...[As] international companies move into ever more remote and politically risky countries, they sometimes tread on the toes of miners who have worked that land for years. Alternatively, the mining conglomerates' trucks and cranes can act as magnets that draw small-scale miners to a previously unexplored area. Whatever the dynamic, the result can be explosive... The intense battle for resources is sometimes causing violent clashes between multinational companies and what some industry officials call "cowboys."... In Ghana,...illegal miners...have disrupted operations in several mines and are costing companies millions of dollars... "They are not poor locals," said Chris Anderson, director of corporate and external affairs in Africa for the mining giant Newmont.. "The tragedy in all this is that the smaller miner is not being lifted out of poverty," said Paul Hollesen, vice president of environment and community affairs at AngloGold Ashanti.