JOURNAL
Hilson
/ SMALL-SCALE
OF ENVIRONMENT
MINING
& DEVELOPMENT
IN AFRICA
Small-Scale Mining in Africa:
Tackling Pressing Environmental Problems
With Improved Strategy
GAVIN HILSON
Small-scale mining—low-tech mineral extraction and processing—has long
been an important industry in Africa. For centuries, operations have provided
inhabitants of the rural, more impoverished regions of the continent with a
wealth of employment benefits and, more recently, have made important contributions to mineral wealth and foreign exchange earnings. However, the
small-scale mining operations of Africa have also caused considerable environmental complications, including chronic soil degradation, chemical contamination, and air pollution. The aim of the present article is to provide an overview of the environmental complications associated with small-scale mining
activity in Africa and to outline some environmental strategies that, if adopted,
could mitigate these problems. Marked industrial environmental improvements can only be achieved if government agencies and international organizations play an expanded role in providing African small-scale miners with the
economical, technological, and educational resources needed to operate more
efficiently.
Mining has long been an important economic activity in Africa. Since
colonial times, significant quantities of minerals have been extracted
and processed for national markets. From the time of the first diamond
rushes in Southern Africa at the turn of the 20th century, the continent’s
mineral economy has grown rapidly. Today, several companies (e.g.,
Placer Dome Inc., Ashanti Goldfields, Zambian Consolidated Copper
Company Ltd., Konkola Copper Mines Ltd.), both domestic and international, are operating on a large scale, processing a wide range of highquality minerals, including bauxite, gold, diamonds, coal, and iron. At
the same time, however, many more mines coexist on a smaller scale.
Although production from each accounts for only a minute fraction of
that of larger mines, this sector of industry plays a more prominent
socioeconomic role in the rural, more impoverished regions of Africa.
Typically in these areas, employment is scarce, salaries are low, and the
illiteracy rate is high. Labor-intensive small-scale mining operations
provide refreshing economic opportunities because wages are higher
than those of the conventional agricultural and rural construction industries, and employment is semipermanent. Furthermore, these remote
operations often trigger the rise of a number of important supplemen-
Journal of Environment & Development, Vol. 11, No. 2, June 2002 149-174
© 2002 Sage Publications
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tary industries, such as polishing, blacksmithing, construction, secondary manufacturing, and merchant operations, and make important contributions to national mineral exports and foreign exchange earnings.
In addition to providing a wealth of socioeconomic benefits, African
small-scale mining operations have also been responsible for a wide
range of environmental impacts. Most mine operators have access to
only intermediate technology, their operations are rudimentary in
design, and for various reasons, they have few concerns for the environment. Furthermore, African mines operating on a small scale tend not to
be as heavily regulated as large-scale properties; virtually all of the environmental regulations in place in African countries are still in an infancy
stage, and of those pertinent to mineral activity, most apply to
large-scale mines and fail to regulate smaller operations appropriately.
Consequently, a number of environmental problems such as soil degradation, chemical contamination, and air pollution now persist throughout the industry. With small-scale mining activities intensifying
throughout the continent, it is highly likely that disturbances will
worsen, making it all the more crucial that practical environmental strategies are devised and implemented. An industry-wide shutdown is not
a viable approach. However, increased governmental input, expanded
partnerships, and improved dissemination of technology could lead to
the development of promising environmental solutions.
The purpose of this article is to examine the environmental impacts of
small-scale mining in Africa and to outline a series of strategies that, if
adopted, could reduce the magnitude of the industry’s environmental
problems. The first of four main sections that follow briefly defines
small-scale mining and outlines its characteristics and economic functions in the African context. The article then discusses the socioeconomic
importance of small-scale mining in Africa using examples from the literature and various statistics. The section that follows uses selected case
studies to put into perspective the seriousness of the environmental
impacts of African small-scale mining. The final section of the article prescribes a series of measures that could help to facilitate environmental
improvement in the industry.
Setting the Stage: An Overview of Small-Scale Mining
Small-scale mining activities are not confined to Africa; they are, in
fact, scattered throughout the developing world (see Figure 1). Operations are engaged in the extraction of more than 40 minerals, including
precious, semiprecious, heavy, industrial, and construction commodities. Of these, gold and gemstones are most commonly mined because of
their propensity to generate wealth quickly, although there are thou-
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Coal
Gemstones
Gold/Diamonds
Industrial Materials
Figure 1: Locations of Important Small-Scale Mining Regions
sands of operations engaged in the extraction of industrial clays, tin,
tungsten, bismuth, limestone, sulfur, lithium, salt, and uranium but producing at much lower returns.
Although no concise definition exists, small-scale mining is used in
both the academic and industrial arenas as an all-encompassing label for
the low-tech mineral excavation and processing operations prevalent in
developing countries. The numerous attempts that have been made to
define small-scale mining in an international context, according to criteria such as mine output, labor productivity, organization of the enterprise, and levels of technology, have, for the most part, failed because
(Solomon, 1997)
• terms such as artisanal (a label typically used for illegal mining) and small
scale are used loosely in different contexts by different people,
• the trade-off between capital employed and labor is generally not taken
into account,
• the relationship between production and value varies from sector to sector
(e.g., high tonnage/low value for commodities such as sand vs. low tonnage/
high value for diamonds, etc.), and
• the most easily recognizable distinction—the degree of formality—is not
necessarily related to size.
As Carman (1987) explained, the lack of an appropriate universal definition, in turn, has led researchers to agree that generally, small-scale and
artisanal mining operations are the producers, often sporadically, of limited amounts of minerals from deposits with minimal proven ore
reserves and of character not readily amenable to large-scale mining (see
Figure 2).
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JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENT & DEVELOPMENT
Requirements
in terms of:
Reserves
Capital
Large-s
g
inin
ale m
cale min
in
g
sc
Small-
Time
Skills
Infrastructure
Labour/Capacity
Small
Moderate
Large
Figure 2: Small- Versus Large-Scale Mining Comparative Profiles
Source: Nöetstaller (1994)
Contributions to employment, export earnings, and mineral output
are sufficient justification for prolonging and promoting the existence of
the global small-scale mining industry in developing countries. The
socioeconomic importance of small-scale mining was perhaps best put
into perspective in mid-February 1993 at a weeklong international seminar on guidelines for development of small- and medium-scale mining
in Harare, Zimbabwe, where participants agreed that operations, collectively, make important contributions to national economies and provide
economic stability to thousands of indigenous people residing in rural
areas (Labonne, 1994). At present, the sector is responsible for the production of approximately one sixth of global nonfuel mineral output.
Moreover, between 11.5 and 13 million people are employed within the
industry directly worldwide, although as many as 30 million people
(International Labour Organization [ILO], 1999)—including those
involved in secondary operations such as polishing and blacksmith
activities, and services such as catering and transport—could depend on
its existence. This is particularly significant because the people working
at small-scale mining operations are usually unskilled laborers with little, if any, formal education. The industry is a much preferred employment alternative because average incomes are usually higher than sub-
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sistence wage levels and those paid in comparative formal employment
in other sectors of the economy (United Nations, 1996). Furthermore, as
Carman and Berger (1990) explained, small-scale mining operations
form the basis for processing and manufacturing industries, either at
local levels or as feeders to larger centralized plants. Primary examples
include the use of clay for ceramics and bricks, silica sand for glass, and
artisanal cutting and polishing for gemstones.
The Socioeconomic Importance of Mining in Africa
In Africa, mining has occurred for centuries. As early as 40,000 years
ago, the San (“Bushman”) hunter-gatherers exploited obsidian and chalcedony rock for stone implements and weapons and used iron ore for
painting. From about the 11th century onward, the time at which gold
was first mined intensively from the Archean greenstone belts (Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa), minerals
were extracted and processed in large quantities in Africa. Slaves were
regarded as the most important African resource throughout the European exploration era, and their trade consequently overshadowed most
of the continent’s rich mineral resources. Thus, it was not until the 19th
century that the mining potential of Africa was finally recognized internationally, when many European explorers encountered vestiges of earlier thriving continental gold mining industries, copper metallurgy
practices, and weaponry crafted from metallic minerals (Yachir, 1988).
Toward the end of the 19th century, gold rushes began in South Africa
and along the Gold Coast, mass copper mining commenced in southeastern Africa, and diamond extraction occurred throughout the continent (e.g., Botswana, Ghana).
Today, mining is one of Africa’s most important industries, contributing significantly to local employment, foreign exchange earnings, and
national GDP. The industry produces more than 60 metals and minerals
and has great potential for expansion, because many continental ore
deposits remain untapped and others largely unexplored using modern
exploration techniques and technologies. Africa hosts approximately
30% of the planet’s mineral reserves, including 40% of gold, 60% of
cobalt, and 70% of platinum deposits. It produces approximately 30% of
the world’s gold, 70% of world platinum, 28% of world palladium, and
16% of world bauxite (MBendi, 1999). Table 1 provides more concise production totals of selected minerals in Africa.
As a result of inadequate monitoring, tabulation, and recording methods, a significant proportion of the output derived from the continent’s
small-scale mines has not been included in the aforementioned mineral
production data. Small-scale mining plays a significant, albeit undeter-
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Table 1
Production Totals of Selected Minerals in Africa, 1996 Data
Mineral
Production
Hard coal (thousand metric tons)
Iron-bearing ores (thousand metric tons)
Copper-bearing ores (thousand metric tons)
Nickel-bearing ores (thousand metric tons)
Bauxite (thousand metric tons)
Lead-bearing ores (thousand metric tons)
Zinc-bearing ores (thousand metric tons)
Tin-bearing ores (thousand metric tons)
Silver-bearing ores (metric tons)
Gold-bearing ores (kilograms)
205,056
29,174
632
67,308
18,877
191
227
201
562
595,507
Source: United Nations (1997).
minable, economic role in African society. As Tráore (1994) noted,
small-scale mining has been practiced in Africa for centuries, forming
the basis of wealth of many empires and kingdoms during colonial and
precolonial times and, more recently, becoming a staple economic activity in a number of African countries (see Table 2). Between 1987 and 1991,
small-scale operations accounted for approximately 39% of continental
diamond production, 22% of gold output, and virtually 100% of semiprecious stone and heavy mineral production. An economic survey
undertaken by the United Nations in 1992 further revealed that overall,
58% of African small-scale mines were engaged in gold and gemstone
mining, 11% in base metals, 16% in industrial minerals, and 15% in construction materials (Hollaway, 1997). In sub-Saharan Africa alone, it is
estimated that small-scale mines produce gold and gemstones valued at
a combined U.S. $1 billion annually (ILO, 1999), which has largely been
the result of recent regional formalization of operations. In other African
countries, mineral production is almost entirely confined to small-scale
mining. In Guinea, the share of small-scale mining in national gold production rose from 66% in 1990 to almost 100% in 1993, and in the Central
African Republic, where diamonds and gold account for nearly all of
national mineral exports, 90% of diamond and 100% of gold production
is carried out by small-scale miners (Bocoum & Samba, 1995; United
Nations, 1996; United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
[UNECA], 1993). The African small-scale mining industry experienced
its biggest increase in production and employment only recently, more
specifically, in the past 15 to 20 years. As reported by the United Nations
(1996), in the 1970s and 1980s, during which time there was a low
demand for raw materials, there was a massive decline in investment in
large-scale mining operations. As a result, several African governments
viewed small-scale mining as a means to diversify their mineral econo-
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Table 2
Selected African Countries With Important Small-Scale Mining Segments
Country
Mineral Commodity Mined by Small-Scale Mining
Algeria
Central African Republic
Ethiopia
Gabon
Ghana
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Madagascar
Morocco
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sierra Leone
Tanzania
Antimony, barite, mercury, zinc
Diamonds, gold
Gold, manganese, platinum
Gold
Gold, diamonds
Beryl, copper, gemstones, gold, silver
Diamonds
Diamonds, gold
Bismuth, gold, rare earth minerals
Antimony, barite, lead, manganese, tin, zinc
Asbestos, barite, gold, lead, tantalite, tin, zinc
Beryl, gold, tin, tungsten
Diamonds
Diamonds, gold, mica, precious stones, tin,
tungsten
Lead, mercury, zinc
Beryl, bismuth, tungsten
Antimony, beryl, chromite, copper, gemstones,
gold, lithium, manganese, mica, silver,
tantalite
Tunisia
Uganda
Zimbabwe
Source: Nöetstaller (1987).
mies and reduce economic dependence on individual raw material
exports. Drought, which was rampant in several regions of Africa during the 1973 to 1975 and 1984 to 1985 time periods, further decimated
large portions of marketable crop product grown by rural groups, thus
creating an obvious income shortage. Small-scale and artisanal mining,
with its high-labor intensity, provided immediate economic relief.
Operations continent-wide collectively employ more than 1 million
people directly (Tráore, 1997), and thousands are engaged in related secondary and service activities, including merchant, trading, blacksmith,
polishing, secondary manufacturing, and catering operations. In Zaire,
for example, more than 500,000 are engaged in work at small-scale diamond, gold, and tin mines (Jennings, 1994), and in Ghana, an estimated
24,000 rural jobs have been created as a result of small-scale gold mining
alone (Amegbey, Dankwa, & Al-Hassan, 1997). In these and most other
African countries, a disproportionately large percentage of those
employed are women. For example, women represent 75% of Guinea’s
and 50% of Madagascar’s, Mali’s, and Zimbabwe’s small-scale mining
forces, and in Ghana, where 75% of the traders of mined salt are women,
there is often wide-scale female participation in gold panning and
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Table 3
Small-Scale Mining Employment in Selected African Countries
Country
Estimated Number of Mines
Angola
Burkina Faso
Chad
Ghana
Guinea
Kenya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mozambique
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Tanzania
Zaire
Zambia
Zimbabwe
NA
35-60
2,000
400-700
NA
50+
83
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
4,000
NA
200
2,000-5,000
Estimated Employment
30,000
60,000
6,000-12,000
30,000
60,000
4,500+
5,000-20,000
40,000
100,000
60,000
100,000
10,000
100,000
500,000
30,000
30,000
Source: International Labour Organization (1999); Mining, Minerals and Sustainable
Development Project (2002); and United Nations (1996).
Note: NA = not applicable.
extraction techniques (United Nations, 1996). Table 3 presents smallscale mining employment estimates for selected African countries.
It can be discerned from the discussion thus far that small-scale mining has become an indispensable industry throughout Africa because it
provides a significant number of people, especially in rural areas, with
employment opportunities and contributes positively to a number of
countries’ mineral exports and foreign exchange earnings. At the same
time, however, African small-scale mines have been responsible for a
wide range of environmental complications. These problems warrant
considerable attention because the continent houses many of the world’s
most impoverished nations, most of which are in dire need of guidance,
technical assistance, and economic support as far as small-scale mining
is concerned. The next section of the article examines more in detail the
environmental impacts of small-scale mining in Africa.
Environmental Impacts of
Small-Scale Mining in Africa
Although the rapid expansion of the small-scale mining industry has
contributed positively to the socioeconomic fabrics of a number of Afri-
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can countries, a wide range of environmental complications has accompanied this growth. First, and foremost, environmental awareness is
generally low throughout the industry, and most operations feature
highly rudimentary technologies and have few effective environmental
safeguards in place. For example, despite the wide availability of retorts,
which can reduce emissions of toxic mercury by 90%, few small-scale
gold miners have adopted them. Moreover, few miners regrade excavated land, which is generally left exposed to erosional agents (wind,
rain, groundwater, etc.). Secondly, most African environmental legislation is still in an infancy stage, and of the regulations pertinent to mineral
activity, few apply to small-scale mining. Finally, although the environmental impacts of individual operations are usually quite small, collectively, the impacts of thousands of operations can be severe.
The basic environmental impacts of intensive small-scale mining
activity include sedimentation, river and channel erosion, dust, and
noise pollution. However, the most pressing environmental problems in
African small-scale mining regions are pollution from mercury and land
degradation. Mercury, which is used for amalgamation in artisanal gold
mining, the largest segment of the small-scale mining industry, is typically dispensed untreated into the atmosphere and waterways where it
is then transformed by microbes into toxic methylmercury (MeHg). In
sufficient quantities, MeHg threatens the health of virtually every invertebrate, bird, mammal, and human, and because it is used carelessly, it is
now a widespread contaminant throughout the continent. The maximum daily intake of mercury has been determined to be 0.2 micrograms
per gram of blood for humans (Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development, 1974), and in several area of the continent, pockets of
toxic mercury—“hotspots”—exist.
For example, in Victoria Fields, Tanzania, where the annual input of
mercury to gold mining operations is approximately 6 tons, an estimated 24 tons of gaseous mercury has been released into the atmosphere
since 1991 (Lacerda, 1997). In a study undertaken by Ikingura,
Mutakyahwa, and Kahatano (1997) in the Victorian Goldfields, in which
samples of water, soil, river sediments, and mine tailings were analyzed
for mercury content, it was discovered that mercury had heavily
bioaccumulated in the natural environment. The mercury concentration
in the mine water was discovered to be in the range of 0.01 to 6.78 µg/l–1.
Even when compared to the mercury-contaminated Amazonian rivers,
which are in the range of less than 0.04 to 8.60 µg/l–1, the study area’s
rivers have excessively high mercury concentrations, ranging from 0.04
to 19.8 µg/l–1. The findings in a study undertaken by Haradi et al. (1999)
suggest that the careless handling of mercury could, in fact, be adversely
affecting the health of many Tanzanian miners. Surveyed were 150 gold
miners, 103 fishermen and their families, and 19 residents of Mwanda
City. A high total mercury level of more than 48.3 ppm (50 ppm is a criti-
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cal level for Minamata disease) was found in the hair of the gold miners
(the highest value being 953 ppm), 4 fishermen and their families (high
value of 416 ppm), and 4 Mwanda people (high value of 474 ppm). Furthermore, 14 of the gold miners were diagnosed with mild cases of inorganic mercury poisoning. Even several of the water samples collected
and analyzed by government chemists revealed staggering levels of
mercury. The water from Mugusu (Geita District), which measured
2.306 micrograms per liter, was the highest, and the drinking water from
Ushirombo (Kahama District), which was 0.106 micrograms per liter,
was the lowest. These values are extremely high, given that the maximum permissible level for mercury is 0.005 micrograms per liter and
that water used for domestic purposes should record zero mercury
values.
In Ghana, where between 4 and 5 tons of mercury are reportedly
released into the environment each year as a result of small-scale gold
mining (World Bank, 1995), a number of areas have been contaminated.
In a study undertaken by Amonoo-Neizer, Nyamah, and Bakiamoh
(1996), samples of different types of vegetation, including water fern,
plantain, cassava, and elephant grass, were collected from around the
mining town of Obuasi. Mercury was found to have bioaccumulated in
these organisms to levels toxic to humans. In another study undertaken
by United Nations International Development Organization (UNIDO)
researchers in April 2000 (Babut et al., 2001) in the mining town of
Dumasi (western region of Ghana), it was discovered that lake sediments had been seriously polluted from mercury and that fish were contaminated to the point where they are unfit for human consumption.
Small-scale mining, as a migratory industry, has also caused substantial land degradation throughout the continent. Thousands of pits and
trenches have been dug in the process of excavating for prospective ore
bodies, many of which have long since filled with water and now serve
as breeding grounds for malaria-infected mosquitoes. Furthermore, as a
result of intense prospecting and excavation activity, pristine African
rainforest has been removed, vegetation trampled, and massive
amounts of earth upturned. Many of these problems could at least be
partially prevented if regional governments provide resident
small-scale miners with the requisite geological knowledge, that is, the
locations of prospective ore bodies, but in most cases, information has
not been obtained or disseminated. Although many of these damages
can be repaired, the typical practice of African small-scale miners is to
abandon land without properly reclaiming it.
Land degradation from small-scale mining is perhaps most pervasive
in western Africa. In the Liptako-Gourma region, which includes
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, a combination of overpopulation, pollution from fuel, and careless mining practices is causing considerable
environmental stress. In this region, small-scale gold mining activity has
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increased since 1984, and today, between 5,000 and 10,000 individuals
can be found at a single site (Tráore, 1997). In Ghana, where an expanding agricultural industry (~5.3% increase annually) and intense deforestation (138 ha/year) are stressing soils and watercourses (Hilson, in
press), it is conservatively estimated that small-scale gold mining activities alone affect some 15,000 ha of land (World Bank, 1995), much of
which has been noticeably stripped bare of vegetation and topsoil and is
scarred by a series of abandoned pits and trenches that have succumbed
to erosion. Thousands of pits have been dug haphazardly, and many of
them remain uncovered despite having long been abandoned (Appiah,
1998). Agyapong (1998), who conducted fieldwork in the Tarkwa region
of Ghana, reported that deforestation has occurred as a result of
small-scale gold mining. Artisanal miners, who clear the vegetation to
dig for mineral-bearing ore, have, in the process, scarred the landscape
with excavated pits and trenches, which, in turn, has rendered land
unsuitable for any other purpose.
The small-scale mining operations of Zimbabwe have also caused a
wide range of environmental impacts. A survey by Maponga (1997), in
which gold panning communities along the Mazowe River and its tributaries in the Mashonaland Central Province in North Eastern Zimbabwe
were monitored, confirmed that along this 18-km stretch, inappropriate
usage of mercury, air/water pollution, deforestation, and mining hydrological impacts were occurring. It was discovered that panners along the
Mazowe use much more rudimentary methods of mercury amalgamation than formal miners and are largely responsible for elevated levels
of mercury found in surrounding soils, rivers, and plants. In fact, a study
by Shoko, Maviya, and Bachs (1993) found that 64% of Zimbabwean
gold mines exhibit “poor chemical management” and that smaller
mines, because of financial constraints, cannot optimize the use of
expensive chemical cleansing agents. Heavy gold prospecting is also
contributing to mass deforestation in Zimbabwe, where it is estimated
that 100,000 hectares of land are cleared each year in small-scale mining
regions (Maponga & Anderson, 1995). Of additional concern are the
poor working conditions at these mines, as well as the health and sanitation of miners. Maponga reported that 98% of gold panners use shallow
pit latrines, no piped water is available at sites, and 32% of miners drink
water from disused mine pits. These unsanitary conditions are
adversely affecting the quality of surrounding river basins and are disturbing animal populations (habitat loss).
These selected case studies help to put into perspective the environmental impacts of small-scale mining in Africa. The sector provides a
wealth of socioeconomic benefits, as discussed earlier; therefore, an
industrial shutdown is not an appropriate solution. Thus, there is a need
for government agencies and international organizations, which are
arguably the only bodies capable of directing operations along an
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improved and efficient course, to integrate effective environmental
management practices in the industry. The next section of this article
prescribes a series of measures that, if adopted, could lead to environmental improvements in the African small-scale mining industry.
Strategies for Improving Environmental Performance
in African Small-Scale Mining Regions
African governments, when deciding what approach to adopt to
tackle pressing environmental problems in small-scale mining regions,
can draw heavily from the positive experiences that have occurred in the
mining sectors of other countries. Using selected case study material,
this section of the article prescribes a series of recommendations for
improving environmental performance in the African small-scale mining industry. For marked improvements to occur, initiatives must be corruption free and protect the interests of miners, rather than exploit them.
It is suggested that primary emphasis be placed on improved regulation,
expanded support and education to small-scale miners, and improved
technological dissemination.
STEP 1: PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPROVEMENT AT THE REGULATORY LEVEL
To achieve marked environmental improvements at small-scale
mines, African governments must first indicate, through legislation and
regulations, that environmental improvement is a national goal. An initial step is to regularize small-scale mining operations through registration processes, which has already proven integral in minimizing a wide
range of socioeconomic problems in the industry, in particular, the illicit
marketing of minerals and rampant illegal activity. What is often overlooked, however, is the series of environmental cobenefits that could
result from the design and implementation of a small-scale mining
license and registration system. What, exactly, does registration through
licensing accomplish? It first establishes small-scale mining as an industry nationally, which, as already indicated, helps to eliminate unacceptable work practices and the illicit marketing of minerals and is a necessary prerequisite for removing operational constraints limiting
productivity and competitiveness (Nöetstaller, 1994). More important,
however, from the standpoint of environmental protection, as a result of
registration, regional governments gain much needed knowledge concerning the locations of operations, which would inevitably enable more
effective regulation and monitoring to be carried out.
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A common flaw with a number of the small-scale mining licensing
systems in place in the developing world is that registration procedures,
overall, are largely voluntary, requiring significant initiative to be
undertaken by the miner. Because small-scale mining is a subsistence
industry, in which environmental awareness is extremely low and a
commitment to environmental protection provides little, if any, economic benefit, unless incentives are provided to operators, few will voluntarily report and document details regarding pollutant outputs,
chemical inputs, and technological design. In Ghana, for example, registered miners are required to provide voluntary feedback to the government on a wide range of issues, including environmental impact assessment (EIA), technology usage, production, and sales. It is therefore not
surprising that an overwhelming majority of small-scale miners elect to
operate illegally (there are nearly four times as many illegal small-scale
mining operators in the country). Similarly, in the Philippines, small
miners are required to undergo a stringent evaluation and registration
process to obtain a small-scale mining permit (PD 1899) to mine artisanal
works. It is highly likely that these challenges and grievances are also
causing a number of operators to mine illegally.
It is therefore recommended that when designing a small-scale mining registration process, African governments
• place minimal responsibility on the miners themselves;
• minimize the number of steps in the registration process;
• have staff commute to the locations of small-scale mining operations,
rather than wait for miners in district capitals; and
• minimize the cost of the process, or even absorb the costs entirely, given
that such an initiative creates “hidden” savings (e.g., decreased cleanup
costs, improved auditing, etc.).
For African countries that already have small-scale licensing systems in
place, additional personnel could be hired to ensure that the system is
functioning effectively throughout. As already explained, however, it is
imperative that minimal responsibility is placed on the miners themselves. Governments could provide incentives such as free education
and information on mining methods and techniques to miners who
register.
Once African governments have formalized small-scale mining
through licensing, they can then draft and implement sector-specific legislation. A problem with the majority of environmental laws in place in
developing countries is that they tend to be of the blanket type, regulating a wide range of industries with generic regulations and stipulations.
Additional weaknesses have been identified as follows (de Nava, 1996):
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• a lack of clear, continuous policies to support waste minimization and pollution prevention;
• incomplete regulatory frameworks and uneven enforcement;
• ignorance of the characteristics of industrial production processes;
• no clear understanding of the difference between compliance investments
and “cleaner” technologies; and
• inefficient coordination among different governmental agencies at different levels.
In the most basic of situations, mining environmental issues are regulated under a broad umbrella of environmental legislation. To effectively
minimize the environmental impacts of small-scale mining, legislation
must be implemented that addresses the specific environmental issues
faced in the industry. The regulatory strategy of a number of African
countries (e.g., Zambia, Ghana, and Ethiopia) has been to include
small-scale mining legislation as part of the provisions of the general
mining (environmental) laws of the country (Bugnosen, Twigg, & Scott,
1999). It is suggested here that a more practical regulatory approach to
the drafting of generic mining legislation is implementation of regulations and laws specific to the small-scale mining segment. Only a small
group of African countries has taken this much needed step. For example, in Zimbabwe, where alluvial gold mining activity has long caused
excessive silting and riverbank collapses, in 1991 the government implemented the Mining (Alluvial Gold) (Public Stream) Regulations. As
Hollaway (2000) reported, the legislation requires relevant local authorities to issue panning permits to “approved persons,” cooperatives, and
partnerships and prohibits gold panners from mining the banks, pitting
in riverbeds beyond 1.5 meters in depth, and initiating any form of
undercutting. In another example, both the Guinean and Zambian governments require miners to post surety bonds to ensure compliance with
environmental protection and pollution control plans by license holders.
It is crucial, however, that countries go one step further and draft regulations that address the more pressing environmental aspects of smallscale mining. First, and foremost, there is utility in passing legislation that
regulates the usage of mercury in artisanal gold mining. Few, if any,
countries have regulations in place governing the use of mercury in gold
panning activities. Effort must be made by governments to control the
selling of mercury to artisanal miners, as well as to eliminate all illegal
smuggling and selling of the toxic material. Second, few developing
countries have legislation that regulates outputs of mercury. Governments could establish ambient mercury discharge levels for both air and
water and organize monitoring crews to ensure compliance. Finally,
cost-effective central retorting facilities can be provided, where miners
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can have gold winnings extracted. The key with such setups is to provide a relatively inexpensive service that is free of corruption.
There is merit in implementing EIA procedures for small-scale mines.
Certain African governments (e.g., Zimbabwe) have elected to use an
all-encompassing EIA process for both small- and large-scale mines. The
main problem with such an approach, however, is that the procedure, in
most cases, has been designed for evaluating the environmental aspects
of large-scale mines but is being used concurrently to assess comparatively simpler industrial activities. In the process, a number of evaluation criteria can be made redundant, which can make the procedure less
rigorous overall. For example, how can generic EIA measures be developed for evaluating both heap leaching processes featuring cyanide, the
preferred leach reagent of large-scale gold mines, and amalgamation
techniques employing mercury, the preferred agent of small-scale gold
mines? Furthermore, how can the same EIA process evaluate the autoclave technologies of large-scale mines, which treat ores in aqueous solution with oxygen at high temperatures to oxidize sulphide minerals, and
small-scale smelting (roasting) techniques, which are commonly used to
remove sulphur and pyretic compounds that would otherwise interfere
with leaching processes, with equivalent stringency? More basic EIA criteria could be adopted for the purposes of making the procedure more
fitting for both small- and large-scale mines; however, broad, generic
environmental regulations and monitoring techniques have already
proven to be highly ineffective in a number of cases (Hilson, 2000).
To avoid these and related difficulties, governments can implement
an EIA procedure, again, specific to small-scale mining activities. It is
crucial, however, that when drafting the requisite legislation, none of the
existing small-scale mining EIA frameworks in place in other countries
are fully replicated. Many of these EIA regulations are ineffective
because procedures, overall, are highly discretionary, and the questions
put forth to miners are extremely vague and/or inappropriate. For
example, the Ghanaian government has made it mandatory that all individuals applying for a license to mine on a small scale complete a form
describing how environmental problems will be mitigated during the
course of operation. As part of the Environmental Protection Agency Act
of 1994, the government, in an attempt to improve the impact assessment procedure for small-scale mining operations, enacted Form SMM1
(Small and Medium Scale Mining), the application for an “Environmental Permit to Undertake Small/Medium Mining” (pursuant to Legal
Instrument 1652). The procedure for reviewing completed EIA forms,
however, appears highly arbitrary, as government assessors, for evaluation purposes, use no fixed criteria. Moreover, vague, open-ended questions are asked in the form, including “give a brief overview of the likely
environmental impacts of the mining activities” and “describe briefly
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the mitigation measures proposed.” These questions generate little, if
any, informative feedback and, in all likelihood, require follow-up interviewing. A more practical approach would be to require the company to
develop a more basic EIA procedure that addresses environmental problems specifically related to small-scale mining and to hire personnel to
help guide the miner throughout the entire process. More precise questions should be asked, such as “How is the operation planning to prevent emissions of mercury?” and “What measures will be used to
regrade and reclaim abandoned land?” Asking questions of this nature
not only flushes out what specific environmental strategies miners plan
to use but also provides much needed feedback about miners’ needs,
awareness, and mechanical capabilities. Finally, a standard evaluative
procedure must be used by governmental officers when assessing an
operation or proposed EIA approach that should involve the miner as
much as possible. This is key to improving governmental relations with
miners and preventing rampant illegal activity, which, as already noted,
would occur without the presence of an EIAand accompanying environmental legislation (Hilson, 2002).
Another promising environmental regulatory initiative for smallscale mines is the reclamation bond. As explained earlier, small-scale
mining, as a migratory industrial activity, causes substantial land degradation because most operators rapidly abandon sites without undertaking appropriate land reclamation measures, principally, pit filling, reforestation, and the regrading of land. Consequently, governments are
burdened with the responsibility of reclaiming land abandoned by
small-scale miners. The small-scale mining reclamation process can be
onerous for the governments of developing countries because departmental units commonly experience acute manpower shortages, use
obsolete machinery, and have insufficient knowledge of key biological
and ecological issues. However, the reclamation bond, which is a pact
between the miner and government whereby a small percentage of
industrial profits is retained by the government for the purpose of
reclaiming excavated land, can help to facilitate rapid and effective reclamation. The miners themselves have only a small financial commitment to the reclamation process, leaving the onus on governments to
ensure that land is repaired and regraded for other purposes. With additional moneys being provided by miners, governments have the flexibility of purchasing the requisite equipment for reclamation or hiring outside expertise outright.
Ghana, which implemented its Land Reclamation Fund shortly after
legalizing small-scale gold mining in 1989, is one of the only African
countries to pursue such a strategy. The initiative called for a certain percentage of revenue from small-scale mining sales to be held by the government and used to finance reclamation programs. As Davidson (1993)
explained, the program was an immediate success, as some U.S. $17,000
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was contributed to the fund between 1989 and 1991 alone that was later
used for reclamation purposes. Other African countries can make similar efforts, but it is crucial that when doing so, effective communication
is established with small-scale miners to explain carefully, and in detail,
the purpose of reclamation bonds. More specific, important elements of
the reclamation process should be defined, guidelines and a procedure
for the identification of postmining land use should be provided for each
mining area, provision should be provided for future renegotiation of
reclamation plans to accommodate changes in local circumstances, and
measurable performance indicators could be established (McMahon
et al., 2000).
STEP 2: PROVISION OF SUPPORT SERVICES AND
EXPANDED INPUT FROM RESIDENT UNIVERSITIES
The provision of support services is another key to improving the efficiency of small-scale mining operations. As small-scale mining operations are dispersed throughout the rural regions of Africa, often located
well out of the reach of centrally located governmental departments,
regional support centers can provide badly needed guidance and assistance to miners. These units could not only be equipped with hardware—namely, equipment and technologies capable of facilitating environmental improvement—but could also be staffed with engineers,
technicians, and geologists capable of providing hands-on assistance to
the small-scale miners of Africa. The establishment of regional service
centers also creates an opportunity for effective environmental education. Specifically, the constructing of centers in close proximity to
small-scale mining districts creates an opportunity to host environmental training seminars.
Attempts have been made by certain governments worldwide,
including several in Africa, to construct regional offices and support
centers for small-scale miners. These units provide a number of services,
including financial support, technological assistance, and registration
and licensing inquiries. In Ghana, for example, shortly after the legalization of small-scale gold mining in 1989, the government established
eight district centers in the southern part of the country (although only
seven remain) to help register small-scale gold miners, supervise and
monitor their operations, and provide training facilities and assistance
to the industry (Iddirisu & Tsikata, 1998). As Davidson (1993) explained,
each was staffed with a mine engineer and a mines inspector (provided
by the Department of Mines) to register claims, provide technical advice,
and encourage the safe and productive operation of local mines. Governments, however, are not encouraged to replicate fully the Ghanaian
model; although the regional concept is highly practical—specifically,
the strategy of establishing a series of support centers—it is recom-
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mended that, if adopted, a wider range of services be provided. For
example, although basic training courses have been held in the past at
Ghanaian small-scale mining district centers, because, again, they are
regionally dispersed, there is further opportunity to provide a wider
range of specific environmental training programs emphasizing, inter
alia, environmental management, auditing, and technology. It is further
recommended that regional centers disseminate geological information
concerning the resource potential of an area, something existing district
centers in Ghana fail to provide.
Environmental management training should also be provided at support centers. Again, the existence of regional support centers dispersed
throughout the mining environment enables governments to attack
environmental problems more effectively—at a regional, rather than a
national level. There is merit in following some of the initiatives that
have already been undertaken in certain developing countries. In Venezuela, for example, UNECA(unit of gold extraction and controlled amalgamation) centers (financed jointly by the Venezuelan government and
UNIDO) have been established that provide a number of environmental
and technical services to artisanal gold miners. As Veiga and Beinhoff
(1997) explained, the first such center, constructed in Playa Blanca,
employs four technicians and one engineer who oversee the amalgamation of concentrates from more than 70 barges. More important, however, UNECA centers provide miners with the following benefits, a
number of which have important environmental implications:
•
•
•
•
•
•
improved gold recovery from gravity concentrate,
better prices for gold,
no mercury vapor exposure,
no need to buy mercury illegally,
access to information pertaining to legal mineral titles, and
access to information pertaining to financial support.
The centers also provide the following benefits to the public:
• zero mercury emissions,
• environmental information related to mercury use and exposure, and
• educational material about mining and the environment.
Another notable example of an effective regional support center for
small-scale mining is the Shamva Mining Centre in Zimbabwe, which
provides some 200 miners access to central processing. As Peak, Johnson, and Svotwa (1998) explained, motivation for the center stemmed
from the proliferation of small-scale miners in the region, none of whom
were in a financial or technical position to operate their own gold recov-
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Table 4
Examples of Small-Scale Mining Support Centers
Country
Name/Type
Ghana
District support centers
Zimbabwe
Shamva Mining Centre
Venezuela
UNECA centers
Chile
Empressa Nacional
de Mineria
Morocco
CADETAF,
a governmental
agency
Summary
A total of seven support centers
exist in the southern part of
Ghana, each of which
provides both basic support
and purchasing services to
miners
A centrally located services and
support facility for artisanal
miners
Provide a wide range of services
to artisanal gold miners,
particularly in the area of
mercury management
Operates four regional
concentrators, treating ores
purchased from numerous
small and medium copper
miners; also maintains
16 mineral purchasing centers
located throughout the
country that serve the small
miners as marketing outlets
Offers a wide range of services
to artisanal miners extracting
high-grade lead and zinc ore
in the Atlas Mountains; also
operates seven regional ore
purchasing centers that
provide basic materials and
essential services to miners
Note: UNEC = United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; CADETAF = Central
Regional Development Commission.
ery plants. Individuals formerly used rudimentary methods to crush
ore and for gold recovery, which caused significant regional environmental pollution. The center, however, introduced much needed technical knowledge and organization to the region, including training and
a central processing facility. Examples of existing small-scale mining
educational/training centers are described in Table 4.
Educationally, further research is needed if Africa’s small-scale mining industry is to achieve marked environmental improvements. One
way of accomplishing this is for regional governments and international
organizations to forge partnerships with local universities and colleges
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to undertake research in key environmental areas. Some of the earth sciences and mineralogy departments in African universities—most South
African colleges excluded—are lacking both resources and manpower
in the area of mining and the environment. Consequently, most of the
existing earth science departments have very broad focuses, emphasizing general geological issues and geochemical processes. Part of the
problem is that in certain African countries, such as Uganda (Baarafaijo,
1999), geology is not taught in secondary and high schools. Further compounding the problem is a shortage of research expertise, which arises
from the fact that many of the African national universities employ professors native to their respective countries or who have been educated at
the same university. This lack of diversity in turn restricts research focus.
At certain African universities, however, earth science education has
advanced significantly in recent years. Although nowhere near the quality of the leading research facilities in developed countries, these departments nevertheless have diverse teaching expertise, sponsor fieldwork,
and work in accordance with governmental bodies. At the University of
Zimbabwe, for example, the School of Mines in Bulawayo, which is
funded by the Ministry of Mines, offers vocational courses to the mining
industry, including a diploma for geological technicians. Even the
undergraduate curriculum at the university emphasizes fieldwork
(Walsh, 1999). The university also has an Institute of Mining Research
that employs seven researchers, and offers industrial consulting services
in all areas. Another example of an African academic educational facility
that has vastly improved its earth sciences department is the University
of Tanzania. The school now offers more than 70 undergraduate training
courses in a wide range of geological disciplines including minerals
engineering, mineralogy, and geochemistry (Kinabo & Muhongo, 1999).
Furthermore, the department offers high-quality graduate research
degrees.
The priority, however, should be to direct the focus of research at African universities toward small-scale mining and the environment. Given
that a great number of these facilities have much of the necessary infrastructure in place, such a change would not be overwhelming. Such a
restructuring could also attract a number of international academics to
many African universities, which is integral if information gaps are to be
further dissolved. Several African universities are presently staffed with
professors and researchers with advanced degrees earned at schools in
North America, Europe, and Australia. Furthermore, many of these
individuals have experience in the area of small-scale mining research,
and others have specialist knowledge of certain aspects of the industry.
Graduate students can also be sponsored to undertake specific research
activities at comparatively lower costs (in comparison to consultancy
assistance).
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STEP 3: INTRODUCTION OF IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY AND
PROVISION OF TRAINING
There is a dire need for improved technologies in the African
small-scale mining industry. As already indicated, many of the mining
practices employed by African small-scale miners are highly rudimentary, and although some may claim carelessness contributes to many of
the environmental problems in the industry, it can be equally argued that
a lack of education and training is the problem. Such is the case in Ghana,
Zimbabwe, and Tanzania, all of which support widespread small-scale
mining activities. Within each, many people have no formal schooling,
and thus, the illiteracy rate is excessive, totaling (1995 levels) 36% in
Ghana, 15% in Zimbabwe, and 32% in Tanzania; overall, 44% of Africans
are illiterate (World Bank, 1998). It is therefore reasonable to assume that
miners do not fully conceptualize the environmental implications of
their actions and cannot be expected to take any environmental initiative
without being provided guidance from governments.
African governments and international agencies could assume a
leadership role in introducing improved equipment to small-scale miners and, more importantly, in conducting technological demonstration
projects. The recovery techniques used by small-scale miners are highly
inefficient, typically yielding less than 50% of the mineral from ore bodies. This has enormous environmental implications, as significantly
more land must be upturned to recover “sufficient” quantities of mineral. The introduction of the following technologies, however, could
lead to improved recovery efficiencies at artisanal gold mines
(Hollaway, 1993; Hosford, 1993):
1. portable sluices: A unit consisting of a feed hopper and extendable sluice
box (made of expanded plastic mesh) mounted to a steel frame that treats
3
both alluvial and freshly milled material, which can process up to 0.75 m
of material per hour;
2. ball mills: These are low-cost technologies that produce relatively fine
grinds suitable for gravity concentration or cyanidation (ore treatment);
small mills capable of treating between 0.5 and 3 tonnes per hour are
available; and
3. pumps: Required in alluvial processing, pumps remove water, enabling
ores to be collected; diesel is the preferred fuel because of its relative
inexpensiveness.
The establishment of regional support centers facilitates improved dissemination of such small-scale mining technology.
Equipment for mitigating specific environmental problems can also
be introduced. For example, the careless handling of mercury, the environmental implications of which have been examined throughout this
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article, can cause substantial damage to soils (for cropping), water (for
drink and agricultural purposes), and trees (fuelwood), in addition to
having a number of deleterious ecosystem effects. Introduction of
improved mercury technologies, such as retorts and traps, however,
could lead to improved environmental performance. Both are relatively
simple in design, inexpensive, efficient, and easy to operate. Distillation
retorts, as explained by Mutagwaba, Mwaipopo-Ako, and Mlaki (1997),
are pieces of equipment assembled with a closed crucible connected to a
condenser, designed so that the mercury from the amalgam evaporates
when heated, leaving the gold metal in the crucible. Generally, most
retorts have a mercury recovery rate in the range of 95%, and each unit is
relatively inexpensive to purchase (between U.S. $30 and U.S. $60, with
some as little as U.S. $10). Moreover, introduced models can often be replicated using local scrap materials. Traps, either hydraulic or gravitational models, can accompany implementation of retorts. Hydraulic
traps, which are designed specifically for separating coarse gold particles, can be used for recovering amalgam and mercury down river, and
effective setups have a mercury recovery rate of 85%. Alternatively,
gravity traps of even simpler designs can be used, many of which cost as
little as U.S. $20. Retorts and traps have already been successfully introduced in a number of developing countries (e.g., Bolivia, Zimbabwe,
and the Philippines).
To facilitate the widespread dissemination of these and related technologies, demonstration projects should be conducted. The establishment of support centers in close proximity to small-scale mining districts
creates much needed platforms for technological demonstration. Each
mining district and community features unique geological, technical,
and environmental problems. As there is no single set of solutions capable of resolving these problems, each should be dealt with on a
region-by-region or community-by-community basis; the construction
of district centers makes such an approach a possibility. In the event that
support centers do not exist, a series of independent demonstration projects could, in fact, be carried out in the field. In addition, educational
seminars could be held, in which information related to the environmental implications of mercury can be provided to miners. Basic training can
also be provided, and brochures could be distributed throughout mining regions. Finally, seminars could be held that provide instruction on
how to properly reclaim land and prevent significant ground disturbance. Regardless of strategy, it is crucial that African governments
assume the leadership role in disseminating the requisite technologies
needed to minimize environmental damage in small-scale mining
regions.
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Conclusion
This article has provided a review of the environmental complications associated with small-scale mining activity in Africa and has prescribed some recommendations for facilitating environmental
improvement in resident operations. It first described, generally, the
socioeconomic importance of the industry, which effectively justifies the
need to promote improved environmental management in operations. It
then profiled the socioeconomic importance of the African small-scale
mining industry and detailed the environmental impacts of its operations. The article, however, has gone a step beyond the conventional
review of industrial environmental problems by recommending some
strategies for (African) governments and policy makers. In summary,
pursuance of the aforementioned initiatives could lead to significant
environmental improvements within small-scale mining regions in
Africa. Although it is recommended that African governments adopt the
listed strategies, each is intended as a prescriptive recommendation but
would nevertheless help to facilitate environmental improvement in
resident operations.
Manuscript submitted January 28, 2002; revised manuscript accepted for publication
March 29, 2002.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their
constructive commentary on an earlier version of this article. The author
would also like to acknowledge the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, which provided support for this research.
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Gavin Hilson is a member of the Environmental Policy and Management Group, Imperial College of
Science, Technology and Medicine, Royal School of Mines. His current research interest is environmental management in the small-scale mining industry. He is currently undertaking research in
Ghana.
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