Gold panning in C��te d'Ivoire

The policy of diversification of the Ivorian economy opens the field to the mining resources sector. Mining is dominated by two dual modes of exploitation. Formal and informal exploitation. Informal exploitation activities are experiencing a remarkable expansion. Despite a socio-institutional context marked by the intensification of the fight against illegal gold washing this is a sector that is recording new categories of actors. This activity was originally dominated by non-nationals (Malians Guineans Burkinabés etc.). The indigenous populations of agricultural culture are involved in this activity and continue to do so. As a result there has been a conversion of populations from the agricultural economy to the mining economy. The indigenous Dida of Agbahou/Côte d''Ivoire perceive gold panning as a way out of their precarious living conditions. Livelihood strategies in this context are built insistently around this activity. This raises a question: what are the reasons for the proliferation of these activities?