COMMENTARY — Regulating artisanal mining

The International Council on Metals and the Environment was a co-sponsor of the International Roundtable on Artisanal Mining, organized by Washington, D.C.-based World Bank in May, 1995. What follows are some of its findings.

While there is no universally accepted definition of artisanal mining, Richard Noetstaller of Noetstaller & Associates in Vienna defines it as “all non-mechanized, low-output extraction of minerals carried out by individuals and small groups, frequently on an intermittent basis and employing essentially traditional, manual techniques.’

The industry is characterized by limited skills, low capital investment, an absence of infrastructure, minimum reserves and short implementation time.

For gold recovery, the technology employed may be as rudimentary as a pick, shovel and pan. The industry employs about 6 million people in Asia, South America and Africa; in some districts, it offers virtually the only means of economic survival.

Artisanal mining poses challenges in four key areas:

* Environment, health and safety

— Artisanal mining can be a dangerous and environmentally destructive occupation. One estimate is that 5% of the 100,000 people employed in artisanal mining in Tanzania die each year from accidents and disease (malaria and acquired immune deficiency syndrome are rampant). Working and living conditions at mine sites are often poor. For, example, the dominant technology for gold extraction is mercury amalgamation, where gold is recovered from the amalgam by volatizing mercury in open flames, frequently in the security of a kitchen or other enclosed spaces. In many areas, the landscape is pockmarked with parallel shafts (some as deep as 300 ft.), which are subject to cave-ins, flooding and, on occasion, landslides.

* Organizational, social and women’s participation — Artisanal miners frustrate governmental attempts to organize them. It is estimated that only 20% of the gold and gemstones derived from artisanal mining are included in formal economic indicators (such as export value). Most enter a black market of buyers and traders, and are smuggled out of the country, thus generating little or no tax revenue for governments. Additionally, artisanal miners often have their own social structure, and it is not uncommon for entire families to be working on site. Depending on the region, women may comprise up to half of the workforce, and they are generally involved as carriers, sorters, panners and cooks. In Burkina Faso, one district is run entirely by women.

* Technical and financial issues — Artisanal miners have few assets and rarely hold the title to the land they mine; nor do they generate sufficient income to accumulate capital that could act as collateral for loans. International lending agencies lack the mechanisms to deliver funding and credit to individual miners, who generally have little concept of financial obligations. Some have recommended that governments develop programs to grant artisanal miners title to their land claims, which would make them eligible for bank loans. Such an arrangement would encourage entrepreneurship and, perhaps, enable operations to expand somewhat. With larger operations and some capital, mechanization could be introduced with attendant improvements in recovery, safety, health and environmental conditions. In Burkina Faso, a larger company has 35 agents who inspect the artisanal mines and provide technical assistance to the miners.

* Legal and regulatory issues — In most countries, artisanal miners are still considered an impediment to the development of larger operations. Governments actively discourage them and seek to replace them with formal and legitimate mining operations, which are viewed as stable sources of employment and taxation.

— From a recent report published by the International Council on Metals and the Environment.