Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is increasingly important for the development of Tanzania's economy, with an estimated one million people directly employed in ASM and many more dependent on it for their livelihood. Tanzania's government has taken steps to improve and formalise the sector but small-scale miners still face many challenges, …

2020 State of the Artisanal and Small Scale Mining Sector. The 2020 State of the ASM Sector Report builds on the analysis from the 2019 Report to close further data gaps in the ASM sector. The 2020 Report uses the Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG8): "promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and …

Small-scale gold mining sustains millions of people's lives and yet it stimulates environmental harms and social conflicts. Global environmental crises drive calls for fundamental change to how people live on the planet. For small-scale gold mining, this raises questions about whether current dynamics can provide a basis for sustainability ...

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining in the Amazonian countries has undergone important technological improvements in recent decades. Nevertheless, this type of mining is largely associated with the use of rudimentary, low-tech and often manual methods, with inefficient gold recovery.

The goal is to help policymakers ensure small-scale mining helps improve living conditions while taking care of local environments.

Small scale and artisanal miners face significant challenges in their livelihoods, including serious health problems associated with mercury exposure, low market prices for their gold, and gender-based abuse.

Mercury releases to air, water and land from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) are estimated to be over 2000 tonnes each year (UNEP Global Mercury Assessment 2018). It is the sector demanding …

Development initiatives focused on illegal artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) typically assume that formalisation will address environmental degradation and poverty. But there is little research on legal small-scale miners' (SSMs) perceptions of their environmental impacts, or on demographic characteristics that should inform …

Delve is a global platform for artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) data. Its vision is a world in which ASM is recognized as an important contributor to global

Definitions and General ProblemsBroadly speaking, artisanal and small-scale mining refers to mining by individuals, groups, families or cooperatives with minimal or no mechanization, often in the informa. (illegal) sector of the market. Despite many attempts, a common definition.

The most recent ILO research undertaken on a global scale estimates that 13 million people are engaged directly in small-scale mining activities throughout the world, mainly in developing countries, and the livelihoods of a further 80 …

Ghana, like most resource-rich countries, is saddled and inundated with resource curse challenges. Key among them is the problem of illegal small-scale gold mining activities (ISSGMAs), which is mercilessly robbing the nation of its ecological integrity, despite attempts by successive governments to remedy the situation. In the …

I also believe that formalising small-scale mining operations and providing miners with access to legal concessions, training, and financial assistance will curb the dangers of illegal mining.

This paper examines the environmental impacts of small-scale gold mining in Ghana, and prescribes a series of recommendations for improving environmental performance in the industry. Since the …

Artisanal and Small-scale Miners (ASM) are the "orphans" of the mining world. The global mining industry, including some governments, perceives artisanal mining as a "residual sector." Yet ...

The consequences of these issues can be devastating for small-scale miners and their communities, who rely on mining for their livelihoods. Fortunately, there are solutions available that can help address the …

Formalizing Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) Challenges and Ways Forward. Dr Gavin Hilson The University of Reading, UK. Low-tech, labour intensive mineral extraction and processing. Poverty-driven. City workers/industry. Farmers/rural families.

Small scale mining (or artisanal mining) in the Philippines is regulated under two laws, the Small-Scale Mining Act (RA 7076) and Presidential Decree 1899 (PD 1899). Generally, PD 1899 applies to mining for commercial purposes by individuals, partnerships and corporations, while RA 7076 and its Revised IRR (DAO2015-03) applies to mining for …

Some of the poorest people in the world's poorest countries eke out a living in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Equipped with primitive tools like picks, shovels, buckets, and gold pans, they work …

The environmental impacts of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) are currently a major issue globally. There is cause for concern given the rapid loss of forest resources and pollution of water bodies through contamination with heavy metals like cyanide, arsenic, and mercury. The study investigated the livelihood and …

Despite the considerable challenges posed by artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), it remains part of our lives. Conflict between ASM miners as well…

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is one of the most important economic activity in many of the sub-Saharan Africa rural communities ( Hein and Funyufunyu, 2014 ). Widespread artisanal, alongside small-scale mining operations are currently increasing in intensity in Nigeria. These activities are causing immeasurable …

This essay applies the philosophical and theoretical premises of public administration and the different phases of governance, to analyzing illegal small-scale mining in Ghana, known in local parlance as galamsey. Illegal mining in Ghana is an archetypical complex problem as it is cross-scalar, involving public, private, nonprofit …

This study aimed to review existing literature on the relationship between small-scale mining (SSM) activities, with a focus on identifying key policy gaps and potential solutions to mitigate the negative impacts of these activities on water resources.

Small scale mining equipment is available from renown engineers and suppliers, Appropriate Process Technologies (APT). APT's small scale mining equipment is simple to use, efficient and effective. Options are available for the recovery of gold, tin, chrome, tantalite and more.

Small-scale mining—low-tech mineral extraction and processing—has long been an important industry in Africa. For centuries, operations have provided inhabitants of the rural, more impoverished regions of the continent with a wealth of employment benefits and, more recently, have made important contributions to mineral wealth and foreign exchange …

The artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector accounts for approximately 31 percent of the total gold production in Ghana and plays a significant role in the economic development of the country.

Ending the toxic trail of small-scale gold mining. Today is the sixth anniversary of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a landmark global agreement to protect people and the environment from the toxic effects of mercury. To mark the occasion, UNEP is looking back at a story originally published in February about the campaign to end the use of ...

This Blog-entry is based upon the Knowledge Paper Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining: Addressing Challenges in Global Supply Chains (written by Akylai Anarbaeva, Theresa Quiachon and Raquel Althoff, 2019). The paper sheds light on the often inhumane working conditions within the artisanal and small-scale mining …

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is a vital livelihood for over 40 million people in developing countries, particularly for those living in remote, rural areas, according to the recent 2019 State of the ASM Sector report.