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DOI

10.65844/2549-4333.1255

Abstract

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activities are proliferating and portrayed as playing a significant role in the economies and livelihoods of many countries, while also being correlated with environmental degradation and social issues. The existence of this mining, especially illegal mining conducted by the community, stimulates the emergence of debates among the involved actors to legitimize their arguments and positions, as well as their existence. While the previous discussion featured the contradictions between mining and its impacts, legal aspects, and conflicts, this research reviews the contentious narratives related to ASM in two provinces in Sumatra, Jambi and the Bangka Belitung Islands. By applying comparative analyses, this research specifically explores the narratives produced and reproduced, as well as the effect of legitimacy patterns by the three involved actors. This research reveals shocking facts that miners consistently use economic, historical, and traditional reasons as a right to life. On the one hand, the government and environmentalists share similar narratives on the environment, sustainability, and safety, but in the context of legality, they are contradictory. These three contradictory narrative mainstreams signify that power operates for the actors' existence who do not directly represent individual or collective attitudes, where one moment is contradictory, but another is not. The survival power of sophisticated narratives by various actors works in maintaining power and influencing or changing control. Moreover, the production and reproduction of discourse is a mode of existence in the controversy arena that has similar tendencies in the context of mining.

Pages

320-339

Received Date

28 January 2025

Accepted Date

30 September 2025

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