead drew upon a local, evolving artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. The paper discusses the effects of the March 2012 coup and its aftermath on the state and how these changes trickled down to local institutions in the rural commune of Yallankoro-Soloba. During that same period, technological advances in the commune's ASM sector increased local investment and improved profitability in ASM activities. As the state withdrew financial support from the commune government and social services, local government officials, medical services, educational institutions and local populations were able to capitalize on these ASM-generated revenues. The research finds that Mali suffers from the same ASM formalization problems as other mineral rich countries in the region. What makes Mali's situation unique is that ASM has become a critical rural industry which is not only supplying much needed income to rural people, but also serving to informally fund social institutions from the bottom up during a time of national crisis. Local government officials are stuck in limbo between the state which provides them with legitimacy and ASM which supports their communes’ population and institutions. The paper concludes that even as Mali begins its recovery, there are urgent needs to formalize rural ASM. If formalization actions are delayed, technological advances will make formalization even more difficult and enable institutions and local officials to become increasingly detached from the fragile central government.