Reducing disease and death from Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) - the urgent need for responsible mining in the context of growing global demand for minerals and metals for climate change mitigation

Abstract

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) takes place under extreme conditions with a lack of occupational health and safety. As the demand for metals is increasing due in part to their extensive use in ‘green technologies’ for climate change mitigation, the negative environmental and occupational consequences of mining practices are disproportionately felt in low- and middle-income countries. The Collegium Ramazzini statement on ASM presents updated information on its neglected health hazards that include multiple toxic hazards, most notably mercury, lead, cyanide, arsenic, cadmium, and cobalt, as well as physical hazards, most notably airborne dust and noise, and the high risk of infectious diseases. These hazards affect both miners and mining communities as working and living spaces are rarely separated. The impact on children and women is often severe, including hazardous exposures during the child-bearing age and pregnancies, and the risk of child labor. We suggest strategies for the mitigation of these hazards and classify those according to primordial, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Further, we identify knowledge gaps and issue recommendations for international, national, and local governments, metal purchasers, and employers are given. With this statement, the Collegium Ramazzini calls for the extension of efforts to minimize all hazards that confront ASM miners and their families.

Furious depletion—Conceptualizing artisan mining and extractivism through gender, race, and environment

“…Within these interventions, artisan mining is portrayed as "risky" for downstream, importing governments and corporations because of the reputational risks they entail, but these representations obscure the actual existential health and environmental risks borne by miners themselves. Artisan mining involves very high risks of death in potentially flooded or crumbling mine shafts, of lung damage through breathing dust particles in the shafts, and other intoxications and environmental depletion through chemical uses (Landrigan et al, 2022). The informal space within which it operates also makes artisan mining vulnerable to extortion, including from army and government officials, as well as to violent crackdowns.…”

How do Climate Change and Environmental Degradation contribute to Violence against Children?

“…• Extreme events and gender-based violence: a mixedmethods systematic review (van Daalen et al, 2022) Another mixed-methods systematic review of 41 studies by van Daalen et al (2022) specifically looked into extreme weather and climate events and GBV. Although the authors use the term GBV, their review only included experiences of girls and sexual minorities and excluded specific experiences of boys (and men).…”

“…van Daalen et al (2022) find that the relationship between specific extreme weather events and GBV varies across settings due to differences in gender norms, tradition, vulnerability, exposure, adaptive capacity, available reporting mechanisms, and legal responses. To give an example, while there is an observed increase in child marriage in SSA during sudden periods of drought, in India droughts led to a decrease in child marriage (Corno et al, 2020) (see section 2.2 below for more details).…”

“…Pope et al (2022) conclude that the relationship between child marriage and climate and environmental crises is not linear and reasons can also be overlapping or multifaceted.…”

A cross-sectional study investigating malaria prevalence and associated predictors of infection among migrants to a newly established gold mining settlement in the Gambella Region of Ethiopia

“…Unlike government or company sponsored migrants, independent migrants may be particularly affected by this as they will not have access to company provided sleeping quarters or malaria prevention and treatment options, which companies occasionally provide. People living in emerging settlements, especially those orientated around extractive industries, may also be simultaneously more vulnerable to many health issues (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30), including malaria(18-20), whilst also experiencing poorer access to healthcare resources (20). This research investigates the burden of malaria and correlates of malaria infection in a newly formed gold mining settlement, Lunga, located in Gambella Region-one of the most malarious regions of Ethiopia (31).…”