Increasing the Contribution of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining to Poverty Reduction in Tanzania

This report outlines findings from a study examining the contribution of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) to poverty reduction in Tanzania based on an analysis of gold and diamond mining in Mwanza Region. It was funded by the British Department for International Development (DFID) as Phase 1 of a project to provide practical support to miners working in the ASM sector. The Tanzanian study is a component of a broader ‘Livelihoods Analysis of the Artisanal and Small- Scale Mining Sector’ led by the Centre for Development Studies, University of Wales Swansea, with support from Wardell Armstrong and the British Geological Survey. Alongside the Tanzanian component, parallel research in Ghana and a review of existing livelihoods literature with an assessment of key policy challenges facing the sector have taken place over a period of fifteen months (2003-4).

The overall objective of the study in Tanzania was to examine the role of AS mining in peoples’ livelihoods to determine whether it plays a positive part in reducing individual and household vulnerability and poverty. Historically, AS mining has been peripheral to the Government policy on the mining sector; nor has it been integrated into livelihoods or enterprise development in other sectors. By implication, the linkages that can be made between Government priorities for poverty reduction and Government support for the AS mining sector have not been systematically explored.