Paarth Sharma
Research Mentor: Brian Klein
Mentor Department: Afroamerican and African Studies, LSA
Author(s): Not Available
Session: Session 7 (4:00 PM – 4:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 13
Abstract
This research project seeks to understand and evaluate the relationships between the political-economic and socio-ecological consequences of critical mineral extraction, specifically looking at it through the context of the African island nation of Madagascar. Madagascar has had a long history of largely untapped mineral abundance, specifically in the critical minerals sector. But in recent years, foreign corporations and governments have taken a great deal of interest in the nation’s supply of graphite, cobalt, ilmenite, nickel, and other rare earth elements. A host of multinational corporations–with the support of foreign governments, including the United States and China–have invested millions of dollars into the country’s mining sector to get projects up and running, often failing to sufficiently consult local communities as they do so. These dynamics have led to conflict between corporate, government, and local interests. Our research aims to put these conflicts in deeper and broader context by examining the relationships between these different actors, institutions, and interests, as well as the history of extraction in Madagascar and the contours of global “critical mineralsâ€_x009d_ supply chains. To do so, we have undertaken a comprehensive collection and review of related academic research, archival sources, government and NGO documents, industry and sector reports, policy documents, and popular and social media. The resulting synthesis puts Madagascar’s critical minerals rush in fuller global and historical context while also illuminating the particularities shaping extractive projects on the island.
