RACHEL PERKS: A new era of renewal in artisanal mining
Future growth of the sector must be sustainable and inclusive
The World Bank estimates that artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) directly employs at least 45-million people in 80 countries. Yet the sector’s reach does not end there: an additional 270-million people are working in services related to the sector; bringing its direct and indirect employment to 315-million people worldwide. In fact, today ASM is the top non-farm rural employer in most mineral-rich countries of the world, creating individual and family wealth for hundreds of millions of households.
Since the 1990s, ASM’s contribution to major global mineral supplies has grown exponentially — ranging from gemstones to base metals — due to strong international demand. Take, for instance, gold: in the 1990s ASM produced roughly 4% of global supply, but it now accounts for 20%. In the critical minerals space, ASM contributes about 25% of the global tantalum supply and 25% of the tin that goes into modern electronic goods. Yet all this growth, happening largely outside of regul...
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