Mining Lifeway and Precarization in Traditional Mining in Two Colombian Gold Bearing Areas

Abstract

This article reports on the perceptions regarding mining lifeway and the neoliberal precarization problematic of traditional miners from two renowned Colombian gold bearing areas. We used a qualitative approach, and the specific method was symbolic interactionism. The sample consisted of fifteen traditional miners who underwent both labor and mining activity formalization. The information collection techniques were two interviews per participant, three discussion groups and one non-participant observation. Results show that: (1) miners assign a tangible and an intangible value to their extractive activity; (2) they become abundance predictors; (3) they build supporting social networks when facing precariousness based on solidarity and trust bonds; (4) They attribute an intangible value to traditional mining constituted by intergenerational learning, the conservation of traditionality and customs and beliefs. It concludes that there is a tripod of mining precariousness formed by formalization, precariousness, and the large extractive company.