Small‐scale mining and its socio‐economic impact in developing countries

Abstract

This article examines both the positive and negative socio-economic impacts of small-scale mining in developing countries, and outlines some key measures for improving sustainability in the sector. It is important to clarify that, in spite of experiencing its share of environmental-and health-related problems that adversely impact human quality-of-life, smallscale mining plays a pivotal role in alleviating poverty in the developing world, and contributes significantly to national revenues and foreign exchange earnings. Though these important socio-economic contributions make small-scale mining an indispensable economic activity, there is an obvious need for improved sustainability in the industry, more specifically, for operations to resolve pressing problems, many of which have wide-ranging impacts. However, because most smallscale mines are low-tech and employ poorly trained uneducated people, it is difficult for the sector to improve on its own. Thus, governments and regional international bodies must play an expanded role in bridging critical information, technologic and economic gaps. It is concluded that governments and regional organizations could accomplish much in the way of improved sustainability in the small-scale mining industry by: (1) legalizing small-scale mining and implementing sector-specific legislation; (2) contributing to community development and providing increased economic support; and (3) providing training and educational assistance, and playing an expanded role in the dissemination and transfer of important technologies.

Women, mining and development: An emerging research agenda

“…ASM refers to the "low-tech, labour intensive mineral extraction and processing found across the developing world" (Hilson and McQuilken in press), encompassing varying degrees of formality and legality, characterised by "low levels of environmental, health and safety awareness" (Hilson 2002: 4), and usually located in remote rural areas (Hilson 2002). The precise nature and extent of ASM varies across the global South but conservative estimates are that it involves at least 25 million people across 70 countries of the global South (Hruschka and Echavarría 2011).…”

“…The precise nature and extent of ASM varies across the global South but conservative estimates are that it involves at least 25 million people across 70 countries of the global South (Hruschka and Echavarría 2011). Although accurate figures are difficult to ascertain, Hilson (2002) suggests that women could represent approximately one third of the ASM sector, and notes that in several countries, women's involvement is as great or even greater than men's -for example, in Guinea where women make up 75% of workers involved in small-scale mining, and in countries such as Mali and Zimbabwe where 1 We should also recognise, as Roger Moody (2007) highlights, that these two sectors do not exist in isolation from each other, and there are often connections and overlaps between the two (Hentschel et al 2002;Chaloping-March 2006;Moody 2007). …”

“…women's participation is around 50% (Hilson 2002 Literature on women workers in the ASM sector responds to this perceived invisibility and tends to take the form of a number of stand-alone case study examples of women's unrecognised involvement in mining in particular country contexts, with discussion of the different roles undertaken by women and the challenges they face. The collection by Lahiri-Dutt and Macintyre (2006b) and Lahiri-Dutt (2011a) and the chapter by Hinton et al (2003) concentrated in the processing of minerals -carrying out arduous and often hazardous manual tasks such as crushing, milling, grinding and sorting rock, and subsequently concentrating gold, a process which uses extremely toxic materials, predominantly mercury (Hinton et al 2003;Lahiri-Dutt and Macintyre 2006b).…”

The Strengthening of Geological Infrastructure, Research and Data Acquisition - Using Gis in Ivory Coast Gold Mines

“…A common definition of this sector has not been adopted yet as a legal status, and local definitions vary from country to country. Due to this reason, it is difficult to estimate the extent of artisanal mining in developing contexts due to the lack of a common definition, its use of seasonal workers, and the lack of official statistics [1] ( Hilson, G., 2002).…”

Social impact assessment, social justice and scales of knowledge: exploring the emerging mining industry in Solomon Islands

“…The presence of in-migrants can also threaten local cultures and lifestyles, such as subsistence agriculture (Lagisa and Scheyvens, 1999). Significant mining induced in-migration has also been observed in Africa (Hilson, 2002;Kitula, 2006) and South America (Godfrey, 1992;Bury, 2007). While in-migration and social change in new mining communities is largely unable to be prevented, managing population movements through planning has the ability to mitigate or minimise the negative effects, and enhance the benefits, of in-migration on host communities.…”