Examining the 'Golden' Practices of Small-Scale Mining: Small-Scale Mining, Livelihoods, and the Benefits of Formalisation

This study examines the "development in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)" and challenges the notion that these regions are always associated with environmental degradation. It suggests that small-scale miners can be environmental stewards and that the dynamic interplay between resources and environmental demands can lead to a win-win situation for mining companies and local communities.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 154 pages
Publication date: 26 November 2022
Publisher: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden

Scholarship on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has frequently portrayed mining regions as 'informal zones plagued by environmental degradation issues. Water pollution and degraded landscapes, for instance, have long been acknowledged as the inevitable outcome of ASM operations. Such an unwavering emphasis on the institutional absence of ASM zones has coincided with a lack of academic attention to some of the 'golden mining practices taking place therein. Thus, this work aims to (re)examine the topic of 'development in ASM. The findings suggest that small-scale miners, contrary to popular perception, could be environmental stewards. Moreover, by highlighting how the dynamic interplay between resources and environmental demands may support public policy, the findings illustrate, contrary to the dominant narrative, how the activities of small-scale mining operators can create a win-win situation for both mining companies and local mining communities.

Weight: 236g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783658395643
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023