From Mali to Dubai: The United Arab Emirates & African gold

Voices of the Middle East and North Africa

Now approaching seventy tons annually, gold has replaced cotton as Mali’s leading export, turning that country into Africa’s third-largest gold producer. The primary destination of artisanal gold seems to be the United Arab Emirates. By all evidence, the gold that shines in the souks of Dubai is the product of a complex web of criminal networks, terrorist groups and internationally sanctioned regimes, who use this non-industrially mined gold to launder their money. The Emirates have long been a global hub for transnational African merchants, who travel to Dubai to purchase imported goods such as Japanese-made auto parts or Chinese-made garments. Emirati authorities and commercial players are now exploiting their country’s existing commercial status to make the UAE an important node for the trade in precious metals, especially gold. These buyers are actively financing associates in Mali and throughout the Sahel and Sahara regions, driving the expansion of artisanal mining into new areas." Bruce Whitehouse is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Lehigh University- HIS WORK and research have concentrated on postcolonial sub-Saharan Africa, anthropological demography, development, with a special emphasis on transnational migration. I spoke with him about the reasons why Mali is emerging a the main production hub for Sahelian countries and why Dubai is the number one destination for artisanal gold trade. Guest: Bruce Whitehouse, associate professor of anthropology at Lehigh University