Artisanal and Small-scale mining (ASM) continues to be a major source of hope for millions of peasants and rural entrepreneurs worldwide. Yet, it also poses challenges for states in terms of regulation and capturing resource rents for national development. The sector has been widely studied in social science and has interested me for the past 15 years, ever since I became involved in the Communities and Artisanal Small Scale Mining Initiative (CASM) which operated until 2012, and whose archived material is maintained. Donors remain interested in this sector through various efforts, most recently, UNDP’s Development Minerals program which exclusively focuses on ASM in the neglected non-metallic industrial minerals. ASM has also come into greater limelight in the gold sector because of concerns around mercury usage for gold processing in ASM. The signing of the Minamata Convention to phase out mercury has led to additional release of donor funds in this arena. The impact of all these activities to improve the development outcomes of ASM remains to be seen.
https://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2017/05/11/tanzania/
No comments:
Post a Comment