  Using state-of-the-art techniques in computer vision, we analyze one million
satellite images covering 12% of the African continent between 1984 and 2019 to
track local development around 1,658 mineral deposits. We use stacked event
studies and difference-in-difference models to estimate the impact of mine
openings and closings. The magnitude of the effect of mine openings is
considerable - after 15 years, urban areas within 20km of an opening mine
almost double in size. We find strong evidence of a political resource curse at
the local level. Although mining boosts the local economy in democratic
countries, these gains are meager in autocracies and come at the expense of
tripling the likelihood of conflict relative to prior the onset of mining.
Furthermore, our results suggest that the growth acceleration in mining areas
is only temporary and diminishes with the closure of the mine.
