Safeguarding livelihoods or exacerbating poverty? Artisanal mining and formalization in West Africa

In recent years, policy mechanisms to support a formalized artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM) sector in sub‐Saharan Africa have gained increasing currency. Proponents of formalization argue that most social and environmental problems associated with the sector stem from the fact that ASM is predominantly unregulated and operates outside the legal sphere. This paper critically examines recent efforts to formalize artisanal and small‐scale mining in West Africa, drawing upon recent fieldwork carried out in Sierra Leone, Ghana and Mali. In exploring the sector's livelihood dimensions, the analysis suggests that bringing unregulated, informal mining activities into the legal domain remains a considerable challenge. The paper concludes by confirming the urgent need to refocus formalization strategies on the main livelihood challenges and constraints of small‐scale miners themselves, if poverty is to be alleviated and more benefits are to accrue to depressed communities in mineral‐rich regions.     

How has a shortage of census and geological information impeded the regularization of artisanal and small‐scale mining?

There is growing consensus that a combination of laissez‐faire policies, ad hoc regulation and debilitating support services has perpetuated socio‐economic and environmental deterioration in the artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM) industry. However, a lack of anthropological and geological information on ASM prevents many governments both from improving the policy environment of the industry, and from providing more robust extension services to its operators. This article aims to examine more precisely how a deficiency of baseline census and geological data has inhibited industry formalization and undermined many of the measures implemented to address pressing problems at ASM sites. Specifically, it is argued that insufficient knowledge of artisanal mining populations — including their demographic structure — and of areas suitable for ASM activities affects the ability of a government to regularize, as well as to improve, the organization of this largely informal sector of industry. Case studies of Ghana and Zimbabwe are used to illustrate how the undertaking of low‐budget projects in areas of geological prospecting and population analysis could improve the efficiency of ASM assistance.     

Criminalization of “galamsey” and livelihoods in Ghana: Limits and consequences

The fact that the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector in Ghana is driven largely by poverty means that the sector is a major source of livelihood for people in mining communities across the country. However, given the various social and environmental problems associated with the ASM sector, there is now an emerging consensus that the formalization of the sector would not only allow for these associated problems to be addressed but also ensures that the sector contributes to sustainable development and safeguard the livelihood of local communities. While a large body of extant literature has examined the challenges and opportunities facing the process of formalization, the question of the criminalization of the sector and its consequences for local livelihood has received only limited attention. Drawing from primary data collected during fieldwork in Ghana, this study examined the livelihood implications of the ban on galamsey in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality in South-Western Ghana from the perspectives of local communities and other key stakeholders. The study reveals that the ban on galamsey has imposed significant socio-economic hardships on the people and appears to be entrenching poverty rather than sustainable development. The study considers the theoretical and practical implications of the findings for sustainable livelihood enhancement in developing countries.     

Reforming small-scale mining in sub-Saharan Africa: Political and ideological challenges to a Fair Trade gold initiative

In sub-Saharan Africa, artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has caused a range of environmental, social and economic problems. Most of the donor support pledged to improve conditions in the sector to date, however, has failed to facilitate marked improvements, in large part because emphasis has been placed on technical interventions; at the same time, impoverished miners’ needs and concerns have been seriously overlooked. It is against this background that this paper critically examines the underpinnings and potential of “Fair Trade gold” as a solution to many of the problems plaguing the ASM sector and a mechanism for alleviating the hardships of its operators. Unlike the majority of ASM-support support measures implemented in the past, “Fair Trade gold” is entrenched in the discourse of “partnership” and “participation”. To ensure its effectiveness initiatives must be adapted according to the specificities of ASM.     

Influence of land tenure practices on artisanal mining activity in Ghana

This paper examines the issue of land tenure and how it influences artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activity in Ghana. Over the past few decades, attempts by governments in sub-Saharan Africa to regulate or formalize ASM as a result of the sector's increasing socio-economic and environmental importance have largely been unsuccessful. Even though mining laws have tended to vest all minerals in the state, increasing evidence suggests that mineral-rich lands for artisanal mining continue to be frequently traded between local landowners and miners or interested groups outside the official legal regime. This development, i.e. land trading for artisanal mining, contributes significantly towards proliferation of illegal ASM activity and hence potentially challenges attempts by governments and development partners to formalise the sector.     

Mercury: An agent of poverty in Ghana's small-scale gold-mining sector?

There is consensus worldwide that the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector is comprised of individuals who are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, lacking the necessary financial and technological means to improve their standards of living. Minimal work, however, has been undertaken to identify the very factors behind miners’ plight, which inevitably vary from country to country. This paper uses a case study of Ghana to argue that an increased dependence upon mercury for amalgamation in artisanal gold-mining communities is one such—albeit overlooked—“agent of poverty”. There is mounting empirical evidence which suggests that dealings with the monoponistic middlemen who supply mercury, purchases of costly medicines to remedy ailments caused by mercury poisoning, and a lack of appropriate safeguards and alternatives to amalgamation, are preventing gold miners from improving their practices and livelihoods. The solution to the problem lies in breaking this cycle of dependency, which can be achieved by providing miners with robust support services, mercury-free technologies and education.     

Pork knocking in the land of many waters: Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Guyana

The growth of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Guyana has received little attention in the literature, despite its rapid growth and now central importance in this small country's socioeconomic fortunes. Although the activity in Guyana shares commonalities with ASM activity elsewhere in the world, it also displays some unique characteristics. This article builds upon existing debates and current issues surrounding Guyanese ASM. A lack of baseline data and research on the dynamics, underlying forces and various outcomes of the ASM sector has acted as a significant constraint on the regulation and development of the sector in a completely desirable fashion. This has been the result of, but has also been exacerbated by, the ineffective nature of intervention, enforcement and assistance. This paper aims to demonstrate and argue for the need for developing much clearer understandings of and effective interactions with the ASM sector in Guyana. Such all developments are the more pressing given future policies, which may represent potentially sizeable challenges for the continued vibrancy of ASM operations.     

Community relations and mining: Core to business but not “core business”

Over the past two decades the global mining industry has witnessed the necessity and emergence of community relations and development (CRD) functions, essentially under the rubric of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR). These functions provide companies with mechanisms through which to engage and manage their relationships with key stakeholder groups, share development benefits and protect business interests. Despite widespread claims by the industry that companies have adopted CSR as a ‘core competence’, we argue that the industry has yet to incorporate the CRD function as part of ‘core business’ at the level of practice. This article characterises a CRD function and related processes within the context of a large-scale mining operation in West Africa. Findings reflect a more universal trend relating to the function and organisational positioning of CRD practice in the resources sector. The authors argue that functional equity needs to be established if the sustainable development agenda is to have a genuine future within the mining industry.     

Perspectives on female participation in artisanal and small-scale mining: A case study of Birim North District of Ghana

This article critically examines the issue of growing female participation in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, particularly within its illegal segment, drawing upon experiences from Birim North District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Although an estimated 50% of those employed in ASM are women, few researchers have investigated what roles women play in the sector, or how their participation contributes to rural development. The paper aims to examine the causes of female participation in the ASM sector and the impact of this type of employment on women's income, health and families. An analysis of collected data suggests that there is a growing need for policies to address female employment in ASM and, more generally, rural employment. The analysis demonstrates the utility of gender mainstreaming in the small-scale mining formalisation process, as well as the need to promote other viable employment opportunities for the benefit of women residing in rural areas.     

Green accounting and sustainability of the Peruvian metal mining sector

This paper estimates the true economic income of Peru’s metal mining sector for the period 1992–2006, using a model of green economic income based on Hamilton (2000). The total depletion of natural capital caused by metal mining is calculated by estimating, on the one hand, the depreciation of mining resources (using the Hotelling rent approach) and, on the other, the environmental degradation provoked by metal mining activities. The results show that the total loss of natural capital represents between 31% and 51% of the metal mining GDP and between 2% and 4.9% of Peru’s GDP. On the other hand, correcting the usual GDP measure produced by the traditional National Account System (NAS) for the total loss of natural capital caused by mining activities shows that the GDP traditional measure overestimated by 51–64% the true economic income generated by Peruvian's metal mining sector during the period 1992–2006. The importance of the generation, taxation, and disposition of mining economic rents for Peru’s sustainable development in the future is also discussed.     

How you start matters: A comparison of Gold Fields' Tarkwa and Damang Mines and their divergent relationships with local small-scale miners in Ghana

This paper argues that actions of large-scale mining companies at the early stages of a mining project establish a legacy which sets the tone for that mine's long-term relationship with the local artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) stakeholders. This paper compares the experiences of Gold Fields' Tarkwa and Damang mines and the divergent histories of each of these mines' relationship with local small-scale mining stakeholders. Circumstances at Damang during the discovery and early development of the project drove a rift between the mine and the ASM community. As the mine developed, a chain of ASM engagement strategies were enacted in an attempted to repair the relationship but which has never able to regain sufficient trust between the mine and ASM stakeholders. At the nearby Tarkwa mine, ASM confrontations have been much easier to manage. Despite early disagreements at Tarkwa, a relationship characterized by greater trust between the mine and ASM communities was established early and therefore ASM engagement strategies have been simpler and more effective. This paper will conclude that establishing and maintaining a positive mine legacy as early as the exploration phase of a mining project is critical to maintaining a positive, trust-based relationship between LSM companies and their local ASM stakeholders over the life of a mine.     

Precarious work or sustainable livelihoods? Aligning Prestea's Programme with the development dialogue on artisanal and small‐scale mining

Alternative livelihoods programmes (ALPs) are extensively executed in mining communities, often as models of development dialogue on artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM). This paper assesses whether Prestea's ALP aligns with the development dialogue on artisanal mining. The conceptual design of ALP in Ghana's Prestea is based on the notions of substitution, homogenous community, and impact scalability. This paper argues that the Prestea ALP is not aligned with the development dialogue on artisanal mining, and therefore it is difficult to understand the role and function of environmentally‐damaging behaviours within livelihood strategies. The paper contends that it would be appropriate to concentrate on improving the existing artisanal miners’ operation of those most susceptible to resource access restrictions. Further, it may be more prudent to utilize livelihood‐centered interventions that create strong connections with sustainable development as a way of creating regular community engagements. Additionally, this paper argues that the term for the intervention programme on artisanal mining should be replaced with the broader term ‘livelihood‐centered intervention’. The replacement of the term ‘ALP’ avoids the tacit belief that ALP can adequately replace artisanal mining operations. Livelihood‐centered intervention should not necessarily utilize alternative livelihoods as direct behavioural change instruments.     

Strengthening artisanal mining research and policy through baseline census activities

Over the past 10–15 years, several governments have implemented an array of technology, support‐related, sustainable livelihoods (SL) and poverty‐reduction projects for artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM). In the majority of cases, however, these interventions have failed to facilitate improvements in the industry's productivity and raise the living standards of the sector's subsistence operators. This article argues that a poor understanding of the demographics of target populations has precipitated these outcomes. In order to strengthen policy and assistance in the sector, governments must determine, with greater precision, the number of people operating in ASM regions, their origins and ethnic backgrounds, ages, and educational levels. This can be achieved by carrying out basic and localized census work before promoting ambitious sector‐specific projects aimed at improving working conditions in the industry.     

On the contested nature of place: ‘Figuera’s Well’, ‘The Hole of Shame’ and the ideological struggle over public space in Barcelona

This paper explores some of the discursive practices through which the place meanings are formulated, warranted and, above all, contested. Drawing particularly on the work of the social psychologist Michael Billig, we present a rhetorical analysis of newspaper reports and interview accounts about the ‘development’ of a contested public space in Barcelona, known locally both as Figuera’s Well and the Hole of Shame. This analysis explores a number of rhetorically opposed constructions of the nature, purpose and appropriate beneficiaries of this place, whose implications are discussed both within the context of local power struggles and within the context of wider ideological struggles over the nature of public spaces in Barcelona. We argue that a rhetorical perspective reveals how practices of attributing meaning and value to places are often more conflict-ridden, action-oriented, and politically-charged than is implied by much research in environmental psychology. Relatedly, we argue that environmental psychologists need to complement a ‘weak’ conception of the role of conflict in the formation of public space (focused on subjective differences in environmental tastes, preferences and values) with a ‘strong’ conception of the role of conflict (focused on ideological struggles over access, equality and inclusion).     

A clash of cultures (and lawyers): Anglo Platinum and mine-affected communities in Limpopo Province,South Africa

The human rights related controversies surrounding Anglo Platinum's Mogalakwena mine in South Africa's Limpopo Province hit the world stage in 2008, attracting public scrutiny and instigating much debate in the realm of international business and human rights discussions. We provide an in-depth analysis of the controversies at Mogalakwena, and Anglo Platinum's responses. This case study contributes to ongoing debates on mining company-community relations in the context of the emerging business and human rights agenda, specifically with respect to the notion of human rights ‘due diligence’. We argue that the Mogalakwena case study illustrates the risks of companies adhering to and emphasizing the technical and logistical facets of due diligence, without sufficient attention to the relational, communicative and emergent aspects, which are closely tied to corporate culture. We highlight the complexities of company-community relationships, with particular reference to the issues of legitimate community representation and participatory decision-making, and discuss the role that organizational culture plays in exacerbating or mitigating corporate-community conflict. The case study demonstrates how legal challenges often exacerbate rather than resolve the conflicts that arise due to a clash between corporate and community cultures. We suggest the need for corporate leaders to become more conscious of this cultural dimension of effective social management, particularly when interacting with communities whose cultures are markedly different from those of business corporations.     

Development on whose terms?: CSR discourse and social realities in Papua New Guinea's extractive industries sector

The emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the extractive industries represents a bid to legitimize the sector after decades of environmental disasters and the trampling of indigenous rights. But whilst the rise in CSR has meant safer technologies and better stakeholder engagement, there is little evidence of any real socio-economic development at the grassroots. This paper examines the uneasy relationship existing between the strategic ‘business model’ of CSR and the brand of development it delivers. Using evidence from two multinational extractive industries in Papua New Guinea, we show how weaknesses in CSR practice come from greater emphasis on meeting global ‘performance standards’ than on the specificities of the social contexts in which strategies are implemented. These weaknesses, we argue, lead to ill-conceived and inappropriate development programmes that generate inequality, fragmentation, and social and economic insecurity. We conclude that greater engagement with affected communities will facilitate the development of more mutually beneficial and appropriate CSR strategies.     

Mining development,income growth and poverty alleviation: A multiplier decomposition technique applied to China

Mining has grown rapidly and is expected to continue to develop solidly in the future with the economic development in China. Based on this trend, how an increase in the outputs of mining sectors affects household income and poverty alleviation is an issue worthy of study. A multiplier decomposition method within a social accounting matrix (SAM) framework shows the linkages through which a mining sector's output contributes to household income growth and poverty alleviation. The decomposition applied to China reveals that mining development has more significantly positive impacts on the high and middle income household than low income household. Moreover, the decomposition incorporated with the Foster, Greer and Thoerbecke (FGT) poverty measure shows that the ‘coal’ sector contributes most to poverty alleviation and the low income household group, which has the biggest poverty rate, is the smallest beneficiary from the mining development. Thus, the policy implication is proposed that the government should give appropriate adjustment on the distribution of income between rich and poor households and help the unskilled human capital from the household group at a low income level to handle advanced technology of mining through education and training to reduce poverty more effectively.     

Environmental management of small-scale and artisanal mining: the Portovelo-Zaruma goldmining area,southern Ecuador

This paper considers technical measures and policy initiatives needed to improve environmental management in the Portovelo-Zaruma mining district of southern Ecuador. In this area, gold is mined by a large number of small-scale and artisanal operators, and discharges of cyanide and metal-laden tailings have had a severe impact on the shared Ecuadorian-Peruvian Puyango river system. It is shown to be technically possible to confine mining waste and tailings at a reasonable cost. However, the complex topography of the mining district forces tailings management to be communal, where all operators are connected to one central tailings impoundment. This, in turn, implies two things: (i) that a large number of operators must agree to pool resources to bring such a facility into reality; and (ii) that miners must move away from rudimentary operations that survive on a day-to-day basis, towards bigger, mechanized and longer-term sustainable operations that are based on proven ore reserves. It is deemed unlikely that existing environmental regulations and the provision of technical solutions will be sufficient to resolve the environmental problems. Important impediments relate to the limited financial resources available to each individual miner and the problems of pooling these resources, and to the fact that the main impacts of pollution are suffered downstream of the mining district and, hence, do not affect the miners themselves. Three policy measures are therefore suggested. First, the enforcement of existing regulations must be improved, and this may be achieved by the strengthening of the central authority charged with supervision and control of mining activities. Second, local government involvement and local public participation in environmental management needs to be promoted. Third, a clear policy should be defined which promotes the reorganisation of small operations into larger units that are strong enough to sustain rational exploration and environmental obligations. The case study suggests that mining policy in lesser-developed countries should develop to enable small-scale and artisanal miners to form entities that are of a sufficiently large scale to allow adequate and cost-effective environmental protection.     

Beyond the resource curse? Diamond mining,development and post-conflict reconstruction in Sierra Leone

In recent years, the so-called ‘resource curse’ syndrome has gained increasing currency. Growing evidence suggests that many African countries with significant natural wealth have actually reaped limited rewards, instead experiencing underdevelopment, corruption, political instability, and in some cases, violent conflict. In the small West African state of Sierra Leone, it has been suggested that diamonds played a key role in fuelling a brutal civil war during the 1990s, an issue that has given rise to a burgeoning literature on ‘blood diamonds’. However, as Sierra Leone emerges from a decade of destruction, other research suggests that diamonds could actually provide the impetus for post-war reconstruction. This paper explores the role of alluvial diamond mining in post-conflict Sierra Leone, focusing on two communities in the Eastern Province that were badly affected by the war. Drawing on field-based research conducted between 2002 and 2007, the paper considers the diamond mining situation in the context of broader development strategies in post-conflict reconstruction. It is argued that sustainable development can only be achieved if future policies are based on a detailed understanding of relationships between diamond mining and rural development at local, regional and national levels.     

Small-scale mining in Ghana: The government and the galamsey

This paper argues that the current formalization system for small-scale gold miners in Ghana has been undermined and the small-scale mining laws no longer capture the reality of the sector’s activities. The paper will examine the small-scale mining system and shows that registered and unregistered actors operate not only in parallel but are actually intertwined and highly dependent on one another. The paper shows that the perceived dichotomy of formal and informal actors in the sector does not actually exist. The sector has instead evolved into a highly intertwined group of semi-formal sectors operating with varying degrees of legal registrations. The paper concludes that political leniency and law enforcement corruption has resulted in a booming small-scale gold system under poor government control. The paper recommends that politicians move to enact reforms to regularize the small-scale mining sector and curtail ubiquitous environmental and occupational safety problems. Anti-corruption initiatives and law enforcement reforms are the most urgent. However, reforming the laws is also necessary to capture and regulate the technological innovations the sector is currently using.