A Review of the Scope of Artisanal and Small‐Scale Mining Worldwide, Poverty, and the Associated Health Impacts

Abstract

Some of the poorest people in the world's poorest countries eke out a living in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Equipped with primitive tools like picks, shovels, buckets, and gold pans, they work mining valuable resources, like gold, diamonds, tin, lithium, rare earth elements, tantalum, and cobalt, and any other usable commodity, for example, sand, coal, or mica. The mining and refining processes are labor intensive and associated with a variety of health problems due to accidents, overheating, overexertion, dust inhalation, exposure to toxic chemicals and gases, violence, and illicit and prescription drug and alcohol addiction. Evident disadvantages with ASM are counterbalanced by the immense economic benefits. For many, the true scope and scale of ASM activities are unappreciated, along with the unknown health and societal impacts. Here, we set out to elucidate the scope of ASM beyond the recovery of familiar commodities, such as gold and diamonds. We adopt a holistic perspective toward health impacts of ASM, which includes unique occupational, environmental, and human/social drivers. A particular focus is poverty as a health risk with artisanal miners. They are commonly poverty-stricken people in poor countries, ensnared by a variety of poverty traps, which take a toll on the health and well-being of individuals and communities. ASM sometimes provides an opportunity to diversify income in the face of a decline in subsistence agriculture. However, ASM often trades one kind of generational poverty for another, coming along with serious health risks and turmoil associated with work in an informal "cash-rich" business. Plain Language Summary Many of the world's most valuable commodities, for example, gold, diamonds, and strategic metals, and less valuable resources, for example, sand, clay, and coal, are the products of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The miners are commonly poor people with rudimentary tools, like shovels, buckets, and pans subsisting by working shallow ore deposits. Although an inefficient mining method, the large numbers of people can contribute substantially to a country's total production. Much of this mining occurs in distant, lawless areas like the Amazon River basin or the outback in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The work is grueling and dangerous because of violence and unregulated work sites. Miners suffer from the expected collection of occupational health risks, due to, for example, accidents, chemical exposures, dust inhalation, and lifting and lugging of heavy loads. Mining communities are at risk from incidental exposures to mercury, mosquito-borne diseases, poor sanitation, and more. Human and social problems also impact health. Our paper emphasizes poverty as a risk factor for disease, as miners are caught in poverty traps-unable to leave. Injuries and disease often must remain untreated because of costs and absent clinics.

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Research on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining

“…In general, ASM is an activity that exploits small deposits, has poor capital, lacks standards to ensure health and safety, is labour intensive, and has a significant environmental impact [14]. According to [24], millions of people worldwide are dedicated to primitive mineral extraction (ASM). Most ASM operators mine precious metals and stones [25].…”

“…Several literature review studies related to ASM mainly focus on systematic reviews of specific topics. Some examples are review studies about its relationship with poverty [24,46], agriculture [47], operator health [48], ecological problems [49,50], health risks [51,52], mercury contamination [6], mercury management and treatment [53], and water contamination [54], among others.…”

Perceptions about malaria among Brazilian gold miners in an Amazonian border area: perspectives for malaria elimination strategies

“…Because mining work is outdoors, miners are more susceptible to mosquito bites. The dwellings in these areas, when they exist, are precarious, with many openings and are often only shacks, facilitating transmission [ 3 – 7 ]. The mining activity also creates a favourable environment for the reproduction of vector mosquitoes, since the dredging of ravines generates pools of water that serve as artificial breeding sites.…”

Competency oriented management for sustainable artisanal and small‐scale mining sector development in Ethiopia

“…The 2017 IGF report estimates the number of ASM operators worldwide has grown exponentially in the last decade, reaching 40 million in the reported year. Furthermore, the ASM sector accounts for up to 20% to 25% of global gold, diamond, tantalum, and cobalt production (Schwartz et al, 2021). The significant mineral output the sector has and its contribution to a nation's economy gives the sector an immediate influence over the global mineral supply chain.…”

“…The document's effort can be acknowledged to control a sizable portion of the ASM activity in Ethiopia that has managed to avoid government oversight for some time now. However, its effectiveness remains in question as most of the impending factors that challenge governance efforts, such as geographical, infrastructural, and demographic strains (Schwartz et al, 2021), remain active. Such strains would make it virtually impossible for poorly equipped sector governance institutes to reach all artisanal mining communities and ensure government oversight in the sector.…”