Global Report on Artisanal & Small-Scale Mining

This report tries to give a present snap-shot of the global ASM sector and provides an overview of its social, environmental and economic issues drawing from a number of branching, country level studies under the same broad body of research for the MMSD.

The report focuses on the major issues in ASM and how the sector may best contribute to sustainable development; therefore special focus is given to the different practical experiences and case studies that have been carried out by assistance programs to the ASM sector during the last ten years. The second chapter deals with the different definitions and general problems of the sector. The third chapter presents a brief historical review of the changes of issues and priorities regarding the development policy for ASM within the last thirty years. The subsequent chapter summarizes the 18 country studies and the workshop and identifies regional differences and common issues. The next chapter discusses the conditions of livelihood in ASM communities and the contribution of ASM to sustainable development. Chapter 6 addresses the “traditional issues” of ASM like policy, legal, organizational, prolongation of production lines, environment, health and safety, technical and finance. Chapter 7 deals with ASM relevant aspects of mineral economics. Special attention with case studies is given to the relation between large mining operation and ASM in chapter 8. In chapter 9 different new trends as common environmental solutions, networking in the Internet age and fair traded ASM products are highlighted with case studies.