Artisanal gold mining is on the rise, and abuses along with it
While the West wants ethically sourced gold, some parts of the world have no such qualms about trading in gold mined under poor conditions
15 January 2020 - 11:58
Entebbe — A rapid rise in the price of gold since 2000 has driven millions of people to deposits in Africa, South America and elsewhere where they dig for gold using basic technology.
Such informal digging — known as artisanal or small-scale mining (ASM) — has been around for centuries, and gold offers cash to communities that may lack alternatives. There are now about 15-million to 20-million artisanal miners, and millions more depend on them, Delve, a global platform for ASM data, estimates...
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