Conflict Dynamics Between Artisanal Miners and Host Communities in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe

This paper examines the impact of artisanal small-scale mining on the environmental rights of communities in Zvishavane, Zimbabwe. All over the world, mining has been significant in enhancing the livelihoods of the people by reducing poverty and ensuring food security. Despite its major contribution to economic growth and development, mining is responsible for environmental degradation. The environmental rights of many indigenous communities in Zimbabwe are violated by small-scale mining operations. Zvishavane is one of the marginalized communities in Zimbabwe where all types of mining activities are taking place as the district is located along the Great Dyke mineral belt. The dominant mining entities in the district are artisanal small-scale miners exploiting gold and chrome. Given the low capitalization that characterizes artisanal small-scale miners, the degree to which these entities comply with the country's legislation on environmental protection becomes very doubtful. The study was conducted through interviews and focus group discussions with key informants in the Mapanzure community in Zvishavane. The findings of this study highlight that artisanal small-scale chrome and gold miners are largely responsible for the contamination of water sources, land degradation, excessive air pollution and deforestation, which exposes mining communities in Zvishavane to health hazards such as cholera, bilharzia, asthma and cirrhosis. Findings of this study provide valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners on sustainable mining in marginalized communities. Keywords: Mining, Environmental rights, Artisanal small-scale miners and Zvishavane District DOI: 10.7176/DCS/10-8-06 Publication date: August 31 st 2020

FOREWORD by Ian Smillie, Partnership Africa Canada, Ottawa Introduction: Resuscitating the Policy and Research Agendas for Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining 1. Section 1: Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in West Africa - An Overview of the Issue 2. Poverty and Economic Development in West Africa: An Historical Analysis 3. Poverty and Artisanal Mining in West Africa 4. Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in West Africa: An Overview of Sustainable Development and Environmental Issues 5. Mercury: An Agent of Poverty in West Africa's Small-Scale Gold Mining Industry 6. Fostering cooperation between small- and large-scale gold miners in West Africa 7. Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in West Africa: Achieving Sustainable Development through Environmental and Human Rights Law 8. Section 2: Country Case Studies - Francophone West Africa 9. Artisanal Mining in Mali: An Overview of the Issues 10. Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mines in Burkina Faso: Today and Tomorrow 11. Artisanal Gold Mining in Burkina Faso: Permits, Poverty and Perceptions of the Poor in Sanmatenga, The 'Land of Gold' 12. Artisanal Gold-Mining in Northern Benin: A Socio-Cultural Perspective 13. Section 3: Country Case Studies - Anglophone West Africa 14. Diamonds, poverty and war in Sierra Leone 15. Reflections on the Political Economy of Artisanal Diamond Mining in Kono District, Sierra Leone 16. Integrative Perspectives on Diamond Mining and Public Health in Akwatia, Ghana 17. Socio-Economic, Environmental and Policy Implications of Alluvial Diamond Mining in the Birim 18. 'Live and Let's Live' - The Relationship between Artisanal/Small-Scale and Large-scale miners in Ghana: The Abosso Goldfields' Experience 19. Strained relations: a critical assessment of the mining conflict in Prestea, Ghana 20. Addressing the Environmental Challenges of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Nigeria Postscript: Progress on the Horizon?

Institutional exclusion and the tragedy of the commons: Artisanal mining in Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe

Hello, Reddit! We are a team of conservationists and scientists here to discuss artisanal and small-scale mining, its surprising importance to some of our most beloved possessions, and its effects on biodiversity. Let’s discuss! Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)—the mining of metals and minerals by hand, often using tools as simple as a hammer and a pick—-is an enormous part of our industrial supply chain. In fact, ASM is the main source of income for over 40 million people world wide, and is responsible for between 15–20% of all the world’s mineral and metal production. ASM produces huge percentages of the world’s gold, tin, and cobalt supplies, which, as you may know, are all absolutely crucial ingredients to one of our most important possessions- our smart phones. As things stand, there are some serious drawbacks to artisanal and small scale mining. Notably, ASM requires a lot of water to clean the mined materials before they’re ready for sale, and in some cases, numerous poisonous solvents must be used as well. What results is contaminated water, decreased biodiversity, and birth defects—and these are just some of the problems. For these reasons, we’ve been extremely interested lately in potential technological, logistical, and political solutions that could improve the lives of ASM workers and protect their environments. We’re here today with some ideas of our own, but certainly not all the answers. We hope that we can have a lively discussion about artisanal mining, really dig into the issues surrounding it, and maybe even unearth some possible solutions. Today’s discussion is in collaboration with Conservation X Labs, a D.C. based conservation non-profit that acts as an incubator to help innovators and organizations bring great conservation ideas to life and get them out into the world where they can make a difference for the people who need them. Conservation X Labs is putting up $750,000 dollars in prize money in hopes of finding solutions to improve lives of ASM workers and protect their environments. Our discussion-panel guests today are: Alex Dehgan (u/Alex_Dehgan): I am CEO and co-founder of Conservation X Labs. I recently served as the Chief Scientist at USAID, with rank of Assistant Administrator, and co-founded the Global Development Lab. I am also the Chanler Innovator at Duke University and served as Duke’s inaugural David Rubenstein Fellow. Prior to USAID, I worked in multiple positions within the Office of the Secretary, and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, at the Dept. of State, where I used science and conservation as a diplomatic tool for engagement with countries in the Islamic world, including Iran. I also hold a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings, and a B.S. from Duke University, and am the author of The Snow Leopard Project and Other Adventures in Warzone Conservation. Luis E. Fernandez (u/Luis_E_Fernandez): I am the Executive Director of the Amazon Scientific Innovation Center (CINCIA) and an Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Biology at Wake Forest University. I am a tropical ecologist, as well as an expert in the dynamics and impact of environmental mercury in areas where artisanal mining is common. I have held positions at the Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford University, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Environmental Agency. Nicole M. Smith (u/Nicole_M_Smith): I am a cultural anthropologist with research interests in artisanal and small-scale mining; sustainability and social responsibility, as well as engineering education. I am an Assistant Professor in the Mining Engineering Department at the the Colorado School of Mines. I am currently the PI for a U.S. Department of State-funded project addressing mercury use among Peruvian artisanal and small-scale gold miners, as well as the Co-PI on a National Science Foundation-funded project that applies an interdisciplinary, community-centered approach to understanding ASM systems in Colombia and Peru. I am also a research fellow at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland and a scholarly affiliate with the Gemstone and Sustainable Development Knowledge Hub. James McQuilken (u/James_McQuilken): I am a Program Officer in Pact’s Mines to Markets program, and the Project Manager and Technical Lead on DELVE, a global data initiative between the World Bank and Pact to develop an online platform on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Based in Kigali, Rwanda, I am also the ASM specialist on Sustainable Development of Mining in Rwanda (SDMR). Based on over a year of fieldwork in Ghana, my PhD thesis maps small-scale mining networks of gold and diamond production and develops policy recommendations to improve mineral certification and formalization initiatives in the region. We’ll be around ~1pm EST to answer your questions and discuss artisanal and small-scale mining with you!

Globally people with tuberculosis (TB) continue to be missed each year. They are either not diagnosed or not reported which indicates possible leakages in the TB care cascade. Zimbabwe is not spared with over 12000 missed cases in 2020. A preliminary review of TB treatment outcomes indicated patient leakages throughout the presumptive cascade and undesirable treatment outcomes in selected cities. Chegutu District had pre-diagnosis and pretreatment losses to follow-up while Mutare City among others had 22.0% of outcomes not evaluated in the second quarter of 2021, and death rates as high as 14% were recorded in Gweru District. The problem persists despite training on data analysis and use. The TB cohorts were analysed to determine the performance of the care cascade and the spatial distribution of treatment outcomes in Zimbabwe. Using data from district health information software version 2.3 (DHIS2.3), a secondary data analysis of 2020 drug-sensitive (DS) TB treatment cohorts was conducted. We calculated the percentage of pre-diagnosis, and pre-treatment loss to follow-up (LTFU). For TB treatment outcomes, 'cured' and 'treatment completed' were categorized as treatment success, while 'death', 'loss to follow-up (LTFU), and 'not evaluated' were categorized as undesirable outcomes. Univariate analysis of the data was conducted where frequencies were calculated, and data was presented in graphs for the cascade, treatment success, and undesirable outcomes while tables were created for the description of study participants and data quality. QGIS was used to generate maps showing undesirable treatment outcomes. An analysis of national data found 107583 people were presumed to have TB based on symptomatic screening and or x-ray and 21.4% were LTFU before the specimen was investigated. Of the 84534 that got tested, 10.0% did not receive their results. The treatment initiation rate was 99.1%. Analysis of treatment outcomes done at the provincial level showed that Matabeleland South Province had the lowest treatment success rate of 77.3% and high death rates were recorded in Matabeleland South (30.0%), Masvingo (27.3%), and Matabeleland North (26.1%) provinces. Overall, there were high percentages of not-evaluated treatment outcomes. Pre-diagnosis LTFU was high, and high death and loss to follow-up rates were prevalent in provinces with artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activities. Unevaluated treatment outcomes were also prevalent and data quality remains a challenge within the national TB control program. We recommended strengthening patient follow-up at all levels within the TB care cascade, strengthening capacity-building for data analysis and use, further analysis to determine factors associated with undesirable outcomes and a study on why LTFU remains high.

South Africa has many artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activities that some are registered and others informal and illegal. This paper presents an overview of ASM operations in the vicinity of abandoned mine sites found in Giyani and Musina areas, Limpopo Provine of South Africa. It looks at the mining processes, environmental problems, and health and safety risks of ASM in the area. It also provideds a discussion of practical ways of dealing with the problems of artisanal and small-scale mining operations in a harmonized way with the rehabilitation of the abandoned mine sites. The exploitation of waste rock dumps for aggregate production in Musina demonstrated that formalized ASM activities can be the best alternative uses of the abandoned mine sites. However, artisanal gold mining around Giyani revealed the health and safety risks and environmental problems of these operations. The artisanal gold mining activities worsened the health and safety and the environmental problems of the abandoned mine sites. Therefore, this paper recommends that the efforts of coming up with strategies to formalize and regulate artisanal mining in South Africa be deepened for these activities to be accepteble as sustainable as post-mining land-uses in abandoned mines.

This paper sought to assess the role of artisanal and small-scale mining in poverty alleviation, focusing on Barn mining area ward 25 Matopo (Matabeleland South Province). The study adopted a mixed method approach in data collection, comprising the use of questionnaires, interview guides, observation tools and focus group discussions. The study found that ASM contributes to income generation and employment creation and has become a major source of livelihood in many mineral resource endowed areas of Zimbabwe. It was concluded that ASM as an economic activity has improved livelihoods as the income affords the miners an improved standard of life in addition to the ability to buy agricultural inputs and sending their children to school. However, several challenges associated with ASM were identified. These include lack of financial and institutional assistance, gold wars and other unfound agreements made between miners and claim owners. Loss of life in mine accidents, spread of sexually transmitted diseases are some of the negative impacts identified. The study recommended that for the benefits of ASM to be realised in terms of poverty alleviation, ASM activities should be decriminalized and financial support availed to miners.

The impact of artisanal mining on livelihoods in developing countries is a contentious issue. As a contribution to this subject, the study assessed the implications of artisanal gold mining activities on smallholder agriculture in the Wa East District of Ghana. A descriptive survey design with a mixed methods research approach was used. Primary data were sourced from respondents through interviews, questionnaire administration, and field observation. Five artisanal mining communities were selected based on the intensity of mining activities in them. The study respondents consisted of 290 household heads drawn randomly from 1,050 households. Also, key informants consisting of 5 assembly members and 15 lead artisanal miners were interviewed. The study found artisanal mining to be a dominant livelihood strategy in the district, employing about 76.2% of respondents at various levels. Artisanal mining contribution to household income was higher than food crop farming. Proceeds from mining are used to finance smallholder agriculture. However, the activities of the miners have resulted in the degradation of farmlands. We argued that artisanal mining activities should be aligned with other livelihood options such as agriculture in local communities. The study called for the engagement of local miners and traditional rulers in mineral resource decision-making.

Recent expansion of artisanal gold mining along the Bandama River (Côte d’Ivoire)

This study evaluated the impact of artisanal and small-scale mining on land use land cover as it applies to sustainable mining environment in Niger State, Nigeria. Thus, thirteen different mining locations covering the three geo-political locations were geo-referenced. The satellite imagery of Landsat TM and EMT+ from Global Land Cover Facilities (GLCF) and Earth Explorer (EE) for tri-images (1994, 2004 and 2014) at 30m resolution was obtained to establish the changes that occurred over the study years. Landsat imageries were analyzed with the aid of computer-based GIS ILWIS 3.3. The imageries were classified into degraded land, settlement, vegetation and water body. Results showed that in 1994, 33.4% of the land use was degraded due to mining, settlement accounted for 3.7% and vegetation covered 59.2%. In 2004, 21.1% of the land was degraded, vegetation decreased from 59.2% in 1994 to 30.9% in 2004. In 2014, land degraded to 47.36%, settlement expanded to 16.06%, vegetation covered 24.22% and water body occupied 12.37% of the mining sites. Within the study period, mining sites increased from 30,000km2 (33%) to 48,000km2 (45%) indicating the severity of mining impact. Therefore, the government should develop strategic mining policy framework targeting a sustainable mining operation in Niger State. Keywords: Mining Effects, Artisanal mining, Environment, Land degradation, Niger State.

Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) in Ethiopia plays a vital role in the national economy, contributing significantly to foreign exchange earnings and employment, particularly in rural regions such as Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz. It provides livelihoods for millions, with many households experiencing enhanced income levels compared to those reliant solely on agriculture. However, ASM is accompanied by substantial geo-environmental and socio-economic challenges that pose risks to both the environment and local communities. These challenges include widespread environmental degradation, pollution, health hazards, and social issues such as child labor and poor working conditions. This review aims to systematically evaluate the key impacts of ASM in Ethiopia, focusing on both its socio-economic benefits and the environmental consequences. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across academic databases including Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed and Science direct, utilizing keywords like “artisanal mining,” “small-scale mining,” “geo-environmental impacts,” “socio-economic challenges,” “sustainable practices,” and “Ethiopia.” Studies published between 2015 and 2024 were selected based on relevance and rigor, and findings were synthesized into themes covering environmental impacts, health risks, socio-economic benefits, and barriers to sustainable practices. The review reveals that while ASM contributes positively to the economy, particularly in rural areas, it also leads to severe geo-environmental consequences such as soil erosion, mercury contamination, water pollution, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. Additionally, health risks, including respiratory issues and HIV prevalence, and socio-economic challenges, including child labor and high school dropout rates, are prevalent in mining regions. Despite existing regulatory efforts, inconsistent enforcement, limited capacity, and lack of resources hinder the effectiveness of policies. The findings emphasize the need for balanced, sustainable solutions that address the economic benefits of ASM while mitigating its environmental and socio-economic costs. Strengthening regulations, adopting cleaner technologies, improving health and safety standards, and enhancing community engagement are critical to ensuring the long-term sustainability of ASM in Ethiopia.

An integrated geoscience approach to effective formalization of artisanal mining in Mozambique: A case study of Namuno District, northeastern Mozambique

Artisanal and small-scale mining is a widespread economic sector in the African Great Lakes Region, where it has an adverse impact on the population’s environment. The purpose of this paper is to summarize and consider the typology of the environmental impacts of artisanal and small-scale mining, in particular, the anthropogenic influences on topography with regard to the methods used in raw material mining. Among the most significant environmental aspects related to artisanal and small-scale mining are deforestation, changes in landscape structure, influence over geomorphological processes and hydrological river regime, chemical pollution of soil and watercourses, influencing soil production capacity. The aforementioned factors can cause health problems such as silicosis, poisoning by methyl orthophosphate, or injury during the mining activity itself. Artisanal and small-scale mining could initiate new geomorphological processes or modify naturally occurring geomorphological processes. These dynamic processes are influenced by the topography of the relief, soil properties, and rock composition. Anthropogenic activity in these cases may lead to faster reshaping (degradation or abrasion) of soil shapes. This study covers a broad understanding of environmental impacts of artisanal and small-scale mining with a focus on anthropogenic influencing.

Women mine-rock waste collectors in artisanal and small-scale mining in Ecuador: Challenges and opportunities

The world is going through a new-millennium rush in precious metals, especially gold. The great increase in gold price in the last years, probably due to a shift towards safe investments in a period of crisis in the global economy, created a rapid increase in gold production. The faster response to this shift in production came from Artisanal (ASM) and Small-scale (SSM) mining units in remote locations of the world, and Brazil is one of the main countries that has ASM and SSM on its territory. The present paper draws some definitions of Small-Scale Mining and Artisanal Mining, based on its productivity and its actual social and environmental implications, and of their sustainability. The analysis of production data of Small Scale and Large Scale Mining on global scale and on Brazilian scale shows the high potential of SSM in dealing with lower mineral grades and market fluctuations, due to its high flexibility. A general growth of the role of SSM in precious metals production in the next decades is foreseen. An elaboration on world ASM data led to a clear correlation between efficiency in production and an index of human development; this result is shown and discussed. Based on the potential of SSM to attend to the mineral market needs, efficiency in productivity is finally proposed as the main path to turn an ASM unit into a sustainable and profitable Small-Scale industrial extractive unit.