Reimagining entrepreneurship in the artisanal and small-scale mining sector: Fresh insights from sub-Saharan Africa

Mercury use in Ghana's Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) sector is a growing problem owing to the increasing numbers of people involved, locations of operation, extent of possible contamination of the natural environment and its impact on human health. For over two decades, many local and internationally-coordinated initiatives undertaken to mitigate its harmful effects in ASM communities have been mostly unsuccessful due to absence of alternative options acceptable for gold recovery and inadequate awareness of the short- and long-term health effects of mercury use. This paper examines major policy challenges in minimising mercury use in Ghana's ASM sector, arguing that a coordinated, integrated and sustained approach offers better promise in tackling the problem.

In recent years, rural livelihoods in resource-rich countries of the Global South have been rapidly transformed by the growth of the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector - low-tech, labour-intensive, mineral extraction and processing, typically focusing on precious metals and stones. Research has shown that despite being associated with a host of environmental, health and safety, and social concerns, the ASM sector provides a direct livelihood for an estimated 40 million people globally, with as many as 150 million people benefiting indirectly from the upstream and downstream activities it spawns. This work also suggests that the ASM sector has played an important role in meeting the needs of marginalised grassroots actors, including unemployed youth, women and children. However, these benefits often come at a cost. Most ASM takes place in the informal sphere, with mining activities occurring in remote areas where governance is poor, regulatory enforcement is virtually non-existent and elite capture is widespread. As the demand for key industrial minerals - such as the ‘3 T’s’ (tin, tungsten and tantalum) and cobalt - has soared in recent years, artisanal mineral supply chains that feed production in the major electronic companies have also come under increasing scrutiny. Research exploring the ‘darker side’ of ASM has examined its link to human rights abuses, shadow state economies, money laundering and criminal and terrorist networks. This chapter provides an introduction and critical overview of ASM and livelihoods in developing countries of the Global South. Drawing upon case study examples predominantly from sub-Saharan Africa, a range of different minerals that are extracted artisanally are explored. In reviewing both the challenges and benefits that artisanal operators face, the merits of a formalised ASM sector are discussed as a possible way of safeguarding livelihoods and ensuring that more benefits accrue to host communities where extraction takes place.

Tackling youth unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa: Is there a role for artisanal and small-scale mining?

From carats to karats: explaining the shift from diamond to gold mining by artisanal miners in Ghana

Hello, Reddit! We are a team of conservationists and scientists here to discuss artisanal and small-scale mining, its surprising importance to some of our most beloved possessions, and its effects on biodiversity. Let’s discuss! Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)—the mining of metals and minerals by hand, often using tools as simple as a hammer and a pick—-is an enormous part of our industrial supply chain. In fact, ASM is the main source of income for over 40 million people world wide, and is responsible for between 15–20% of all the world’s mineral and metal production. ASM produces huge percentages of the world’s gold, tin, and cobalt supplies, which, as you may know, are all absolutely crucial ingredients to one of our most important possessions- our smart phones. As things stand, there are some serious drawbacks to artisanal and small scale mining. Notably, ASM requires a lot of water to clean the mined materials before they’re ready for sale, and in some cases, numerous poisonous solvents must be used as well. What results is contaminated water, decreased biodiversity, and birth defects—and these are just some of the problems. For these reasons, we’ve been extremely interested lately in potential technological, logistical, and political solutions that could improve the lives of ASM workers and protect their environments. We’re here today with some ideas of our own, but certainly not all the answers. We hope that we can have a lively discussion about artisanal mining, really dig into the issues surrounding it, and maybe even unearth some possible solutions. Today’s discussion is in collaboration with Conservation X Labs, a D.C. based conservation non-profit that acts as an incubator to help innovators and organizations bring great conservation ideas to life and get them out into the world where they can make a difference for the people who need them. Conservation X Labs is putting up $750,000 dollars in prize money in hopes of finding solutions to improve lives of ASM workers and protect their environments. Our discussion-panel guests today are: Alex Dehgan (u/Alex_Dehgan): I am CEO and co-founder of Conservation X Labs. I recently served as the Chief Scientist at USAID, with rank of Assistant Administrator, and co-founded the Global Development Lab. I am also the Chanler Innovator at Duke University and served as Duke’s inaugural David Rubenstein Fellow. Prior to USAID, I worked in multiple positions within the Office of the Secretary, and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, at the Dept. of State, where I used science and conservation as a diplomatic tool for engagement with countries in the Islamic world, including Iran. I also hold a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings, and a B.S. from Duke University, and am the author of The Snow Leopard Project and Other Adventures in Warzone Conservation. Luis E. Fernandez (u/Luis_E_Fernandez): I am the Executive Director of the Amazon Scientific Innovation Center (CINCIA) and an Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Biology at Wake Forest University. I am a tropical ecologist, as well as an expert in the dynamics and impact of environmental mercury in areas where artisanal mining is common. I have held positions at the Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford University, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Environmental Agency. Nicole M. Smith (u/Nicole_M_Smith): I am a cultural anthropologist with research interests in artisanal and small-scale mining; sustainability and social responsibility, as well as engineering education. I am an Assistant Professor in the Mining Engineering Department at the the Colorado School of Mines. I am currently the PI for a U.S. Department of State-funded project addressing mercury use among Peruvian artisanal and small-scale gold miners, as well as the Co-PI on a National Science Foundation-funded project that applies an interdisciplinary, community-centered approach to understanding ASM systems in Colombia and Peru. I am also a research fellow at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland and a scholarly affiliate with the Gemstone and Sustainable Development Knowledge Hub. James McQuilken (u/James_McQuilken): I am a Program Officer in Pact’s Mines to Markets program, and the Project Manager and Technical Lead on DELVE, a global data initiative between the World Bank and Pact to develop an online platform on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Based in Kigali, Rwanda, I am also the ASM specialist on Sustainable Development of Mining in Rwanda (SDMR). Based on over a year of fieldwork in Ghana, my PhD thesis maps small-scale mining networks of gold and diamond production and develops policy recommendations to improve mineral certification and formalization initiatives in the region. We’ll be around ~1pm EST to answer your questions and discuss artisanal and small-scale mining with you!

Serious games as a social learning tool in formalizing the artisanal and small-scale mining sector in African territories

Appraisal of gold production and trade via Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) in Tanzania has been achieved through assessing the literature and onsite interviews. Authors settle on the understanding that ASM is extricated to Industrial Mining (IM) upon funding, informality, and applications of technology. However, ASM has been embraced in Tanzania pre-to post-independence based on two facts: i) its gold production in the primordial period made a gateway to export trade, and ii) ASM was a feasible means of gold production in periods of insufficient infrastructures and geo-political and economic challenges. Gold produced via ASM worth £363,084,500 equivalent to Sh. 1,194.3 billion (in present-day values) was recorded during the German colonial administration (1886-1920). For the British colonial administration (1920-1961), gold worth of £169,854,560 equivalent to Sh. 558.7 billion was produced. Smuggling and illegal markets obscured the amount of gold produced and traded immediately after independence. However, two years after the establishment of the local mineral markets (2019 – 2021), Government’s collection from ASM gold sales rose from Sh. 61.53 billion to Sh.154.49 billion making 151.08% increase. In 2021, gold ASM contributed 2.6% to the GDP implying that, ASM holds a great potential of contributing significantly to the social-economic development of the resource-rich developing countries. Tanzania has worked to formalize ASM legally, and through the establishment of demonstration centers, demarcating sites, oversight, and mineral markets. Nevertheless, lack of access to loans because of bankers’ stringent conditions deters its growth. Therefore, it is imminent for scholars to research on appropriate mechanisms of ASM financing, and for the government to institute policy changes that will recognize Primary Mining Licenses (PMLs) as assets, to help alleviate the problems with lending practices and enhance ASM’s economic contribution.

This paper examines whether or not cooperatives increase and accelerate wealth creation among Small Scale and Artisanal Miners. The objective being to contribute to finding a common ground for policy formulation and implementation in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) sector. The methodology adopted was a scoping review of published research papers. A comprehensive search was carried out using SCISPACE together with its extension copilot advanced search for articles published between 2001 and 2021. The results of the study were achieved by establishing linkages between Cooperatives and ASM performance. The search was limited to English language, and scholarly peer-reviewed papers. A total of 20 research papers were found to be eligible for review (based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria). This paper finds that there is a case for positive and negative impact of cooperatives on wealth creation and poverty reduction in the ASM sector. However, there is need for more empirical studies in the ASM sector on the impact of cooperatives. Further, studies conducted in other sectors that have shown positive results, there has been no attempt to show the impact of the phenomenon of the “Tragedy of the Commons” in the cooperatives and how it can be mitigated.

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operations continue to grow across sub-Saharan Africa and serve as a source of livelihood to many rural communities. Owing to safety, health, environmental, and social concerns, the occupation has been regarded as a menace in several sub-Sahara African countries. Recent studies in the field of ASM prescribe formalization as a way to tame its excesses while enhancing its potential. This paper explores the concept of formalization as it relates to ASM and how it is being affected by the funding situation. The paper seeks to address the question as to whether formalization of artisanal mining operations can achieve the desired results in view of the lingering credit constraints in this mining subsector. It is recommended that, as a way of extending the scope of formalization, focus should be placed not only on access to credit in ASM but also towards optimizing the creditworthiness of ASM firms, with the goal of improving the viability of the operations.

Artisanal and small-scale mining and the Sustainable Development Goals: Opportunities and new directions for sub-Saharan Africa

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) takes place in approximately 80 countries, and it is widespread in parts of Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Estimates range from 40 to 100 million ASM miners operating worldwide, and ASM generates a significant share of global production for commodities such as gold, tantalum, tin, gemstones, and diamonds. Geologists may encounter ASM activity when exploring new areas or when ASM miners move into existing exploration projects or the vicinity of large-scale mines. These interactions can be contentious, leading to conflicts that force project delays or abandonment. Alternatively, both groups can collaborate to generate mutual benefits, enabling mining companies to gain social license to operate and at the same time manage the environmental impacts of ASM, while the ASM miners maintain culturally and economically important livelihoods. Technical and social factors can help to predict the potential for coexistence or conflict with ASM operators, including the geology of the deposit type, the mining method, and the economic, legal, historical, and cultural context of a project. We present a series of case studies on ASM in Latin America, highlighting five coexistence models that have been previously implemented between mining companies and ASM operators. Our intent is to raise awareness of ASM, so that geologists can consciously consider its impacts on early exploration and subsequent decision-making. Secondly, we aim to encourage broader discussion of the role of ASM in mineral production and sustainable development.

Introduction Women face a multiplicity of challenges in occupational environments particularly in artisanal and small scale mining (ASM). This is due to gendered occupational health and safety issues where women are considered a weaker gender and considered inferior even in mining, Women also face multiple competing roles including family responsibilities. Experiences in Zimbabwe of dealing with women in ASMs have provided important lessons learnt in health and safety. Methods Baines Occupational Health Services is implementing an occupational health program in Zimbabwe for screening for occupational lung diseases in ASM. The program provides for workplace based screening for ASMs in remote areas. This also includes conducting health and safety promotion sessions. Women involved in ASM also participate in the program. Through the interaction and screening services of women important revelations have emerged that are important for occupational health and safety. Results Women in ASM reported several challenges that affect them in accessing occupational health services. These range from the fact that they work with their children and fear being accused of child abuse when they present for screening services. Women cited challenges with gender based violence and being looked down upon by their male counterparts. There is predominance of men and women feel overwhelmed queuing for services especially if they are pregnant and breastfeeding. Discussion and Conclusion Specific strategies for occupational health services provision for women in ASM should take into account the special issues of children, pregnancy, breastfeeding and gender based violence. Gender based violence against women in ASM requires special management.

The ‘Zambia Model’: A blueprint for formalizing artisanal and small-scale mining in sub-Saharan Africa?

Women, North-South migration and artisanal and small-scale mining in Ghana: Motivations, drivers and socio-economic implications

Gender and artisanal and small-scale mining: implications for formalization