Abstract EN:

Mining industry has always been attractive for African countries and is taking on a strategic character in the national economies. For that reason, decolonization often coincided with a voluntaristic orientation of policies in favor of development. The sixties (60') and seventies '70') characterized by a relatively stable demand for raw materials and by the fear of scarcity in the main consumer countries provided producer countries with the opportunity of making rapid progress, both economically and socially, therefore it was important first that the legal founding in international law emerge so as to allow national control and then implement action in favor of prices. At the same time, the access to mining development was subjected to a reinforced protection at the internal level. The world mining industry entering a period of structural crisis, tends to situate the problem of mining development in an unprecedented context and the African alternative strategies cannot be put into practice immediately. The small scale mining which appears in this context among the solutions to be adopted, could generate internal effects (economic and social), however the legal restrictions and ambiguities seem to hinder because of their existence, the scope of this orientation.