Socio-technical context of the interactions between large-scale and small-scale mining in Marmato, Colombia

Holley, Elizabeth; Smith, Nicole; Jimenez, Jeison Alejandro Delgado; Cabezas, Isabel Casasbuenas; Baena, Óscar Jaime Restrepo

doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101696

Cited by 20 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…It has been estimated that ASGM accounts for around 87% of the gold produced in Colombia (Veiga & Marshall, 2019), which operates under a complex regulatory regime. The socio-technical interactions between large-scale and artisanal miners in Marmato have been discussed in depth (Holley et al, 2020). Gran Colombia Gold Corporation's original proposal to develop a large-scale open pit mine at Marmato caused conflict in part because the excavation of the open pit would require the relocation of the town of Marmato.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of artisanal gold mining, ore processing and mineralization on water quality in Marmato, Colombia

Torrance

Redwood²,

Cecchi

2021

Environ Geochem Health

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Marmato, Colombia, has been an important centre of gold mining since before the first Spanish colonizers arrived in 1536. The Marmato deposit is hosted in a dacite and andesite porphyry stock as sheeted sulphide-rich veinlet systems. The district is currently experiencing a surge in both major mining projects and artisanal mining, driven by sustained high gold prices. Ore from small-scale and artisanal gold mining is processed in numerous small mills (entables) around Marmato, which impact surface water quality through the discharge of milled waste rock slurry, highly alkaline cyanide-treated effluent, and high dissolved metal loads. To investigate the impact of artisanal mining and ore processing, water samples were collected in January 2012 from streams around Marmato. The average dissolved metal concentrations in impacted streams were Zn, 78 mg L−1; Pb, 0.43 mg L−1; Cu, 403 µg L−1 Cd, 255 µg L−1; As, 235 µg L−1; Ni, 67 µg L−1; Co, 55 µg L−1; Sb, 7 µg L−1; and Hg, 42 ng L−1, exceeding World Health Organization drinking water guidelines. In addition, arsenic speciation was conducted in-situ and indicated that 91–95% of inorganic arsenic species is in the form of As(V). Spatial analysis of the data suggests that entables processing ore for artisanal miners are the main contributor to water pollution, with high sediment loads, alkalinity and elevated concentrations of dissolved arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead, caused by the processing of gold-bearing sulphides in the entables. Geochemical data from surface water were compared to a comprehensive data set of whole rock analyses from drill core and channel samples from the deposit, indicating that the deposit is significantly enriched in gold, silver, lead, zinc, arsenic, antimony, and cadmium compared to crustal averages, which is reflected in the surface water geochemistry. However, elevated mercury levels in surface water cannot be explained by enrichment of mercury in the deposit and strongly suggest that mercury is being added to concentrates during ore processing to amalgamate fine gold.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of artisanal gold mining, ore processing and mineralization on water quality in Marmato, Colombia

Torrance

Redwood²,

Cecchi

2021

Environ Geochem Health

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“…The formalisation of the ASM industry came after a delay of three years, by which time a widespread phenomenon in the mining sector – the clear prioritisation of LSM, or large-scale mining ‘bias’ (Siegel & Veiga 2009; Ayelazuno & Mawuko-Yevugah 2019; Sovacool 2019; Hilson & Maconachie 2020 a , 2020 b ; Hilson et al . 2020; Holley et al 2020; Sauerwein 2020) had already become evident. With this law, the ASM sector was marked by its division into the legal and illegal dimensions, where basically the only differentiating feature became the ownership of an official permit for small-scale mining (Okoh & Hilson 2011; Teschner 2012).…”

Section: The Context Of Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining In Ghan...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The centralised, logistically challenging, and lengthy process of registration discourages operators, as they do not have the resources and skills, including literacy, to participate in formalisation (Hilson & Potter 2005; Geenen 2012; Spiegel 2015; Hilson et al 2017, 2018 a ; Sovacool 2019; Holley et al . 2020; Smits et al . 2020; Adu-Baffour et al 2021).…”

Section: The Context Of Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining In Ghan...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing illegal artisanal and small-scale gold mining in the Ghanaian media during the #StopGalamsey campaign

Sojková

2022

J. Mod. Afr. Stud.

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Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) plays a significant socio-economic role in the alleviation of poverty. In Ghana, the increase in and persistence of illegal ASM (galamsey) can be explained by unemployment, cumbersome and costly registration, lack of land, corruption and Chinese engagement. Traditionally, Ghanaian governments have neglected to address ASM activities by means of policy, while publicly emphasizing its negative impacts. In 2017, the media campaign #StopGalamsey became a culmination of this process. This study represents a qualitative content analysis of #StopGalamsey media discourses. It aims to understand how galamsey was framed in the media during the first two years of the campaign. Based on an analysis of 176 articles from the Daily Graphic newspaper, four dominant frames were identified – environmental menace, criminal activity, complex menace and corruption and collusion. Galamsey was portrayed in an overwhelmingly negative way, miners were dehumanised and criminalised, conflicting perspectives marginalised, and non-traditional perception emphasised via Chinese engagement.

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“…Regulatory mechanisms and authorizations (including individual licences by operators) and processes related to the delineation of areas reserved for this activity have also been widely explored (D' Avignon 2018: 180;Hunter 2020;ILO 1999;Jønsson and Fold 2011). The umbilical links between the AMS and the official industrial mining sector are also commonly acknowledged in the above literature (for an interesting account of the potential co-existence of the two elsewhere see, for example, Holley et al 2020), a factor that takes centre stage in examinations of the AMS in Mauritania in particular.…”

Section: The Artisanal Mining Sector (Ams) In Mauritania Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artisanal gold mining in Mauritania

Heidi¹

2022

State, Society and Islam in the Western Regions of the Sahara

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Socio-technical context of the interactions between large-scale and small-scale mining in Marmato, Colombia

Cited by 20 publications

References 43 publications

The impact of artisanal gold mining, ore processing and mineralization on water quality in Marmato, Colombia

The impact of artisanal gold mining, ore processing and mineralization on water quality in Marmato, Colombia

Framing illegal artisanal and small-scale gold mining in the Ghanaian media during the #StopGalamsey campaign

Artisanal gold mining in Mauritania

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