Artisanal And Small-scale Mining Research Articles

Does the education system matter? Exploring in-depth joint school attendance, hazardous and non-hazardous activities in artisanal and small-scale mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

PurposeThis paper explores the deconstruction of child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sites, highlighting different perspectives. Despite the economic benefits to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), ASM poses challenges, particularly where children are concerned. Methodology: Our study uses a convergent parallel mixed methods approach to interpret qualitative and qualitative data based on the conceptual framework of human capital. Trivariate probit and Tobit models were used for quantitative data and content analysis was employed for qualitative data. We collected primary data by interviewing children involved in artisanal mining activities. Interviews were conducted with consent from the children and their parents or guardians. We adopt snowball sampling due to the lack of a database. The Centre of Expertise on Mining Governance (CEGEMI) developed the data collection instruments in collaboration with Inner City Fund (ICF) International and validated by the United States Department of Labour. FindingsWe found that limited access to education leads to decreased school attendance rates among children, pushing them towards engaging in hazardous and non-hazardous economic activities within the DRC's mining areas. Moreover, excessive working hours negatively impact children's academic performance. Consequently, there is a trade-off between attending school and engaging in child labour at ASM sites in the DRC. LimitationsThis study did not consider domestic activities carried out by children. This could give even more detailed results. Public policy implicationsGovernments and partners must prioritise creating a comprehensive list of hazardous activities for children in the ASM context. Careful conceptualisation is necessary to ensure the clarity and effectiveness of this list. Raising awareness about the merits of removing children from activities related to mining is important for households living in and around ASM sites. Interventions aiming to reduce child labour and increase school attendance in ASM zones must remain mindful of the socio-economic and school infrastructure needs.

Analyzing the dynamics influencing artisanal and small‐scale mining in the Upper Denkyira East Municipality, Ghana

AbstractThe gold mining sector in Ghana has significantly contributed to the nation's economic expansion by creating various employment prospects, both directly and indirectly, within mining communities. However, it is important to acknowledge that this industry has also had adverse environmental consequences. A sample size of 330 individuals, comprising small‐scale miners and farmers, was randomly selected from 10 mining communities within the Upper Denkyira Municipality to examine factors influencing artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM) operations. Furthermore, 150 key informants, comprising representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forestry Commission, the Mineral Commission, and other stakeholders, were also interviewed to ascertain the impact of mining on the environment. The research employed a logic regression model, the weighted average index (WAI), and X‐ray fluorescence as a method for the study data analysis. The study determined that low income, the impact of climate change on agriculture, and the high demand for gold exhibit a significant chance of influencing ASM. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that ASM have immeasurably contributed to water pollution, food security, and the loss of biodiversity in the municipality. Additionally, water resources, which serve as sources of potable water for drinking and irrigation, are heavily contaminated with arsenic, mercury, lead, copper, and nickel. The study concluded that implementing stricter regulations on mining practices, promoting sustainable mining methodologies, and providing comprehensive training to miners on environmental protection and land rehabilitation can help mitigate the negative impacts of ASM. Additionally, supporting alternative means of livelihood for mining communities, such as agriculture or ecotourism, can reduce the reliance on mining and promote sustainable development.

Association between Education and Gemstone Mining Practices of Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Artisanal and Small-Scale mining (ASM) is ubiquitous throughout Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). It is a major source of livelihood sustenance for thousands of individuals who are directly or indirectly working as ASMs. This essay considers the association between the educational background of 300 ASMs and four scenarios, viz., (1) whether they are allowed to do mining in areas other than their villages, (2) whether they allow a non-GB person to do mining in their area, (3) whether ASMs have the right to sell mined gems to someone other than the shareholders at a price offered by the shareholders, and (4) whether they allow fellow villagers in their established mines while they are not working there. Using the Chi-Square test of association, we find a non-significant association between the educational background of ASMs and the first three scenarios listed above: the test results stand as χ2 = 0.109, χ2=0.063, and χ2=0.087 for the three scenarios, respectively. We found a significant association of χ2=0.000 concerning the final scenario, viz., whether respondents would allow fellow villagers to mine in their established mine or not.

Framing spaces as (il)legitimate: “dirty” cobalt and the (mis)uses of artisanal and small-scale mining sites in south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

ABSTRACT As large-scale mining (LSM) companies and other commercial actors capitalise on a demand boom for Congolese cobalt, they have framed artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) spaces as problematic and illegitimate to make themselves appear “cleaner” than locally legitimate artisanal mining. Firms have emphasised the negative facets of artisanally mined cobalt, characterising their own production as “clean” and problem free. Capitalist actors’ framing of artisanal mining spaces as “illegitimate” or “dirty” is a powerful narrative that produces significant consequences. First, ASM, a minority of total cobalt production, becomes the focus of negative publicity; this framing erases the negative impacts of LSM. In turn, illicit “taxation” by public and private security forces at LSM sites is overlooked despite its systemic, organised nature. Next, the framing obscures the multiple interconnections between ASM and LSM. Finally, the framing of ASM spaces allows capitalist actors to claim these spaces to reshape and “organise” them.

Artisanal and small-scale mining through a “labour regime” lens: Consolidating a research agenda on labour exploitation

This article examines the way the notion of labour regime in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) research can contribute to new ways of conceptualising this sector's challenges. It starts by reviewing how the phenomenal expansion of ASM over the last decades has been problematised, and highlights the need to better understand what drives artisanal miners to operate under extremely precarious work conditions, and the role they play in shaping the conditions of the sector they evolve in. ASM labour has generally been approached in research from two main lines of debates, namely livelihoods and agrarian change, and as embedded in global commodity frontiers and networks. The former perspective played an important role in highlighting the diversity of forms of production, and the heterogeneity of labour comprising ASM. This body of work showed that these emerge from strategies adopted mainly by smallholders facing subsistence challenges who diversify their source of income by either branching out into mining or combining it with agricultural activities. The second line of enquiry approaches ASM as emerging from the complex interactions of actors and factors across scales in global commodity frontiers and competing territorialisation projects. Both perspectives highlight the importance of better conceptualising value extraction and ASM labour exploitation dynamics, and the article draws on recent work on “labour regimes” to suggest ways to move in this direction. At this juncture, we emphasise three areas of work that we suggest are worth pushing forth, namely the role of social reproduction dynamics underlying ASM work, the intersecting production of social difference and ASM labour control across supply chains, and the role of ASM resistance, collective mobilisation and agency. Through these, we hope to advance future research on exploitation dynamics in ASM labour regimes, in ways that may also have policy relevance, as labour has rarely been the latter's focus.

Artisanal Mining River Dredge Detection Using SAR: A Method Comparison

Challenges exist in monitoring artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activities, given their dynamic and often informal nature. ASM takes form through various techniques and scales, including riverine dredging, which often targets the abundant alluvial gold deposits in South America. Remote sensing offers a solution to improve data collection, regulation, and monitoring of the more mobile and elusive ASM activities and their impacts. Mapping ASM riverine dredges using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is one of the application areas least explored. Three semi-automated detection approaches using Sentinel-1 SAR are compared on their ability to identify dredges with minimal false positives. The methods are: (i) Search for Unidentified Maritime Objects (SUMO), an established method for large ocean ship detection; and two techniques specifically developed for riverine environments that are introduced in this paper: (ii) a local detection method; and (iii) a global threshold method. A visual interpretation of SAR data with the inclusion of optical high-resolution data are used to generate a validation dataset. Results show it is possible to semi-automatically detect riverine dredge using SAR and that a local detection method provides the best balance between sensitivity and precision and has the lowest risk of error. Future improvements may consider further automation, more discriminatory variables, and analyzing the methods in different environments and at higher spatial resolutions.

Tuberculosis cohort analysis in Zimbabwe: The need to strengthen patient follow-up throughout the tuberculosis care cascade.

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.

Chinese participation in Ghana's illegal small-scale gold mining: Linking local pull factors to distributional inequities

Growing attention paid to the environmental impacts associated with informal artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Ghana has sparked debate about the recent proliferation of Chinese migrants in the sector. This paper contributes to this discussion by focusing on local pull factors, particularly, those that relate to distributional inequity in Ghanaian mining policy and how they serve as catalyst for illegal mining. Findings from qualitative exploratory case studies reveal that illegal Chinese ASM is caused by local grievances and resistance to systemic distributional inequities in Ghana's mineral policy on two related fronts, including inequitable mineral wealth distribution, and inequitable mining land regime. These findings suggest that policy efforts to find a lasting solution to illegal foreign ASM, and illegal mining in the broader sense, should engage and collaborate with all the relevant local stakeholders to address these distributional inequities.

Sorting the facts from the lots: Contribution of artisanal and small-scale mining (galamsey) to rural livelihood configurations in sub-Saharan Africa

<p>In recent times, what is common in the scientific literature is findings showcasing the environmental and social menaces associated with artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)–low-tech, low capital investment, and labor-intensive mineral extraction and processing. However, a better understanding of how ASM shapes livelihood and rural economies may present nuances as to how its negative ramifications can be addressed. As a result, this paper examines how <em>galamsey</em> engenders livelihoods and the transformation of rural economies in Ghana. We produced a nuanced counter-debate to the widely held view that <em>galamsey</em> is evil and a menace to national development by sourcing data from 236 operators using a questionnaire and key informant interviews with 11 relevant stakeholders in north-western Ghana. Findings show that <em>galamsey</em> is a source of employment, income, and accumulation of assets such as houses, motorbikes, cars, and filling stations, which together make the local economy thrive, thereby fostering a local economic boom. However, there is limited collaboration between regulatory agencies and local stakeholders in implementing sustainable mining policies in Ghana. To address this problem, the government should engage local community actors such as the chiefs and landlords, assembly members, and the lead miners on possible steps to streamline and effectively monitor <em>galamsey</em> operations as opposed to military clamp downs.</p>

Artisanal and small-scale mining and the low-carbon transition: Challenges and opportunities

The transition to a low-carbon economy will require an unprecedented change to the energy system. The renewable and energy storage technologies that need to be built are fundamentally different from the ones that will be replaced. They require a greater amount and diversity of metals and minerals than the technologies that they are replacing. This higher demand for materials is likely to require a sharp expansion in the mining and production of a range of materials. The materiality of the low-carbon transition has reopened the historic concept of critical materials, with the EU and the US issuing lists of materials for which specific action is required to ensure security of supply. The supply of a wide range of these materials is met, in part, through artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) – an industry of rapidly growing importance across many parts of the world. This paper provides the first mapping in the literature of the intersect between critical minerals and ASM production – finding significant overlap between the two concepts. It then examines the implications of this overlap for both ASM and for the low-carbon transition – using examples of copper, cobalt and gold production. The increased demand for critical minerals could lead to an increased production from ASM, with potential environmental and social consequences. Since the pace of energy transitions vary across countries, the demand for critical minerals would also vary in accordance with the countries’ development perspective. This has a further effect on either advancing towards or retreating away from the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the paper includes a discussion of the same. The presence of ASM in supply-chains for low-carbon technologies could bring risks to the transition, especially in terms of reputational issues. On the other-hand increased demand could boost employment through ASM, raising incomes for rural workers, whilst the adaptability of ASM production could help solve supply bottlenecks in some material production. This has implications on the vertical and horizontal value chain linkages between the mines and final minerals which then questions the capacity of the country. This uncertainty highlights the importance of understanding the challenges and benefits that could accrue from the overlap between ASM and critical minerals.

Cooperativism as a solution or as an obligation? The formation of cooperatives in small-scale mining in Brazil

The Brazilian state, through the 1988 Federal Constitution, the 1999 Mining Permit Law, and the 2008. Garimpeiro Statute, endorsed the cooperative organizational model as a priority for organizing mineral activity in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in the country. Brazil's policymakers understood that the cooperative model could more efficiently reduce the sector's informality and promote cooperation. Against this backdrop, this paper seeks to problematize whether the formalization of cooperatives alone can solve many of the governance problems associated with ASM, as well as offer useful insights into the mechanisms by which cooperatives are constituted. This discussion brought up the question of how mineral cooperatives in Brazil function and whether the way they are constituted influences their ability to organize work and how they function. In order to empirically analyze this question, the research delimited the cooperatives in the state of Minas Gerais, in the southeastern region of the country, as the universe of analysis. Fourteen mineral cooperatives were identified. Data collection was carried out by means of on-site interviews and analysis of the founding by-laws and minutes of incorporation of these organizations. Interviews were also held with agents of the local government. The results presented point out that the formation of cooperatives in Minas Gerais is more linked to external demand and to pressure from the environment than to the endogenous motivation of a group. The cooperatives that were created by the workers' initiative tend to follow the principles of cooperativism in an endogenous way. On the other hand, the cooperatives that were created due to the requirements of regulatory agencies have great difficulties assimilating the cooperative model. Finally, we conclude that the pressure for the formalization of cooperatives was not accompanied by the structuring of public policies that support social organization and collective action, thus motivating the merely formal emergence of cooperatives.

Mapping to explore the challenges and opportunities for reconciling artisanal gem mining and biodiversity conservation

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) provides a vitally important livelihood for millions of people in many low- and middle-income countries. ASM can result in habitat clearance, increased hunting pressure, pollution, and sedimentation of waterways. Consequently, where mineral and biological wealth coincide, there are trade-offs. Here, we combine geological data with four datasets capturing conservation priorities, to evaluate where, and to what extent, mining may impact biodiversity, and to explore opportunities for both to co-exist. We use Madagascar as a case study: a biodiversity hotspot rich in economically important minerals where artisanal gem mining has conflicted with biodiversity conservation. We identify areas of Madagascar most likely to host primary deposits of gems and find that 11%–14% of the most important area for biodiversity on the island could host primary gem deposits. However, we also identify 7 million hectares (80%) of potentially prospective land which is outside of these areas. Establishing decentralised, community-managed zones for licensed ASM in such areas could help to incentivise formalisation and minimise social and environmental trade-offs. Our mapping approach could be applied in other countries to encourage the establishment of designated zones for ASM in places where mining does not conflict with conservation.

Dimensions of women’s mobility, livelihoods and vulnerability in artisanal and small-scale mining-induced local economy

Dominant artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) narratives highlight the invisibility of women’s livelihoods and gendered struggles in the sector. Indeed, livelihood practices in ASM, how daily mobilities facilitate these practices and the specific vulnerabilities women face are still understudied and undertheorised. Drawing on qualitative research in Prestea-Bondaye mining area (PBMA), Ghana, we explore the livelihood dimensions, forms of mobility and vulnerabilities of women in ASM from an open rural economy perspective where ASM serves as a centrifugal force that pulls or drives the emergence and sustenance of both farm and other off-farm livelihood activities. Our findings highlight two forms of mobility (i.e. outside the mining communities to ASM spaces, and to/within the mining communities) that are tied to different livelihood practices and vulnerabilities. From our inquiry, women build livelihoods in an ASM-induced local economy in three different forms: permanent, temporary, and indirect. The indirect livelihoods women build in an ASM-induced local economy include: 1) ‘san ban ho’ (side-work livelihood based on credit conditions), 2) petty-trading in ASM spaces, 3) home-based trading, 4) market-day trading, 5) commuting trading, and 6) underground pit ‘ghetto’ sponsorship. The findings show that while daily mobility shape the viability of livelihood-building efforts in an ASM-induced local economy, in most cases women experience different social and economic vulnerabilities that impact their health and livelihood benefits. Implications of our findings for policy and practice are further discussed.

Youth in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and higher education nexus: Diffusion of innovations and knowledge transfer

Research literature has underscored the growing engagement of youth in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). However, no published study has explicitly investigated the symbiotic exchanges on how youth in ASM transfer acquired knowledge and practical skills to educational settings and how they in turn transfer their acquired knowledge in higher education institutions to the ASM sector. Based on our inquiry in Ghana, involvement of educated youth in ASM had resulted in a) diffusion of innovations to the ASM sector, b) skills/knowledge transfer on mineral processing, c) knowledge transfer on health and safety in mining, d) provision of equipment repair and maintenance services, and e) transfer of legal knowledge and processes to the sector. With the transfer of mining-related experiences to educational settings, three sub-themes emerged: f) sharing of ASM experience and knowledge with peers and tutors, g) experiential learning and practical understanding of theoretical concepts, and h) enhanced higher education-ASM industry synergies. In relation to these findings, we argue that the future of the ASM sector in Ghana and broadly sub-Saharan Africa concerning cleaner production and environmentally safe mining practices, to a greater degree, relies on educated youth who hold enormous promise to champion innovation and knowledge transfer to the sector.

Analyzing a deadly confrontation to understand the roots of conflict in artisanal and small-scale mining: A case study from Arequipa, Peru

Conflicts around large-scale mining are common and widely researched, but artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) features sparingly in the mining conflict literature, despite the prevalence of ASM conflicts. This paper examines ASM conflicts, focusing on a central case study from Arequipa, Peru, where violence between rival ASM groups and a mining company resulted in 15 deaths between 2020 and 2022. We leverage this extraordinary case to illuminate underlying issues. The central research question is: what structural factors around ASM in Peru set the stage for disputes, conflicts, and violence? We focus on three factors, concluding that (1) ASM's near-exclusion from owning mining concessions leads to informal arrangements and/or unauthorized access that catalyse many conflicts; (2) formalization models for ASM have done little to resolve access disputes, instead muddying the waters; and (3) multifaceted state weakness in relation to ASM contributes to perpetuation of might-makes-right dynamics. The research focuses on a single conflict from southern Peru, but the insights derived hold relevance throughout Peru and in other countries with significant ASM sectors and associated conflicts.

Multidimensional poverty and small-scale mining in the shadow of large-scale mines in Papua New Guinea

In this paper, we introduce the novel concept of a ‘residual landscape’ to examine the effects of mine closure on local landscapes and lives. Drawing on our study of the abandoned Tolukuma Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG), we describe the experiences of the people who attempt to make a living from artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) on this residual landscape. We then present fieldwork data on the poverty status of households in Tolukuma based on the use and modification of the Oxford Multidimensional Poverty Index assessment tool. This data is offered against village level poverty assessments in comparable regions in PNG where mining induced impacts have likewise been studied. By attending to the residual landscape, and the livelihood activities occurring on this landscape, we challenge the large-scale bias evident in the literature on mining and highlight the spatial and temporal features of co-existence models driving debates within academic and policy literature on ASM. Importantly, the significant level of ASM activity occurring on the Tolukuma residual landscape provides an opportunity to re-think assumptions about the drivers and experiences of poverty. Specifically, we ask, is it possible for people who appear to be successfully harvesting gold to be categorically poor? And if so, how does this seemingly impossible situation arise? Our data demonstrates why poor people appear to favour large-scale mining despite the harms generated by these activities. We argue that the history of Tolukuma should be read as a cautionary tale for future resource projects noting the persistence of these residual effects throughout the operational and post-operational phase of the mine.

Why time matters for understanding the ASM-LSM nexus in south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

AbstractThis article highlights the importance of studying the politics of time in the copper and cobalt mining sector of south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where a tense coexistence can be observed between artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and large-scale mining (LSM). It is argued that inequality in ASM-LSM settings not only manifests itself spatially but also temporally. Faced with an uncertain future, ASM and LSM actors do not have the same capacity to control time and plan their futures. Drawing on data from several rounds of ethnographic fieldwork in Katanga's mining areas between 2005 and 2022, the article advocates an approach which pays more attention to issues of time and temporality in places where large-scale forms of mineral extraction clash with small-scale ones.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining and rural transformation in post -land reform Zimbabwe: A broad overview

This article explores the dynamics of a rural transformation process triggered by the dramatic growth of Zimbabwe's Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sector. The paper argues that despite its informality-ASGM has become a key part of Zimbabwe's largely informal economy and has created employment opportunities for the rural and urban poor. There is thus a need for a shift in government policy from an antagonistic policy approach which criminalizes all forms of Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM), to a policy that promotes the formalization of the sector. The paper is based on empirical data gathered over nearly 15 years of fieldwork across Zimbabwe's mineral rich Great Dyke geological formation.

Should mining companies partner with artisanal miners? Why only time will tell

As a result of their simultaneous expansion in recent decades, mining companies and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) communities increasingly interact in rural areas of the African continent. The resulting interactions could be described as amicable and tolerating but in other cases, have culminated in violence. To reduce tensions between respective parties, a number of academics, donors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and industry bodies have promoted ‘models of cohabitation’ as a sustainable solution. This article critically reflects on this idea of promoting partnerships between large-scale mining companies and ASM communities. Using the lifecycle of an industrial mine as a temporal frame, a reconstruction of the mining interface dynamics between consecutive exploration and gold mining companies and resident ASM communities in the village of Hiré in Côte d’Ivoire is used as a case study. Untangling these mining interface dynamics has allowed to unearth how the conflicting interests, multiple realities and ambiguities that characterise the spaces in which residents of ASM communities and the management of mining companies compete over access to land, provide an extremely fragile and unsustainable foundation for cohabitation. Whilst proposed models of cohabitation can provide a short-term pragmatic response to mitigate escalated tensions between the parties, at the same time they should not be viewed in any way as a strategy capable of addressing the structural inequalities that are at the heart of these tense interactions.

Application of triple bottom line concept to artisanal and small-scale mining activities in Wa East District, Ghana

<p align="justify">The artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector offers a supplementary livelihood strategy to agriculture in northern Ghana, acting as a source of capital to support agriculture. However, the sector has been associated with several adverse environmental and socio-economic consequences, making its sustainability dimensions extremely complex and inconclusive across the literature. This study sought to investigate the dynamics of ASM operations in line with the Triple Bottom Line concept. Specifically, the paper explored the influence of the small-scale mining law and institutional framework on ASM operations, examined the relationship between the economic benefits of ASM and other livelihood activities, and assessed the adverse environmental effects of ASM in the host communities. The research design was a mixed method and cross-sectional survey. Household questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation were the main primary data collection techniques. Secondary data were provided by satellite images sourced from USGS Earth Explorer. They were analysed to determine the land cover types. The results indicate that the relevant regulatory state institutions lag behind their law enforcement duty. The ASM is a lucrative job that provides quick income to the youth. However, ASM activities affect food crop farming and decrease the quantity and quality of vegetation causing variations in land cover. Consequently, the host communities and ASM cooperatives have employed some land reclamation strategies. The study recommends increased government support to the relevant regulatory state institutions to constantly monitor and sanitize the ASM sector. To eradicate illegal mining, the study advocates for multi-stakeholder consultation and action.</p>