Abstract
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.
Highlights
Mineral resources represent the wealth of individual states, and their extraction constitutes one of the basic elements of the associated economies
In ASM, much less interest is devoted to the actual environmental impacts and their typology
ASM-related geomorphological processes are defined by Byizigiro et al [48], who describe geomorphological phenomena typical of artisanal and small-scale mining
Summary
Mineral resources represent the wealth of individual states, and their extraction constitutes one of the basic elements of the associated economies. The impact of the mining industry on the state economy may be even more striking [1]. A specific issue in developing countries is that relatively small consideration is paid to the environmental consequences of mining, including for frequently used methods of chemical mining. A separate issue typical for the countries of the East African Lakes region is the use of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). ASM is highly inefficient compared to industrial mining, it represents a very important element of the economy both at the local and regional level, especially for low-income population groups. Like any other mineral resource extraction, the artisanal mining method is associated with human intervention in the environment. The aim of this paper is to analyze the environmental impacts of artisanal mining of 3TG (tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold) minerals with respect to the methods used for the artisanal mining of minerals in the ASufsrtiacinaanbilGityre2a01t9L, 1a1k,exsFRORegPiEoEnR(RGELVRIE)W
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