Achieving Sustainable and Inclusive Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM)
Executive Summary
Overview: Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has significantly contributed to national development and international trade over the past decades, supporting more than 225 million individuals globally, primarily in Latin America, South America, Africa, and Asia.
Key Findings:
- Employment and Gender Distribution: Women constitute a substantial portion (between 18% and 50%) of the approximately 45 million people directly employed in ASM, highlighting gender diversity within the sector.
- Mineral Supply Chains: ASM contributes to diverse mineral supply chains, including well-known metals (e.g., gold, cobalt, copper) and lesser-known materials (e.g., salt, gravel, quarry rock).
- Market Growth: The share of ASM-mined materials has notably increased, with gold contributing 20% of global supply compared to 4% in the 1990s, and cobalt's contribution rising to over 12% from 5% in the late 2000s.
Background
Historical Context: ASM has evolved from being viewed as a risk to recognizing its potential for wealth generation and sustainability. The paper advocates for a renewed framework for World Bank engagement to support ASM sustainably and inclusively.
Constraints Facing the ASM Sector
Challenges:
- Regulatory Frameworks: Need for responsive and appropriate regulatory systems to ensure safety, fairness, and environmental stewardship.
- Sustainability and Scale: Difficulty in achieving sustainability and scale due to fragmented operations, limited resources, and lack of formal infrastructure.
- Inclusion: Challenges in ensuring equal opportunities and participation across genders, particularly women, in the ASM value chain.
What Do Miners Say?
Insights from Miners:
- Miners' perspectives highlight the need for tailored support, emphasizing the importance of financial inclusion, access to markets, and environmental management practices.
Toward a New Vision of ASM Support
Sustainability and Inclusion:
- Legitimacy: Ensuring responsive and appropriate regulatory frameworks.
- Professionalization: Facilitating financial inclusion and supporting infrastructure to access legal markets.
- Governance and Decentralization: Advancing environmental stewardship and security while promoting decentralized governance models.
- Gender Equality: Enabling gender equality across the value chain.
Conclusion: Creating a New Narrative for ASM
Revised Approach:
- Emphasizes partnerships and global public goods, focusing on a unified narrative that integrates sustainability, inclusion, and effective governance to support ASM growth while addressing the challenges faced by the sector.
Key Messages
- Renewed Framework: A new approach is needed to support ASM sustainably and inclusively, addressing regulatory, professionalization, and governance gaps.
- Inclusivity and Gender Equality: Ensuring equal opportunities and participation, particularly for women, across the ASM value chain.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Increased collaboration among stakeholders, including governments, miners, and the World Bank, to implement effective strategies.
- Sustainable Growth: Prioritizing sustainable practices and environmental stewardship to ensure long-term viability of ASM.
This summary highlights the pivotal role of ASM in global economies, the challenges it faces, and the proposed solutions to foster sustainable and inclusive growth in the sector.
