Report sheds light on benefits of small-scale mining

Overall, artisanal and small-scale mining employs ten times more people than large-scale mining, providing jobs and income for 20-30 million of the world's poorest people and supporting the livelihoods of five times that number, according to the IIED. 

It is practised mostly in poverty-stricken areas of developing countries.

In South Africa, for example, it is a means of livelihood for about 10,000 people, and as many as 12 million people in India, most of whom lack technological expertise and are largely unaware of the health and safety risks involved in mining.

The sector is partly driven by an increasing global demand for minerals such as tin and tungsten, which are used widely in the construction of high-tech gadgets. 

But the sector also involves poor and vulnerable people, including women and children, and is renowned for its harsh working conditions and severe pollution: it is the world's second biggest mercury polluter (mercury is used in the process of small-scale mining for gold). 
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/report-sheds-light-on-benefits-of-small-scale-mining