Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Handbook for English Speaking Eastern and Northern African Regions

The extraction of minerals from the earth has been undertaken for centuries, if not millennia. For Europe, the mining industry was one of the most critical industries, shaping its economies. More than a century ago, Europe accounted for about 40% of the global mining output.

Today, the mining industry and in particular critical minerals sector are gaining increased importance in the context of green and digital transitions globally. Both sectors can play a crucial role in transforming African economics, presenting many opportunities for socio economic development. But they are also associated with various environmental and social risks, which should be mitigated. Given the importance for employment and livelihood generation for the economy, countries are making efforts to support and regulate these activities.

Within the mining sector, ASM - usually a labour-intensive, less mechanised exploitation of mineral resources - provides an important contribution to the employment and livelihoods dimension of the economy, particular in the rural areas. It is estimated that in Tanzania around 1.5 million people are associated economically with ASM, of which about 25% are women. ASM contributed around TZS 271 billion in royalties, representing 40% of all royalties in the 2022/23 fiscal year. Globally, it is estimated that ASM contributes up to about 15-20% to the overall mining production.

The Government of Tanzania has made a commendable effort over the years to regulate the activities. Amongst others, it has developed microfinance services tailored to the artisanal and small-scale mining sector and efforts are ongoing to enhance linkages with financial institutions. The Government offers equipment for hire/purchase, training and skills enhancement and sharing available geological data to ASM. In each region, Minerals Markets have been established to fight smuggling. Tanzania is amongst the pilot Fairtrade countries within East Africa, to support sustainable development of ASM communities. And last but not least, the Government is promoting value addition of mineral products by reducing the royalty to 1% if the miner adds value, otherwise it remains at 5%. These are all important steps.

Nevertheless, challenges exist regarding environmental impacts and protection of human rights. The use of mercury for gold extraction is not banned in all countries and it continues to be applied in the ASM sector, posing challenges to the health and environment. The inhalation of mercury can cause neurological problems, and nearby communicates suffer from water and soil contamination.

The European Union (EU) takes great interest in promoting sustainable ASM techniques, which would preserve the environment, protect human rights, and safeguard the health and safety of those concerned, with a focus on preventing child and women labour exploitation, gender equality and community development. The promotion of safe and sustainable ASM is important to increase and safeguard employment and job creation in the mining sector.

In particular, the EU has established the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals with the objective to increase the proportion of responsibly produced minerals and to support socially responsible extraction of minerals that contributes to local development. The aim of this support is to enable more mines to comply with the standards required under the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.

In this regard, we are happy to support the PanAfGeo Project to strengthen ASM in its contribution to sustainable socio-economic development in the respective countries and in particular to increase knowledge of African Geological Surveys, so that they can better support, improve and control the conditions in local artisan communities. With the EU’s contribution to the PanAfGeo Project’s Phase1 and 2, the Project has supported the sustainable management of geological resources in Africa and strengthened the EU-African partnership in geosciences, through training of geoscientific staff from African Geological Surveys. The PanAfGeo Project also provides opportunities for dialogue and networking between all participants, trainees and trainers, Europeans and Africans, building relationships at individual, national and continental levels.

This resulting ASM Handbook for the Eastern and Northern African Region aims to increase the African-owned geological knowledge and skills for sustainable mineral exploitation, related infrastructures, and prevention and mitigation measures. We appreciate the work of each author in contributing to this collection of articles and trust that you, the reader, will find inspiration, assurance, and guidance from this wealth of shared knowledge. I wish you all a fruitful reading.