Does formalization make a difference in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM)? Insights from the Philippines

Heterogeneity and Labour Agency in Artisanal and Small‐scale Gold Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo

“…However, workers that were surveyed in the Philippines — even those in formalized mines — expressed a preference for production‐sharing systems as they are fairer, as shown by Robles et al. (2022).…”

“…Siwale and Siwale (2017) describe how credit schemes accompanying formalization are only accessible to richer, medium-scale miners. Second, even in ASM operations that have an official licence, workers may continue to work with informal contracts and in precarious conditions (Lanzano, 2020;Robles et al, 2022;Verbrugge, 2015). Calvao et al (2021) have recently made this point for cobalt mining in DRC's Lualaba Province.…”

“…Production-sharing agreements are then replaced with cash-sharing or fixed wages, as has also been documented in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines (Verbrugge et al, 2021). However, workers that were surveyed in the Philippines -even those in formalized mines -expressed a preference for production-sharing systems as they are fairer, as shown by Robles et al (2022).…”

“…Those who prefer bulk sharing feel that the system allows the worker to keep control over his own production. The worker can take the raw ore to the processing units himself, and keep an eye on the crushing, grinding and washing (see also Dunia Kabunga and Geenen, 2022; and Robles et al., 2022 for the case of the Philippines). One team leader in Shabunda rated the bulk sharing system as good ‘because it guarantees trust, even if it is not entirely fair as the PDG takes the lion's share’.…”

Environment Degradation, Health Threats, and Legality at the Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining Sites in Indonesia

“…For instance, in Kenya, a country where 97% of ASGM activities use mercury for amalgamation processes, 95.5% of ASGM activities operate illegally and 94.3% do not conduct environmental assessment for their mining activities [ 8 ]. Meanwhile, the high degree of heterogeneity in the ASGM workforces, from the Philippines and Indonesian cases, on one hand, shows that legal mining operations are not an easy thing to implement, especially with regard to protecting miners and other related workers [ 11 , 33 , 34 ]. On the other hand, even if a mining site is legally operated, this does not necessarily guarantee that miners will operate in a cleaner way, as observed in Columbian ASGM activities [ 35 ].…”