Harnessing artisanal and small-scale mining to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals

By Jorden de Haan

This post originally appeared on Pact's website and is cross-posted here with permission.

It makes intuitive sense that artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) – low-tech, labor-intensive mineral processing and extraction – cuts across the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A sector historically ‘left behind’, the negative impacts are, unfortunately, what ASM has become most known for. To name a few, the largely informal sector is associated with poor occupational health and safety conditions and affects not only human health (SDG 3) and clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), but also life on land (SDG 15) and underwater (SDG 14). Yet the many positive impacts of ASM have also been documented for decades and are becoming increasingly harder for policymakers to ignore. Not only does the sector constitute an essential direct livelihood for more than 42 million women, men, and mostly young people living in rural and typically impoverished areas across the developing world – positively impacting SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 5 (Gender Equality) and 8 (Economic Growth and Decent Work) – it also provides the global economy with technology and precious metals, prized gemstones and development minerals. These include, for example, sand, clay bricks and stone aggregate for local infrastructure development (SDG 9), as well as ancient coral rock hewn on land and used for the construction of affordable houses, improving the resilience of rural settlements across the East African coast (SDG 11).

Coral house on Manda Island, Kenya. Photo credit: Kirsten Dales (co-author)

Yet, while the large-scale mining sector has been mapped to the SDGs, until last week, no comprehensive review of ASM and its interlinkages with all 17 SDGs was available. The sector continues to operate on the margins of global, regional and national development agendas as it has done for the past 40 years – notwithstanding more recent global efforts and international policy mechanisms, such as the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains and the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which are creating momentum among policymakers. We need to better understand and present ASM-SDG interlinkages for addressing this policy gap, and for ensuring that global ASM programming and mineral resource policies can harness the interlinkages and the sector’s full potential.

Although the relationship between ASM and certain SDGs has been analyzed individually on separate occasions, a holistic and structured overview of all 17 SDGs has been sorely needed because these many relationships are multi-dimensional and complex. Consider SDG 13 for Climate Action. On the one hand, ASM has clear positive impacts in providing critical minerals such as cobalt and copper, which are required for the transition to renewable and low-carbon energy systems. On the other hand, the sector also has negative impacts through mining-induced land-use change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, which threaten the adaptive capacity of ecosystems and people to climate change. And since the 17 SDGs are interlinked, the impacts of ASM on one SDG affects its ultimate or ‘net impacts’ on the attainment of other SDGs. Returning to the previous example, how could we possibly understand ASM’s net impacts on SDG 13 without considering its impacts on community resilience and vulnerability to shocks (part of SDG 1), on life on land (SDG 15) and underwater (SDG 14), or on peace and security (part of SDG 16)?

This is why Pact partnered with the University of Delaware, to develop Mapping Artisanal and Small-scale Mining to the Sustainable Development Goals – the first report assessing the relationships between ASM and all 17 SDGs, which is now freely available online. Building on the global literature, the authors’ field experiences, and inputs from Pact experts and prominent peer reviewers such as Dr. Saleem Ali from the University of Delaware, Dr. Nellie Mutemeri from the University of Witwatersrand, and Caroline Ngonze from UNFPA, the ASM-SDG Policy Assessment maps all of the positive and negative impacts the sector currently has on the 17 SDGs and their respective targets, as well the impacts the sector has (or could have) when adequately formalized. This is the first complete review that builds on earlier work and provides a foundation for understanding ASM-SDG interlinkages from a holistic perspective. As more information about the diverse ASM sector becomes available, this assessment should be updated to reflect that new information.

We found that even in its informal state, ASM makes positive contributions to almost all of the SDGs, but – partly because of this informality – also has negative impacts on most of them. However, if approached in an inclusive and comprehensive manner, formalization can help mitigate many of the sector’s negative impacts and amplify its positive impacts on the SDGs.

But how should policymakers at the national level go about formalizing the ASM sector while harnessing all (locally prioritized) ASM-SDG interlinkages and avoiding adverse impacts?
Moreover, how can ASM and ASM formalization strategies be integrated in national and regional policy frameworks – arguably more critical than linking ASM to the SDGs and their successors?

And what can multilateral institutions, bilateral donors, civil society and the private sector do to encourage and support the entire process?

Following its analysis, the ASM-SDG Policy Assessment provides initial reflections and recommendations to these critical questions – a discussion that the authors, Pact and the University of Delaware hope to set forth in a launch event planned for 15 October in collaboration with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and other partners. Stay tuned for more information soon.

Geologist gemmologist/sapphire miner wanted

Geologist gemmologist/sapphire miner is wanted for 10 days work with sapphire miners in Madagascar. This work is part of an ongoing project with sapphire miners in South West Madagascar undertaken by the University of Queensland and GIZ since 2014.

This year we need someone who can teach:

• a short course in basic field gemmology

• assist with the construction of field based trommel

• provide some feedback to a small but enthusiastic women’s lapidary workshop.

If you are interested please contact Lynda Lawson l.lawson1@uq.edu.au

Blockchain, Chain of Custody and Trace Elements: An Overview of Tracking and Traceability Opportunities in the Gem Industry

Dr. Laurent Cartier and Dr. Saleem Ali of the Knowledge Hub recently co-authored an overview article on traceability in the gem and jewellery industry. This paper was published in the Journal of Gemmology and is entitled 'Blockchain, Chain of Custody and Trace Elements: An Overview of Tracking and Traceability Opportunities in the Gem Industry'.

Recent developments have brought due diligence, along with tracking and traceability, to the forefront of discussions and requirements in the diamond, coloured stone and pearl industries. This article provides an overview of current trends and developments in the tracking and traceability of gems, along with an explanation of the terms used in this context.

Further, the article discusses current initiatives in the sector and provides an introduction blockchain concepts.

Download PDF copy of the article.

The Demise of the Perceived ‘Normal’ – Exploring the Mining Culture of Kashmir’s Rubies

by Faryal Khan

Ruby emblematizes the sublime and possesses an instinctive allure. The unquenchable magnetism of this precious gemstone ascends if it is embedded deep into one of the most formidable locales; such as Azad Kashmir. Azad Kashmir holds incomparable abundances of nature, but it’s most riveting treasure is its rubies. In order to unfold the dynamics of its mining, a research undertaking was coordinated from Islamabad to Muzaffarabad under the supervision of Dr. Muhammad Makki. After gaining comprehension over the institutional frameworks, the scoping study dwelled towards the ruby mines to Kel and then to the villages of Domail and Chitta Katha. The field experience presented some exceedingly pertinent research finding(s). However, the most pronounced feature was the defiance of the attribution of the perceiveddynamics of ‘normal’ mining culture to the Kashmir’s ruby and the contrasting contextual realities, which necessitate a diversified exploration to inculcate the specificity of, and consequently promulgate, the ruby mining culture in Kashmir. 

The ruby mines had been discovered in 1979, but actual production did not commence until 1990, mostly due to the rugged mountainous terrain and harsh weather conditions during which the mine(s) could be accessed only from May to October. The major chunk of the responsibility of the mining operations at Chitta Katha has been undertaken by the Azad Kashmir Mineral and Industrial Development Corporation (AKMIDC). The Corporation initiated a project titled “Exploration & Evaluation of Precious and Semiprecious Stones in Upper Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir” from 1995 to 2005. Consequently, the project established Chitta Katha, opposite to Nangimali, as the most promising site for ruby deposits, yielding 342 kilograms of rough rubies. Relatedly, the mining operations at Nangimali, under a private lease, have halted and the underlying reasons have been considerably cryptic.

The discussion with the villagers elucidated certain aspects steeped in significance. We found out that the village was inhabited by one family exclusively, the Mughals. The locals from Domail and Kel were limited in their operational participation at the mine by holding yearly tenders to provide the labor force which constituted of 30 to 35miners at the peak mining season and plummeted to 10 miners during harsh weather conditions. The hue and the surreal clarity of the Kashmir rubies varies from transparent to translucent and brownish pink to pinkish-red and deep red in color. The Nangimali ruby deposits are considered superlative, in comparison to its adjacent Chitta Katha deposits. More so, the mined rubies are collected by AKMIDC and auctioned at Muzaffarabad and at the Kashmir House in Islamabad, annually, unless interrupted by infrequent supply or other reasons. The Corporation also maintains scrutiny over the buying and selling of rubies locally, fundamentally to counter any illegal circulation. Regarding the supply chain, the gemstone is taken abroad after being auctioned and circulated in Pakistan at various gem exchanges for adding finesse to transform its eventual fate. 

The aforementioned findings were indeed germane to the outlined aims of the scoping study to discern all attributing factors to ruby mining. However, certain contextual realities take precedence in contriving a (re)imagined understanding of the nuanced ‘normality’ that inherently underpins the mining culture of Kashmir’s rubies. Firstly, the absolute absence of any repercussions of being in propinquity to an active international conflict – the struggle for Kashmir’s self-determination – especially keeping in view the proximity of ruby mines to the Line of Control (LoC). Moreover, the lack of indulgence of locals to utilize the treasure trove to fuel the armed struggle across the LoC, as ‘normally’ seen in cases with similitude; occurrence of a lootable and highly valued commodity to a kinetically charged conflict zone. Additionally, the blatant absence of criminogenic factors redirected the assumed and ‘normally’ evidenced understanding associated with the lootability of gemstones. 

This factor cascaded into another finding ‘normally’ identified with gemstone mining; the intangible association that local communities experience in view of their close bearing with the resource. In case of Kashmir’s rubies, the locals can view the mine(s) at all times and yet, they are void of any gripping realization of its value or possess any (collective) desire to demand for an increased participation in its operations or resultant developmental outcomes. Concurrently, the Domailisshowed increased affinity towards their farming and agricultural produce; consisting of primarily potatoes, wild herbs and livestock. It was remarkable to witness their carefully forged and decided responsibilities towards their farming life – as ‘normally’ found in mining communities – but at the same time quite confounding to observe their gentle indifference towards the rubies which are exponentially more valued and remain at immediate sight. Adding to this assertion, the people of Domail inhabit the village as one large, extended family and represent a unique uniformity as ‘normally’ unseen; primarily, void of local power clashes. However, this uniformity does not translate into collective unity in view of the ruby mining culture as an integrated and conscious front. 

The economic potential of the ruby mining seems remarkably faded when the distinct attributes of the mining culture form a considerably ‘abnormal’ mosaic of a livelihood that transcends normally held conventions. The explorative lens requires a redirection towards the contextual realities which evoke a fascinating rural setting that needs to (re)define the specificity mining cultures encompass while keeping the centrality of the resource (ruby) intact. However, assumptions dwelling with the notions of ‘normality’ – perceived or otherwise – possess the latency to form assertions on naive ties; yet, they can be fringed upon conceptions, especially based on mining communities blessed with a resource whose aura defies time, but more significant, on the resource’s mining culture – that defies normality. 

Acknowledgements:

The author is profoundly grateful for the research opportunity and supervision received from Dr. Muhammad Makki and also extends her thanks to Waseem Iftikhar and Aizah Azam for their assistance. 

The author also gratefully acknowledges the financial support for the fieldwork received from the 'The Gemstone Knowledge Hub' at the University of Delaware USA.

News From Madagascar

Madagascar Gems and Jewellery Fair

23 to 27 October 2018 in Antananarivo

Lynda spent the month of September in Madagascar on a field trip with 29 African mining professionals from 10 African nations. The trip was part of the Australian Awards for Africa Short Course programs and Lynda travelled with geologist gemmologist Charles Lawson.

Lynda with her students visiting a mica factory in the south of Madagascar.

She took her students to visit the new Mining Business Centre near the airport in Antananarivo. This Mining Business Centre and the Museum of the Extractive Industry have been paid for entirely from mining fees paid to the Cadastre. It has state of the art facilities including an auditorium which seats 1000 people.

The Mining Business Centre BCMM (Bureau du Cadastre Minier de Madagascar).

The Mining Business Centre and the Museum of the Extractive Industry are proud to host the new Madagascar Gems and Jewellery Fair on 23 to 27 October 2018 in Antananarivo.

Some of the women from the Sakaraha Women’s Lapidary Centre who participated in our field gemmology courses are competing in the lapidary contest!

The Women’s Lapidary Centre opened its doors in the market place of the sapphire town of Sakaraha in August 2018.

Please support this new initiative.

DNA Fingerprinting of Pearls, Corals and Ivory

Dr. Laurent E. Cartier and colleagues recently published an article in the Journal of Gemmology investigating how DNA fingerprinting techniques can be used to improve traceability, disclosure and documenting the provenance of select biogenic gems. This includes research on origin and species determination of cultured and natural pearls, species identification of precious corals. Such research provides a new options to increase transparency (through origin and species determination), help address fraud or illegal trading by separating protected from non- protected species and documenting the provenance of historic items.

The full article of this study can be downloaded here as a PDF.

GemHub hosts its first intern

Dr. Laurent Cartier (University of Lausanne) and Lynda Lawson (University of Queensland), both part of the Gemhub’s core team, are delighted to have the opportunity to mentor Herizo ( Zo ) Harimalala Tsiverisoa  as an intern. This internship is one of the final courses in the University of Melbourne’s prestigious  Masters in Development Studies.

Zo is a geologist, gemstone training specialist and a lapidary trainer. She worked as the head of ‘Lapidary and Jewellery’ department of the ‘Institut de Gemmologie de Madagascar’ for 12 years. She is now completing her Master’s Degree and is a leading Australian Awards Africa scholar.

During her internship with GemHub, she will be assisting us with the creation of materials for our Website on the geology of different gem deposits (in simple language) and also on the lapidary skills required for stone cutting. This aligns with our vision for the Gem Hub where we seek to provide openly available educational material by summarizing existing research.

She will also reflect on some of the reasons why so little value addition is done in the country of origin of our most precious gemstones. She will  draw some conclusions from her work in lapidary in Madagascar, Ethiopia, Malawi and Tanzania.

Zo brings an absolutely unique perspective to Gemhub as a reflective practitioner who has thought deeply about development and sustainability issues.

Watch out for blogs from Zo on the Gemhub website.

Trade without Fever. Sensory Experiences and Qualitative Oppositions in the Formalization of the Emerald Economy in Colombia

Comerciar sin afiebrarse. Experiencias sensoriales y oposiciones cualitativas en la formalizaciónde la economía esmeraldera en Colombia

Trade without Fever. Sensory Experiences and Qualitative Oppositions in the Formalization of the Emerald Economy in Colombia

by Vladimir Caraballo Acuña, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, El Colegio de Michoacán

RESUMEN

Desde  hace  algunos  años  la  explotación  y  elcomercio  de  minerales  en  Colombia  atravie-san un lento proceso de formalización en ma-nos  del  Estado.  En  el  caso  de  las  esmeraldas,ha  estado  acompañado  por  la  consolidacióndel  Grupo  Muzo,  compañía  estadounidenseencargada  de  explotar,  tallar  y  exportar  lasesmeraldas.  En  este  artículo  sugiero  que  am-bos  procesos  han  implicado  la  construcciónde  una  ideología  semiótica  que  organiza  ex-periencias  sensoriales  de  la  economía  esme-raldera alrededor de tres pares de cualidadesopuestas:  sucio/limpio,  caliente/frío  y  opaco/transparente. Para desarrollar la relación entreexperiencias  sensoriales  e  ideología  propon-go un acercamiento metodológico que com-bina los insumos de mi trabajo de campo y laantropología  semiótica  contemporánea,  par-ticularmente,  aquella  que  recupera  el  prag-matismo filosófico de Charles Peirce.

Palabras clave:esmeraldas, formalización,experiencias sensoriales, ideología semiótica.

ABSTRACT

For some years the mining and mineral trade in Colombia  have  undergone  a  slow  process of  formalization  by  the  State.  In  the  case  of emeralds, this process has been accompanied by  the  consolidation  of  Grupo  Muzo,  the  US company  responsible  for  exploiting,  carving,and  exporting  emeralds.  In  this  article  I  sug­gest   that   both   processes   involve   the   cons­truction of a semiotic ideology that organizes sensory  experiences  of  the  emerald  economy around three pairs of opposing qualities: dirty/clean,  hot/cold,  and  opaque/transparent. To develop  the  relationship  between  sensory  ex­periences and ideology, I suggest a methodo­logical approach that merges inputs from my fieldwork and contemporary semiotic anthro­pology,  particularly  that  which  recovers  the philosophical pragmatism of Charles Peirce.

Keywords:emeralds, formalization, sensory experiences, semiotic ideology.

Link to Full Article

Sapphire secrets: they aren’t all blue, and mining them requires luck plus labour

by Lynda Lawson

I first remember seeing sapphires as a teenager in a jeweller’s shop in Silver Street in pre-Khmer Rouge Phnom Penh – the deep saturated blues of the gems from Palin on the border with Thailand were captivating. The sapphires my father bought that day are still in the family long after any trace of Silver Street has disappeared.

It was not until recently when I met a female sapphire miner in Madagascar that I began to appreciate the hard labour involved in the mining of these stones across Africa and Asia.

Read more

Hill of Gems, Gems of Labour – Mining in the Borderlands

by Arnab Roy Chowdhury & Ahmed Abid

The city of Chanthaburi in the Thai-Cambodia borderlands is small, but has played a significant role in the history of Thailand and in the history of gem trade throughout the world. Located 250 kilometers to the east of Bangkok, the Thai-Cambodia borderlands have traditionally produced world-class and yellow sapphires (GIA 2015).

The region is especially famous for its sapphire, which comes in yellow, blue, and black star varieties. These all share the same basic chemical composition, that is, aluminium oxide – the difference of colour due to various chemical traces make these distinct. Locally, gem mines of the Thai-Cambodia border are known as Bo Ploy. The Khao Ploy Waen or literally ‘hill of gems,’ which is one of the main mining areas of Chanthaburi (the other being Ban Ka Cha), is situated about 10 kilometers from the city in a scenic jungle area located on slightly elevated dead volcanic plugs. On the top of the hill, there is a Buddhist pagoda. In local narratives, the location seems like the setting for an Indiana Jones movie, a perfect location for the pursuit of ‘hidden treasure.’

Click here to read more

Women in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining: Challenges and opportunities for greater participation

By Lynda Lawson

Women represent a large percentage of the workforce engaged in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)—up to 40 or 50 per cent in Africa alone. But there’s an invisibility problem.

The contribution of women to the mining sector is often masked by the dominant profile of men’s roles in mining, which hinders women’s meaningful participation. When they are unable to participate in key stages of mining, women are often unaware of key information, which gives men an advantage that allows them to exercise control over financial matters.

This report from the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development highlights the key challenges and opportunities women in ASM face, including access to finance, access to equipment and technology, institutional support and services and more.

Link to full report

Lotus Gemology's Gem Exhibit "Inside Out"

As part of her doctoral program at the University of Queensland, our researcher Lynda Lawson has been talking to women working across the sapphire value chain. This has taken her from women miners working in streams in South West Madagascar to women traders in the mining towns of Sakaraha and Ilakaka. Many Malagasy sapphires are treated, cut and sold in Thailand. In January she followed the sapphires to Bangkok and Chantaburi where she interviewed women who grade sapphires, women cutters and designers, women jewelers and women who own their own gem businesses. She also met and interviewed the many highly skilled and talented women gemologists who work in Thailand and provide professional guidance and expertise to those wishing to better understand their gemstones.

She met Billie Hughes a young gemologist and photographer who with her family, Wimon Manorotkul and Richard Hughes, has written some of the most beautiful print celebrations of ruby and sapphire for example Ruby and Sapphire; a gemologist’s guide.  

From left to right: Richard W. Hughes, Wimon Manorotkul, and Billie Hughes

Twenty years of their photographs are currently being exhibited at Tongji University Shanghai  in an exhibit called "Inside Out". The display captures both the microscopic world of gem inclusions and the stories behind the gems; those who have found them and the places they are found.

For those wishing to visit, the exhibition is in the library at the Zhejiang campus of Tongji University.

For those unable to visit, GemHub is delighted to share some of their photos here .

Feasibility and acceptability of environmental management strategies among artisan miners in Taita Taveta County, Kenya

by Florence Apollo, Amina Ndinya, Maurice Ogada, and Benard Rop

Abstract

Artisanal mining employs many people across the globe. In Kenya, it provides vocational jobs which represent the livelihood of poor communities. In spite of the economic value that could be attached to the artisanal mining activities in Taita Taveta County, these activities have resulted in environmental degradation; thus, calling for necessary interventions. It is for this reason that this study intends to examine effective strategies that could be adopted to reduce environmental degradation in the county as a result of artisan mining. The key objective therefore is to test the feasibility and acceptability of community participation, partnerships, modern technology and quarry management strategies on the reduction of environmental degradation by artisan miners in Taita Taveta County. A descriptive case study research design was adopted, and the target population for the study was 451 registered artisan miners and 13 environmental bodies operating in the area. A simple random sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 218 artisan miners and 13 environmental body heads. Questionnaires were the main tool for data collection from which a response rate of 95% was achieved. The study deduced that community participation, partnerships, modern technology adoption and quarry management strategies, are key influences on the reduction of environmental degradation in the artisanal mining sector if adopted, going based on the high level of agreement and the reasoning exhibited among the artisan miners in the findings. The following policies may be inferred from the study: to set a framework to enable the community to participate in environmental conservation, to enhance partnerships between NGOs, CBOs, the Government and Universities within artisan mining areas, to introduce Government subsidies for modern technology for affordability and to introduce a framework for quarry management.

Link to full Article