This insightful ethnographic monograph, written in accessible prose and free from unnecessary jargon, paints a colourful picture of the life-worlds of different groups of participants in the artisanal extraction of so-called 3 T minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten) in the war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). James Smith’s book is bound to become a classic in the anthropology of mining and the conflict minerals literature. The Eyes of the World is highly recommended reading for anyone interested in the socio-cultural dimensions of extractive frontier expansion, the relationship between mineral extraction and conflict, the mining-development nexus, networked forms of resource governance, and supply chain capitalism.
