Integration of health and safety risk management into the implementation of gold processing technology in artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) communities in the Philippines

Abstract

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is a growing industry sector employing 20 to 30 million people worldwide. In the Philippines ASM activities are an important source of employment and a significant contributor to the country’s economy. However, ASM activities are also the source of health, safety and environmental (HSE) issues that impact people at work, in the home, and in communities. HSE risks can be reduced depending if mercury-free technology is introduced, implemented and accepted in key Philippine ASM provinces.In this study, risk factors that affect the technology implementation process are identified using the risk perceptions of key stakeholders who can have a significant influence on the acceptance of technology through their roles. The risk perceptions were collected from the technology experts that shaped the technology design and construction, from the technology end-users – the AS miners who will determine the technology acceptance and assimilation, from government representatives and advocate groups who influence the sustainability of the technology in terms of its function to society as a whole.Key contributions of this study include the development of an appropriate methodology to produce evidence-based insights into prevalent and important stakeholder risk perceptions associated with the introduction of cleaner gold processing technology in ASM communities in the Philippines. Data was collected on-site from three ASM areas in the Philippines and from stakeholders comprising technology developers, national and local governments, advocate groups, local communities and AS miners using interviews and surveys. The three ASM areas studied were Benguet, Agusan del Norte and Compostela Valley. The range of risks identified come from the categories of political, HSE, economic, social, and technological. Different risk perceptions were elicited for a mercury-free gold processing technology with the relevance and relative importance of these risk perceptions across the different stakeholder groups validated using comparative analysis and descriptive statistics.There were two main outcomes from this study. First it developed a method for eliciting and visually representing risk perceptions that can impact stakeholder acceptance of proposed technology implementation. Second, it demonstrated a better understanding of the range of risks that are affecting the implementation of cleaner technologies and how this understanding could be used to promote its adoption within the Philippine ASM context.