L'eco-nomia occulta delle miniere di diamanti della Sierra Leone

Diamond mining in Sierra Leone has always been a risky activity that may be associated with both danger, violence and crime as well as success, wealth and even happiness. Those who decide to work or invest their own money in a mining venture know that they are taking a risk; many of them go as far as comparing mining to gambling. The distribution of alluvial diamonds in the ground is irregular and there are no existing instruments or methods that can guarantee their presence. Not surprisingly some miners rely on magic-religious interpretations that help them make sense of the most unpredictable, risky and random events. Drawing upon ethnographic research in the diamond mining sites of Sierra Leone, my thesis uses an historical materialist approach to analyses the point of views of the artisanal and small scale diamond miners on risk and uncertainty. In particular, my thesis focuses on the link between the forms of material production and the imaginaries of diamond mining. My aim is to analyse miners’ ideas and practises in their specific historical, political and cultural context by considering the wide range of moral notions circulating among the workers. To sum up, my thesis considers the cultural production of a mineral resource in the global arena of capitalism.