Samenvatting

In Suriname gold mining has been a source of conflict over the past decades. Conflicts between miners and local populations (Maroons and Indigenous), between large-scale companies and small-scale miners (local and migrant), between the State and the small-scale miners. Different governments have tried to organise the sector, but were never successful. The government Bouterse-Ameraali (since 2010) has established a committee to sort things out. They focus on the economic value of gold, and its potential contribution to the development of the country through tax revenues. In this article the authors argue that the legal informalisation of small-scale mining is the source of the conflicts. This informal status of small-scale mining results from lack of adequate legislation and the non-recognition of land rights. This will not be resolved with the registration for tax paying goals. Formalisation of small-scale mining seems a more efficient step towards the expressed objective of the policy: the development of Suriname.