Mineral Ecologies: Formalization, Alluvial Mining and Territorial Struggles in Latin America

Gisselle Vila Benites, Cornell Atkinson Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Global Development, Cornell University. 

This presentation examines community engagement with small-scale alluvial mining in tropical regions. It addresses two core questions: How do landscape transformations influence community decisions to integrate the mining economy? And to what extent do these transformations shape choices regarding mining formalization?

Applying a mineral ecologies framework, which analyzes community governance adaptation to mining-induced and environmental changes, I identify that flexible mining deposits (waste mounds, ponds, and intermittent lands) and ethnic territorial claims motivate formalization as a means to strengthen communal authority over fluctuating minerals and aquatic bodies.

This presentation is part of the fall 2025 Colloquium series sponsored by the Geography and the Environment Department.