Resources Policy xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Resources Policy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resourpol

Resolving artisanal and small-scale mining challenges: Moving from conflict

to cooperation for sustainability in mine planning
⁎
T. Zvarivadzaa, , A.S. Nhlekoa
a
School of Mining Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Despite the considerable challenges posed by artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), it remains part of our lives.
Artisanal and small-scale mining Conflict between ASM miners as well with large-scale mining companies, civil strife, social unrest, and cor-
Sustainable development ruption to mention a few problems are the order of the day in ASM. Environmental damage and possible con-
Economic development tribution to economic meltdown are a cause for concern. The main thrust of this paper is to discuss the chal-
Mine planning
lenges posed by ASM across the whole spectrum of political, social, economic, and environmental and health and
ASM policy
Conflict resolution
safety issues. The paper also proposes some proactive and realistic approaches to resolve the challenges dis-
cussed in order to move from conflict to sustainability in mine planning. ASM is characterized by relatively
uneducated and unregistered miners, and policies targeting ASM miners should be disseminated in a compre-
hensible manner lest such policies remain in our dreams and the policy books. Since it is the government that
funds clean-up of the mess from ASM, one of the best ways to avoid this expenditure is developing cooperative
approaches through different governmental instruments, persuading the ASM miners to mine responsibly. The
contribution of ASM to unemployment reduction cannot be ignored, but being mainly an informal sector, it is
very difficult to quantify its contribution to economic development. Capturing meaningful rent from these mi-
ners may also remain a dream if non-consultative policies are imposed on this sector. Tracing the miners can be a
nightmare when reactive approaches are implemented. Large-scale mining companies, government, and civil
society at large have to adopt a cooperative approach to devise sustainable, workable, and realistic ways to
convert ASM miners into contributors to sustainable development.

1. Introduction
The definition of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) varies from
country to country, but it generally involves the exploitation of deposits
which are not profitable to mine through large-scale mining (LSM).
ASM is conducted by small groups of 20–50 people and rudimentary
tools are used. According to Danielson and MacShame (2003), artisanal
and small-scale miners are people working with simple tools and
equipment, usually in the informal sector, outside the legal and reg-
ulatory framework. Some countries differentiate between artisanal
mining and small-scale mining. In India small-scale mining is mostly
organized mining carried out with acquired mining rights under some
statutory control, although unlicensed or informal activities are not
uncommon e.g. straying into unlicensed areas from existing mines and
working in disputed territory, while artisanal mining is uncontrolled,
illegal, and unauthorized (Chakravorty, 2001). This is also the Zim-
babwean perspective (Svotwa and Mtetwa, 1997). ASM normally
flourishes in areas with old mine workings (reef mining). It is equally
prevalent along rivers (alluvial mining). Commodities such as gold and
precious stones with high value compared to their weight are normally
mined under ASM. These miners normally work in groups of 2–20 or
slightly more consisting mainly of members of the same family. Al-
though women constitute a large component of the ASM, in each group
it is normally the male counterpart who happens to be the family head
that leads others and has control over the proceeds from ASM. These
miners go where the mineral is and rarely seek regulatory approval.
ASM has been existent since time immemorial and remains part of
our lives. Svotwa and Sibanda (2000) project an exponential growth in
ASM as from 1980 into the far distant future as depicted in Fig. 1. The
same trend is echoed by the Human Rights Watch (2015), indicating an
exponential small scale gold production increase in Ghana from 1990 to
2013 as depicted in Fig. 2. This type of mining poses great challenges
across the whole spectrum of sustainable development, be it political,
economic, social, or environmental. From the definition it is clear that
whether registered or unregistered, these miners may cause untold
damage to sustainable development if large-scale miners ignore them in

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Tawanda.Zvarivadza@wits.ac.za (T. Zvarivadza).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2017.12.003
Received 9 August 2017; Received in revised form 18 November 2017; Accepted 6 December 2017
0301-4207/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Zvarivadza, T., Resources Policy (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2017.12.003
T. Zvarivadza, A.S. Nhleko Resources Policy xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Table 1
Estimates of the number of people working in the ASM sector in the MMSD research
countries (Hentschel et al., 2002).

Country Total number of workers (thousands)

Bolivia 72
Brazil 10
Burkina Faso 100–200
China 3000–15,000
Ecuador 92
Ghana 200
India 500
Indonesia 109
Malawi 40
Mali 200
Mozambique 60
Peru 30
Philippines 185.4
PNG 50–60
South Africa 10
Tanzania 550
Zambia 30
Zimbabwe 350

of people working in the ASM sector in 18 countries (Hentschel et al.,

Fig. 1. Growth of small-scale mining in Zimbabwe – number of small-scale miners from
year 1980 to year 2010 and beyond (Svotwa and Sibanda, 2000).
planning. Regulations may just exist on paper and not be sufficient to
arrest the challenges from ASM when appropriate planning is not in-
corporated. This paper puts across several approaches that need to be
embraced in order to amass benefits from ASM for the success of the
country's economy. The formulation of the approaches encompasses
realistic considerations. ASM solutions also need to be implementable.
While ASM is a thorn in the flesh, its contribution to unemployment
reduction cannot be ignored. However, the employment may come at
the expense of national development if there is no reliable way of taxing
the proceeds from ASM. Also the benefit of employment may be out-
weighed by the problems caused by ASM when realistic solutions are
not developed. Some short-sighted governments may enforce strict
measures like banning ASM because of the planning challenge in
dealing with ASM activities. However, banning ASM is not an easy task
since it contributes much to the livelihood of the most impoverished
uneducated sector of society. Table 1 provides estimates of the number
2002). Recent statistics on ASM practice around the world are pre-
sented by the Alliance for Responsible Mining (2013) in Fig. 3. The
difficulty of eliminating ASM is emphasized in Fig. 4, which shows the
ownership structure of small scale mines in china.
This paper starts by expressing the different challenges of ASM in
different facets of life. This leads to considerations to be faced in
planning the solutions needed for sustainability in mine planning. After
the comprehensive coverage of the challenges an in-depth discussion is
presented on plausible ways to foster a conducive operating environ-
ment for ASM and LSM.
2. Challenges posed by ASM
ASM poses a wide assortment of challenges. These challenges can be
grouped into social, political, economic, environmental, and safety and
health challenges.
2.1. Social challenges
Social cohesion is the fabric that holds communities together. It is
the building cell that influences the peace of a nation at large. The
practice of ASM in an area brings with it some social challenges that

Fig. 2. Small-scale gold production in Ghana

(Human Rights Watch, 2015).

2
T. Zvarivadza, A.S. Nhleko
Fig. 3. Estimated number of ASM miners per country (Alliance for Responsible Mining, 2013).
Fig. 4. The ownership structure of small-scale mines in China (Shen and Gunson, 2004).
threaten peace and stability in the ASM community. Some of the no-
table challenges are as presented in the following discussion.
2.1.1. Crime
ASM is characterized by miners who tend not to respect the law. In
communities there is often an outcry due to rape cases and some in-
dividuals who fail to make it in ASM turn to house breaking. Ambushes
are laid by criminals to rob the miners of their precious minerals. At
times murder is committed when miners resist robbery. Hentschel et al.
(2002) highlight the negative social implications of ASM such as high
incidents of crime, overpopulation, sexually transmitted diseases and
prostitution. More criminal aspects of ASM can be found from studies
by Hilson (2006), Buxton (2013), Nhlengetwa and Hein (2015),
Ledwaba (2017), Jinnah and Tafira (2017) among others.
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Resources Policy xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
2.1.2. Prostitution and spread of HIV/AIDS
People from all walks of life gather in places where ASM takes place.
Professional commercial sex workers come from their urban dwellings
attracted by the money made by these miners. This leads to the spread
of HIV and AIDS as these sex workers make their rounds both in rural
and urban areas. Accompanied by migrant workers in ASM, HIV/AIDS
spread like a veld fire. Due to this the preference rate is increased and
there is a burden on the health facilities, constraining national budget.
Also, breadwinners are lost to HIV/AIDS, exposing orphans to untold
suffering and poverty. AngloGold Ashanti (2006) mentions that high
exposure to HIV/AIDS is common in ASM.
2.1.3. Neglect of human rights
Where ASM miners employ workers, the workers tend to be un-
derpaid and work in dangerous and unhealthy conditions. This is be-
cause being unregistered and operating informally, the ASM miners fear
no threat from employees since the employees do not have a legal
mandate to sue the employer. Hentschel et al. (2003) noted in his study
of the Ozizwenzi KwaZulu-Natal project in South Africa that neither
labour relations legislation nor basic conditions of employment were
observed. Sexual harassment of women and girl children by male
counterparts as a result of substance abuse and frustration is common in
ASM. After toiling day and night to get the mineral, ASM miners can be
exploited by middlemen who buy their products at unreasonably low
prices. According to Mwaipopo et al. (2004) the perpetuation of an
exploitative hierarchy in ASM allows license-holders who act as land-
lords to determine the manner of resource distribution and level of
investment in the operation, however unsatisfactory and exploitative.
2.1.4. Conflict and lack of security
ASM is unorganized and each group mines where it pleases. Conflict
normally exists among the groups as they fight for mining areas. The
fighting can be so intense that killings are not uncommon in these
circumstances. It is ‘survival of the fittest’ as the one who wins the fight
get the mining area despite who discovers it. There is no security of
tenure. When ASM miners stray into large-scale miners’ territory, gun
battles ensue. CME Markets (2010) reported a gun battle between ASM
T. Zvarivadza, A.S. Nhleko Resources Policy xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

miners and an open pit mine security patrol on the East Rand near
Johannesburg, South Africa, which left many dead.

2.1.5. Child labour

Child labour is rampant in ASM. It is abusive and robs talented and
intelligent children of a bright future. Parents get their children to help
them as a way of supporting the family, earning a living and to a lesser
extent to supplement school fees. However children are exposed to all
vagaries of ASM which include serious health risks and dangerous
mining conditions. According to ILO (1998) ASM ranks first on the list
of hazardous occupations in the Philippines, where 3.7 million of 22.3
million children between 5 and 17 years of age have been identified as
working children and more than 2 million children are said to be
working in a hazardous environment. Between 1 and 1.5 million chil-
dren, evenly split between boys and girls, are also involved in this ac-
tivity worldwide (CASM, 2008). Some of the effects suffered by children
in ASM include joint/muscle stiffness, muscle pain, back pain, skin le-
sions, muscle weakness, poor appetite, and sleep disorder (ILO, 1998).
ILO (1998) further notes that it is said that after toiling day and night
and suffering that much, children get less than 7% of the proceeds of
ASM (ILO, 1998).

2.1.6. Gender discrimination

Gender discrimination and harassment of women is not uncommon
in ASM. Women are exposed to sexual violence and abuse in the mining
sites. They are also exposed to, and involved in, disruptive and dama-
ging behaviour due to the high levels of alcohol and drug abuse in
camps. Women make a huge proportion of ASM miners but un-
fortunately the allocation of the earnings in family groups is done by
men who are considered to be heads of families. Men opt to use the
money for gambling, alcohol, and prostitution at the expense of family
wellbeing. Other discriminatory issues against women in ASM ac-
cording to Hayes (2000) include unequal pay or opportunities, and
often the requirement to surrender high-value products.

2.2. Environmental challenges

ASM causes considerable environmental destruction when not ap-

propriately regulated and planned. Photographs in Fig. 5A to C illus-
trate how ASM is detrimental to the environment.

2.2.1. Pollution of water bodies

Due to unplanned and unorganized waste disposal, waste from ASM
finds its way into ground and surface water. Tailings are improperly
disposed and can even contaminate safe drinking water and rivers from
which both domestic and wild animals drink. Dreschler (2001) men-
tions that the main water pollutants from ASM are mercury, cyanide,
and to some extent human excrement, because of lack of good health
and sanitation facilities.
Some of the eroded soil finds its way into rivers. Also when mi-
neralization goes beyond the banks of rivers, ASM extend the river
banks leading to further closure of the rivers through silt deposition.
With accumulation of silt some rivers eventually disappear and aquatic
life is lost. Wildlife also dies as a result of water shortage. Hoadley and
Limpitlaw (2004) also pointed out river siltation and watercourse di-
version as serious impacts of ASM.
2.2.2. Dust and noise
Dust and noise constitute a nuisance, especially near settlements
(Kambani, 2002). Blasting, crushing, and grinding of ore generate dust
and intense noise. Some of those involved in ASM experience hearing
problems and have acute health challenges like pneumonia due to high
levels of dust exposure.
2.2.3. Land degradation
As evidenced from Fig. 5A–C, ASM leave a lot of excavations
Fig. 5. (A) – Land degradation and safety lack in ASM (White, 2008). (B) – Alluvial gold
mining (Magora, 2009). (C) – Mine tailings flow into nearby forest and creek (Heemskerk
and Olivieira, 2003).
unrehabilitated and unenclosed. This poses a hazard to animals and
humans. Donkor et al. (2006) mention that it is well known that arti-
sanal gold mining contributes in no small measure to land degradation.
2.2.4. Mercury and cyanide pollution
Mercury and cyanide are mainly used in gold processing, but they
are highly poisonous and workers need special protective clothing
which the ASM miners cannot afford. As such they work without pro-
tection at all, as shown in Fig. 5B. Many ASM miners have lost their
lives to poisoning and this has negative implications on the economy of
a nation. Sepro Mineral Systems (2010) highlights that the use of
chemicals like mercury and cyanide in ASM often leads to their release
into the surrounding environment and collection in the very plants and
animals on which local communities rely on for survival.

4
T. Zvarivadza, A.S. Nhleko
2.2.5. Poor disposal of mine tailings
ASM tailing dams are makeshift and are not restraining enough to
stop the dangerous material from escaping into vegetation and water
systems. Jennings (2000) mentions that ASM miners do not use ap-
propriate waste and tailings disposal systems.
Different waste and tailings disposal systems can be successfully
used by ASM in a bid to protect the environment. The type of ore
material and the chemicals used to process it dictate the disposal system
to be used. Adopting the wrong approach may lead to serious en-
vironmental challenges like mercury poisoning and acid mine drainage.
Some of the waste and tailings disposal systems which can be adopted
are use of impounds or free standing piles to dispose dry or thickened
tailings, underground mine workings and open pits backfilling, sub-
aqueous disposal among others (United States Environmental
Protection Agency, 1994). More details on some of the successful and
unsuccessful approaches in waste and tailings disposal systems in ASM
are presented by Amedjoe and Gawu (2013).
2.3. Economic challenges
The economic challenges of the ASM sector make it difficult for
governing authorities to establish support structures for the sector.
Some of the economic challenges are as presented under this section.
2.3.1. Lack of collateral security
ASM is characterized by people in abject poverty who regard it as a
God-given answer to their plight. Their way of life is hand-to-mouth
and they do not have anything to pledge to bankers as collateral se-
curity. Siegel and Veiga (2007) state that even where a miner is for-
mally licensed, the title to a claim and some buckets and shovels is not
enough collateral to guarantee a loan. ASM miners do not have access
to loan facilities, meaning they do not have the financial capacity to
operate in a responsible and efficient manner.
2.3.2. Difficulty in obtaining information
Most ASM miners are unregistered and operate unofficially so it is
almost impossible to obtain reliable information about them for the
purpose of planning and helping them. The population of ASM miners
fluctuates over time such that a clear picture of the operations is dif-
ficult to get. According to Hinton et al. (2003) limited reliable statistical
information is available on ASM.
2.3.3. Rent capturing difficulty
Any surplus profit made by ASM is unavailable for economic de-
velopment as it is difficult to tax. Even the few who are registered lack
professional accounting and paper work since to them this is un-
affordable luxury as they are mostly uneducated. Koning (2009) reveals
that the DRC government had to establish a tight system of control to
capture rents from artisanal diamond mining that can be sustained only
with the involvement of security services.
2.3.4. Lack of education and professionalism
Professionals and educated human resources are absorbed into LSM
leaving mainly the uneducated in ASM. Without education no planning
is done and mining is just haphazard. Even if they wish to engage into
sustainable exploitation of resources, ASM miners may fail because they
do not have the knowledge to do so. Heemsker Organisation (2010)
reports that most ASM miners are not formally trained in mining and in
most cases lack a basic education.
2.3.5. High-grading
The issues of grade mix and cut-off grades are non-existent in the
vocabulary of untrained ASM miners. High-grading is a wasteful way of
exploiting resources since it is difficult, if not impossible, to extract the
remaining value from the depleted mineral deposit. This is illustrated in
Fig. 6.
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Resources Policy xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
Fig. 6. Distribution of gold grades of a typical artisanal gold vein mine in Burkina Faso
(Jaques et al., 2004).
Jaques et al. (2004) point out that ASM miners of Burkina Faso
cannot avoid high-grading of their resources because of the basic
equipment, major technical constraints, and high operating costs they
face.
2.3.6. Failure to adapt to technological change
While government may try to chip in with several technologies that
support safe mineral processing, ASM miners, being uneducated, lack
the aptitude to learn the new technology. Theije and Heemskerk (2009)
mention that adopting new technology looks easier than it often proves
in practice in ASM.
2.3.7. Mineral rush effect (tragedy of the commons)
When there is a sudden discovery of a high-value deposit like gold in
an area, people from all corners of the country and even from abroad
flock to that place in search of a fortune. This results in overpopulation,
resulting in spread of diseases and all sorts of criminal activities.
Environmental devastation and conflict ensues. Diallo et al. (2007)
describe such a situation as a ‘tragedy of the commons’.
2.3.8. Retardation of economic growth
As it is difficult to get returns from ASM, economic growth may be
retarded. Instead it is government money supposed to be directed to
other economic activities which may be used to clean up the degrada-
tion from ASM. Bocoum (2000) states that ASM is associated with a
retardation of economic growth and development.
2.3.9. Short-sighted planning
Strategic planning is mainly not part of informal ASM. The miners
take each day as it comes. Normally their earnings are spent earlier than
planned, but the damage left behind is lifelong and quite a challenge to
correct. The DRC Environmental and Climate Change Policy Brief
(University of Gothenburg, 2008) confirm that when exploitation is
done unwisely and in an unplanned manner, economic development
and exploitation of natural resources tend to be short-sighted.
2.3.10. Corruption
Corruption is rampant in ASM. Some better-placed ASM groups can
corrupt law enforcement agencies so that they turn a blind eye on their
activities. Where ASM licences are issued by government, some ASM
miners can also pay bribes which can also lead to conflict between the
miners as some hold more claims than they can mine. Kramcha (2008)
mentions that ASM has a vicious circle of corruption which undermines
sustainable development in the minerals sector.
2.4. Safety and health challenges
Any activity for human survival should not pose safety and health
threats to the very humanity it endeavours to support. Due to the in-
formal and often illegal nature of ASM, it is faced with safety and health
issues which need viable solutions as discussed under this section.
T. Zvarivadza, A.S. Nhleko
Other approaches which can be adopted to enhance safety in ASM
underground mining are as presented by Rupprecht (2015).
2.4.1. High fatality rate
Due to unsafe working conditions and infrastructural deficiencies,
fatalities are high in ASM. Miners usually live in squalid conditions and
makeshift houses. In many parts of the world, ASM activities are of sub-
standard quality and a number of fatalities occur (Hentschel et al.,
2003). For example, Bansah et al. (2016) note the following fatalities in
small scale mines of Ghana due to ground failures: 6 at Kyekyere in the
Ashanti region in 2016, 17 in 2015 at an unnamed small scale mine in
Ghana central region, at least 45 at an unnamed illegal gold mine in
2010 and 18 in 2009. Zungu (2016) notes that the fatality rate in ASM
is up to 90 times that of large scale mines in industrialised countries.
2.4.2. Disease
The living conditions in the mining fields are deplorable leading to
many waterborne diseases. ASM miners operate in places without water
or sanitation. They are normally far from health centres or medical
facilities. To get medical help they travel long distances. Small under-
ground mines are poorly ventilated, which causes pneumonia. CASM
(2008) points out that ASM communities are highly vulnerable to
communicable diseases including malaria, tuberculosis, influenza,
cholera, yellow fever, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS.
2.4.3. Protective clothing
Most of the ASM miners do not use protective clothing at all.
Fig. 5A–C show ASM miners mining virtually without any protective
clothing. This exposes them to mercury poisoning and various forms of
injury. Global Mercury Project (2007) stipulates that nobody should
handle mercury unless they are wearing suitable protective clothing,
including gloves.
2.5. Other challenges
ASM has several other challenges which need to be carefully
planned for to achieve sustainable exploitation of mineral resources.
These include substance abuse, destruction of cultural and ethical va-
lues, destruction of cultural heritage sites, deforestation, soil erosion,
siltation of rivers, river diversion, and destruction of biodiversity
among others. The political dimension needs to be carefully managed.
As noted by Garrett (2007), ASM has become part of the political es-
tablishment and is often driven more by personal ambitions than global
development. On the political front, ASM miners may prevent the
smooth running of large scale mining (LSM) companies in mining areas
as they may view the mining areas as their birth right. This becomes
complicated as the LSM companies hold government issued mining li-
cences. It is therefore important for close ties to be formed between
ASM miners and LSM mining companies so that the LSM companies
obtain the much needed social license to operate. From a governing
perspective, the government is expected to make socio-economic
(schools, hospitals, roads, sporting facilities, water, electricity, etc.)
developments in ASM communities to enhance the quality of life. The
failure of government to provide the developments may lead to political
instability in the ASM communities. The involvement of senior political
figures in ASM may lead to disregard of the law by the miners supplying
them with the minerals since they can easily influence the policing
agencies. Zvarivadza (2016) notes how the political establishment in
the Democratic Republic of Congo has led to the loss of 80% of the
country's mineral production to the parallel market, resulting in the
country losing much needed revenue for economic development.
3. Approaches to resolve the challenges and enable sustainability
in mine planning
ASM plays a pivotal role to rural development in numerous
6
Resources Policy xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
countries, especially the developing countries. For instance it reduces
the rate of rural to urban migration, acts as a precursor to LSM, and
helps with exploitation of resources that might be deemed uneconomic
by large-scale miners (Jennings, n.d.). Prescribing general solutions for
artisanal and small scale mining challenges for all regions would be
futile because of the differences in economic, geological, social, and
historical backgrounds. This section proposes solutions that can be
adopted to address the issues in ASM. There are various matters dis-
cussed above that hinder ASM miners from fully reaching their devel-
opment potential. Proposed action plans or solutions are discussed
below. Many countries have launched initiatives to increase the pro-
duction from ASMs through promotion of local entrepreneurship.
However, these initiatives proved fruitless because they were launched
in an isolated manner, thus only benefiting mining entrepreneurs at the
expense of the artisanal miners (Labonne and Gilman, 1999). Any
strategy implemented must be aligned to the Africa Mining Vision,
which is aimed at ‘transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of
mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and
socio-economic development’ (Africa Mining Vision, 2009).
3.1. Policy and regulatory framework
The ASM sector is currently unregulated and unsupported, resulting
in severe environment degradation, high crime rates, and appalling
social conditions. Failure to regularize this sector has further resulted in
governments losing vast amounts of money. Government needs to re-
cognize this sector and improve the mining conditions through educa-
tion, training, investment, and credit opportunities (Labonne and
Gilman, 1999; Dreschler, 2001). The policies developed must capture
the short-term economic opportunities of ASM and convert the proceeds
generated into economically and socially sustainable undertakings, thus
leading to alternative and sustainable forms of livelihoods.
When developing policies it is vital to use the bottom-up approach
through inclusion of all stakeholders concerned, for instance, commu-
nities, non-government organizations (NGOs), and ASMs. The level and
quality of partnership that emerge will determine the level of success.
The policies must be embedded into broad rural development strategy
taking into account the poverty cycle that limits the development of the
ASM sector (Global Dialogue, 2011).
To augment the contribution from ASM, the government must:
• Develop policies that support ASM
• Ensure that government offices handling ASM issues have adequate
capacity
• Ensure that the developed policies are implemented effectively
• Involve ASM miners and all stakeholders when developing policies.
The policies must focus on, amongst other issues, title rights; credit
accessibility; working and living environment; environmental impact
from mining; labour and social challenges; tax incentives; and foster
partnerships between ASM and large-scale miners. These issues need to
be dealt with concomitantly because they are intertwined. The fact that
mining regions are different cannot be stressed enough; however,
mining policies can be used as guidelines when drafting policies.
3.2. Economic challenges
3.2.1. Access to finance
Small-scale mining companies have difficulty in accessing financial
assistance due to lack of trust and accountability in the sector. One of
the main reasons is the fact that small-scale miners are extremely mo-
bile and thus prone to appear and disappear from one mining area to
another. The proceeds accrued from the finite resources must be re-
invested into sustainable community services through creation of al-
ternative production ventures. Small-scale miners are able to get fi-
nance from various sources, for an example:
T. Zvarivadza, A.S. Nhleko
• Buyers of the product, who recover the loaned money from the sales
• Government – the criteria of eligibility need to be clear and trans-
parent
• NGOs and other international donors.
The providers of finance must have representatives in the running of
the company in order to curb the level of incompetence and eliminate
the risk of disappearance. Small-scale miners can be promoted to act as
a catalyst of other productive activities to stimulate development of
alternate production means to alleviate poverty.
3.2.2. Information and technology
Lack of information and knowledge also has a huge effect on the
current practices in ASM, therefore, providing necessary information to
the ASM miners will ensure that the sector is improved. The govern-
ment may create a database where information is easily accessible to
miners. The information disseminated to the ASM miners must focus
mainly on environment conservation, social issues, legal knowledge,
and business and marketing skills. Collaboration must be encouraged
on issues like processing plant and honouring market contracts, con-
sequently protecting the sector from being controlled by few in-
dividuals that have better economic status and/or political connections
(Dreschler, 2001). To better understand the sector, research needs to be
conducted and the focus must be on technologies and environment
management.
3.2.3. Large- and small-scale mining linkages
Large-scale mining companies can play a tremendous role in the
growth of ASM through numerous initiatives (Jennings, n.d.), for in-
stance:
• Sharing of technical information and industry best practices
• Providing mentorship for small-scale miners
• Not treating small-scale mining sector as a sub-set of the large
formal mining industry.
Great care needs to be taken when searching for exploitable mineral
resources in order to prevent conflict between small-and large-scale
mining companies. The principle of first-come first-served will thwart
such conflicts. Government may develop policies that will incentivise a
large-scale miner that shares knowledge with ASM through tax benefits.
3.3. Environmental considerations
It is vital that the land or natural resource base is continually
maintained and/or improved. Land improvement can be achieved
through integration of community needs into the maintenance and
improvement of the environment. ASM miners must be encouraged to
adopt exploitation techniques that have minimal impact on the en-
vironment as far as possible (Labonne and Gilman, 1999).
3.4. Health and safety
Health and safety is important for all mining workers and sur-
rounding communities. The major challenge is that it is extremely dif-
ficult to quantify the number of injuries and deaths because of under-
reporting (Jennings, n.d.), which may be attributed to the fact that the
sector is unregulated. According to Jennings (n.d.) it cannot be disputed
that the risks of fatal and disabling accidents are high. However, the
health hazards are of more serious consequence than the accidents. For
instance, silicosis and mercury poisoning extend to the whole com-
munity.
Government needs to encourage reporting of incidents and acci-
dents occurring in the mining operations and also provide assistance
where needed. The most vital action is to educate the miners and
communities about measures to be taken to prevent accidents and
7
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diseases. Government may incentivize large-scale mining operations to
share knowledge, information, and facilities with communities from
small-scale mining areas.
3.5. Women and child labour
To increase the number of women participating in small-scale
mining, government may develop policies that promote the inclusion of
women. For instance, having a certain women's representation in a
company applying for financial assistance (loan) might be deemed
advantageous.
Child labour can be eradicated through education and if other op-
portunities for generating income are developed, consequently, eradi-
cating poverty. According to Labonne and Gilman (1999), the future is
bleak unless actions are taken to reduce poverty, increase education
opportunities, and remove children from hazardous work. NGOs can
play a vital role in assisting the government in eliminating child labour
via data collection, educating the parents of dangers of using children in
workplaces.
3.6. Social challenges
There are vast social challenges that exist in areas where ASM mi-
ners operate. It is beyond the scope of this paper to provide solutions for
each problem; however, an ‘umbrella’ solution is suggested. The major
social challenge is poverty, and to eradicate it there are various di-
mensions to be considered. These dimensions can be categorized as
political, economic, educational, social, and environmental. The gov-
ernment needs to drive social equity such that the opportunities for one
group do not foreclose options for the other group, which Labonne and
Gilman (1999) classified as sustainable livelihood. Government, NGOs,
and other stakeholders need to educate communities about diseases and
dangers which they are susceptible to. Government should ensure that
in the community areas where ASM operates there are schools in order
to afford the communities access to education. Consequently the use of
child labour may decrease enormously. Government may provide
clinics in the areas surrounding the mining activities for easy access to
medical assistance for the communities. Fig. 7 proposes a process to be
followed to regulate the ASM sector.
In a nutshell, the nature of work performed by these miners is ha-
zardous and the financers of the projects impose pricing, resulting in
distrust between the stakeholders. If other stakeholders are to engage
with the miners, trust will need to be developed. The policymakers will
need to ensure involvement of the ASM miners throughout the process
and employ a bottom-up approach to ensure that ASMs take ownership
of the policies. Government needs to ensure that there are knowledge
hubs (mobile offices) in these remote areas where ASM miners can
access information and have continuous dialogue for effective part-
nership. There should be monitoring systems in place in order to
quantify the success or challenges of the developed policies.
4. Conclusions
After all that has been said, it is clear that while ASM is a huge
challenge to deal with, it has an enormous economic significance in
terms of poverty alleviation. There are compelling approaches that can
be realistically implemented to resolve the challenges and turn ASM
into a vehicle for economic development. The deleterious environ-
mental, social, economic, political, and safety and health issues posed
by ASM can be addressed amicably to avoid conflict in mine planning.
The dangerous and unhealthy way of operation cannot go without
being addressed. Regardless of the means employed, these miners
cannot be wiped away since ASM is their main source of livelihood as
most of them are uneducated and unemployable. To them ASM is their
weapon to deal with hardship. One can also note that ASM contributes
to alleviating unemployment, which can translate to contribution to
T. Zvarivadza, A.S. Nhleko
national economic development when ASM is appropriately managed.
Governments have to devise ways of peaceful coexistence with ASM.
Harsh crackdowns do not help issues but aggravate the situation. Some
of the peaceful ways of resolving these challenges include governments
running country-wide campaigns on how ASM can operate without
much damage in all spheres of life. Other ways of disseminating the
information are through community radios accessible to all ASM, and
the use of visually appealing and entertaining booklets. This may come
as an expense to the government, but the expense is worth considering
the cost of cleaning up the degradation from ASM. The use of policy
framework to govern ASM is another realistic option to be considered.
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