Artisanal mining

Artisanal mining, conducted by subsistence or small-scale miners (ASMs), involves independent, often manual, extraction of minerals. ASM is prevalent in developing nations, providing livelihoods for over 90% of the world’s mining workforce, comprising around 40.5 million individuals from over 80 countries. This sector is crucial for rural poor communities, contributing significantly to the global supply of gold, gemstones, diamonds, and tin.

The four main types of ASM are permanent, seasonal, rush-type, and shock-push mining. Seasonal mining is common, aligning with agricultural cycles, while other forms involve migration influenced by commodity prices, conflicts, or natural disasters. However, ASM faces numerous challenges, including regulatory oversight, security of land tenure, and adherence to environmental, safety, and labor standards.

Issues such as child labor, fatal accidents (especially in coal, gold, and stone mines), and the lack of regulatory control pose significant concerns. To address these challenges, suggestions include organizing miners into cooperatives and implementing certification processes for minerals like gold.

Globally, ASM contributes 17-20% of annual gold production (380-450 tonnes), impacting both the international gold industry and local economies. The rising demand for lithium-ion battery-powered products has led to increased cobalt demand, resulting in a surge in artisanal cobalt mining, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This boom, however, brings serious risks, with an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 artisanal miners in the DRC facing injuries and death, with around 2,000 deaths annually due to the hazards of cobalt mining.

Formalization of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) is essential for maximizing its positive impact. Many miners lack legal titles, facing exclusion or restrictions due to regulatory frameworks. Key components for formalization include mineral rights, access to land, market access, and a responsible legal environment. Gender dynamics in ASM reveal that approximately 30% of ASM workers globally are women, facing challenges such as exhausting and dangerous tasks. They have limited access to resources like land, finance, and tools.

Development minerals, utilized domestically in construction, manufacturing, and agriculture, play a vital role in local economies. However, the data on ASM is inadequate, hindering informed policy-making. Initiatives like the DELVE database project aim to address this by establishing a global platform for ASM data, facilitating collaborative and transparent knowledge sharing.

Inclusive finance is crucial for ASM sustainability. Limited access to tailored financial products often leads to stagnation and contributes to the poverty cycle. Improving financial access and markets, including credit guarantees and loan facilities, is vital for the sector’s resilience.

Health and safety concerns in ASM include physical hazards, hazardous materials usage, poorly constructed infrastructure, and lack of protective equipment. Monitoring, reporting, and training are essential to mitigate these risks. Projects, such as the tin working group in Indonesia, have demonstrated success in addressing health and safety challenges in the ASM sector.

Child labor is a pervasive issue in ASM, with mining considered one of the worst forms of child labor by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Efforts like Pact’s Children out of Mining project in the Democratic Republic of Congo have achieved significant reductions in child labor through community engagement, awareness-raising, and positive parenting skills training. Terre des Hommes is also working on addressing child labor in the mica mines in Madagascar.

Environmental issues

Environmental issues in artisanal mining include water siltation, erosion, soil degradation, and deforestation. The digging and sluicing processes can lead to harmful material spread, such as lead, and the diversion of rivers for mining exacerbates these concerns. Mining operations, often situated in forested areas, contribute to deforestation, impacting biodiversity and causing habitat loss. Mercury and cyanide, used in artisanal gold mining, pose serious environmental risks, contaminating water and harming aquatic life, including fish. The burning of mercury-gold amalgam releases mercury into waterways, further endangering ecosystems.

Violence is another significant issue, as artisanal mining has attracted Chinese migrant workers to Africa, leading to conflicts with local populations. Reports from Ghana highlight violence and armed attacks between Chinese miners and local communities, resulting in deaths and unrest.

Opportunities in artisanal mining exist if properly regulated.

The sector can alleviate poverty, improve health, and contribute to economic development. ASM creates jobs, supports local economies, and transfers wealth from rich to poor countries. Formalizing ASM through legalization benefits governments by reducing illicit financial transactions, collecting taxes, and potentially decreasing crime.

Various approaches can support and formalize artisanal mining.

Global Affairs Canada, for instance, finances projects to provide better technology, improve environmental and social practices, and eliminate the use of mercury. Organizations like Pact Mines to Markets (M2M) and The Artisanal Gold Council work on integrated approaches, addressing health and safety, human rights, traceability, and economic empowerment to improve the lives of those involved in artisanal mining. These efforts aim to make ASM socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and economically beneficial.

The Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) is an independent initiative established in 2004 with a mission to enhance social and economic well-being, strengthen environmental protection, and establish fair governance in artisanal and small-scale (ASM) mining communities globally. ARM formalizes the ASM sector through its Fairmined certification, providing support, training, and an intermediary role for ASM communities in international markets. Since its inception, ARM has positively transformed multiple ASM communities in Latin America and is expanding its efforts to Africa and Asia.

The Collaborative Group on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (CASM) is a global coordination facility aimed at improving the environmental, social, and economic performance of ASM in developing countries. CASM, chaired by the UK’s Department for International Development and housed at the World Bank, receives funding from various sources, including the UK, World Bank, Japan, Canada, France, the US, and contributions from companies like Tiffany & Co Foundation. CASM’s work includes a focus on mineral certification to promote sustainable development in artisanal mining communities.

The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, a part of the International Labour Organization (ILO), addresses child labor in the mining and quarrying sector, particularly in small-scale mines across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and parts of Europe. It focuses on developing a solid knowledge base, assessment, and collaborative programs.

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) provides guidance for larger mining companies engaging with the ASM sector, acknowledging challenges when companies gain rights to deposits currently worked by artisanal miners. The guidance note, produced in partnership with other organizations, addresses the tension between ASM miners and their governments.

The International Conference on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining and Quarrying held in Livingstone, Zambia, in September 2018, brought together over 500 delegates from 70 countries. Workshops discussed the enormous potential of ASM to reduce poverty, stimulate jobs, and create wealth in rural communities. The Mosi-oa-Tunya Declaration on ASM and Quarrying was signed, emphasizing the central role of ASM in enhancing livelihoods, employment creation, poverty reduction, and sustainable development. The conference highlighted the need for formalization, government support, and environmentally productive ASM sectors.

Country specific.

Ghana:
In Ghana, the Small-Scale Gold Mining Law, 1989 (PNDCL 218) regulates artisanal gold mining. The law establishes the Precious Minerals Marketing Corporation (PMMC) to promote small-scale gold and diamond mining and purchase the output directly or through licensed buyers.

Peru:
Peru passed legislation in 2002 to formalize and promote artisanal gold mining due to its economic benefits. However, subsequent governments faced challenges in implementing formalization due to financial and personnel constraints. La Rinconada, Peru, is a notable site of extensive artisanal mining.

Philippines:
Artisanal gold mining accounts for up to 80% of gold production in the Philippines, employing around 350,000 workers, including 18,000 women and children. Compressor mining, a hazardous method, was banned in 2012, but lax enforcement has allowed its prevalence in certain areas.

South Africa:
As the price of gold rose globally, large-scale mining in South Africa shed jobs, leading to increased artisanal mining. The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002 restricts mineral prospecting, mining, and processing to large, fully registered, capital-intensive industries. Despite this, artisanal mining, including ‘illegal’ miners (zamazama), persists, often using disused shafts and adits.

Artisanal miners in South Africa fall into three categories: ‘illegal’ miners (zamazama), artisanal miners, and peripheral or part-time miners. ‘Illegal’ miners gain access to formal mines through disused shafts and compete with formally employed legal mine labor. Artisanal miners open adits and drive shafts using hand tools and often lack formal mining experience.

Violence is a prevalent issue in South Africa’s artisanal mining sector, resulting from conflicts between miners, police, private security, and different miner groups. Artisanal miners process gold informally using simple technologies, involving crushing, visual sorting, sieving, gold panning, and mercury amalgamation. The gold is often sold to local agents or exported to major markets.

Artisanal mining in South Africa faces challenges due to its illegal status, making it difficult to estimate its economic value. However, despite legal and practical difficulties, it appears to be on the rise.