Editor’s Note
This article explores the complex journey of semi-precious stones from artisanal mining sites in Namibia to the global market, detailing the local practices and transformative processes that embed these resources within international supply chains.
This article examines the territorial embeddedness of semi-precious stone supply chains in Namibia and their integration into global markets. It highlights the local dynamics of artisanal extraction in the Erongo region and analyzes the requalification processes that transform these stones from extraction to circulation. The study is based on fieldwork conducted between 2023 and 2025 in the mining sites of Xoboxobos and Tubusis, combining participant observation and interviews with miners, intermediaries, and small-mining professionals. The article first explores the territorialization of mining practices, then analyzes the role of intermediaries in the circulation of semi-precious stones, and finally interrogates the mechanisms of deterritorialization that integrate these resources into global supply chains. By jointly mobilizing the concepts of extractive territoriality and scalability, this article sheds light on how the local anchoring of semi-precious stone extraction in Namibia structures market dynamics while revealing the processes through which these supply chains adjust their procurement practices to integrate into global circuits.
supply chains, territorialities, small-scale mining, artisanal mining, semi-precious stones, value chains, scalability, extraction
From Extractive Territoriality
Examining the Supply Chain
The Journey of a Semi-Precious Stone Through the Value Chain
Discussion
This research was funded in whole or in part by the French National Research Agency (ANR) under the COSMO-ART project, ANR-21-CE27-0011. For the purpose of open-access publication, the author/rights holder applies a CC-BY open-access license to any article/manuscript accepted for publication (AAM) resulting from this submission. This work also benefited from state aid managed by the French National Research Agency under the “France 2030” program, reference ANR-15-IDEX-0002, via the LabEx ITEM, GéoExTour research project.
