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Gender mainstreaming for sustainable mining in sub-Saharan Africa
Published in Natalia Yakovleva, Edmund Nickless, Routledge Handbook of the Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development, 2022
Judy N. Muthuri, Willice O. Abuya, Luis D. Torres
Artisanal mining provides women with economic opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to them (Hayes and Perks, 2012). ASM is an important source of livelihood for women because of its relative ease of entry compared to experiences in large-scale mining. Working in artisanal mines requires no formal education or skills, and, little or no capital. According to Hilson and McQuilken (2014), the ASM sub-sector provides employment to tens of millions of individuals in sub-Saharan Africa, and of these, women constitute a significant proportion of its labour force although “precise workforce data are unavailable” (Hilson et al., 2018). The Business for Social Responsibility estimates that across different sub-Saharan countries, women make up between 40 and 90% of the ASM workforce (BSR, 2017, p.6) although this seems to be a higher estimation compared to the 25–50% cited by Buss (2017).
Ecological and Social Paradigm Towards Sustainability in the African Context
Published in Rohini Prasad, Manoj Kumar Jhariya, Arnab Banerjee, Advances in Sustainable Development and Management of Environmental and Natural Resources, 2021
Kondwani Kapinga, Nalukui Matakala, Kennedy Ouma, Concilia Monde, Paxie C. Chirwa, Stephen Syampungani
NR extraction, particularly, minerals, gas, and oil, is another significant factor in poverty alleviation. About 30% of Africa’s GDP is attributed to the extraction of NR (AFDB and the African Union, 2009). In 2011, Africa made contributions of 6.5% to the sphere’s mineral exports (KPMG, 2013). Since the turn of the century, demand for mineral commodities has dramatically increased. Huge investments on the continent are credited to minerals, gas, and oil, and these are projected to make a contribution of US$30 billion per annum to public proceeds over the next two decades (AFDB, 2016). Viable industries dealing with extractives have restricted ability to produce formal employment on a larger scale. However, there has been a global increase of artisan mining specifically in Africa though mostly is in the informal sector, and this is reported to create more than 8,000,000 direct jobs and provides for over 45,000,000 people indirectly (UNCTAD, 2015). Women are said to make up 50% on average of the labor force in small-scale and artisanal mining (UN Women, 2015).
Sustainable Mining and Closure Policy Regulations and Practice: A Case Study of Coal Mining in Meghalaya
Published in K. M. Baharul Islam, Zafar Mahfooz Nomani, Environment Impact Assessment, 2021
Meghalaya is the only state in India where coal mining is done privately given the Constitutional safeguards available to the community under the Sixth Schedule of exclusive right to private property with unlimited access to resources. The market driven artisanal ‘rat-hole’ mining Meghalaya has shifted the livelihood from agro-based to mine based (Mukhopadhyay, n.d.). Tens of millions of people worldwide depend on artisanal mining for their livelihoods and incomes, far more than depend on large-scale mining. Artisanal mining tends to be most common in poor areas, magnifying its developmental implications and risks. Artisanal mining generates employment and income, but it is not always safe, well-monitored, legal or regulated. ASM activities can cause substantial negative environmental, health, and social impacts and its informal nature also can make artisanal mining an easy source of income for organized crime and armed conflicts.
Accumulation and bioaccessibility of toxic metals in root tubers and soils from gold mining and farming communities in the Ashanti region of Ghana
Published in International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2022
Godfred Darko, Samuel Adjei, Marian Asantewah Nkansah, Lawrence Sheringham Borquaye, Kwadwo Owusu Boakye, Matt Dodd
Food safety has become a global public health concern. This concern is further heightened as increasing population in the world has led to urbanization, mining and industrialization taking over arable lands, which could have been used for agricultural purposes. Akumadan and Offinso in the Ashanti region of Ghana are major food-producing communities where various chemicals fertilizers, pesticides, and weedicides which contain metals are extensively used (Quansah et al. 2016). Artisanal mining is also a key activity which has the potential of releasing heavy metals into the environment (Gyamfi et al. 2020) in communities, such as Konongo and Amansie Central, where they are operational. The metals released from mining activities end up in the soil and waterbodies and eventually enter into the human food chain. It is therefore necessary to determine the distribution of the heavy metals in the soils and root tubers grown in them and estimate the potential health risk incorporating bioaccessibility measurements.
The impact of empowerment and technology on safety behavior: evidence from mining companies
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2022
Paola Ochoa Pacheco, Miguel Pina e Cunha, António Cunha Meneses Abrantes
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) [48], the environmental hazards in small and artisanal mining frequently not only influence degradation and contamination of the general environment but also have implications for the health and well-being of miners, surrounding communities and the global environment. Donoghue [49] highlighted five types of risks: physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and psychosocial. Physical hazards include rock fall, fires, explosions, mobile equipment accidents, falls from height, entrapment and electrocution. Chemical hazards such as crystalline silica are a serious hazard in mining. Biological hazards refer to diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, which are common in mines, especially in tropical countries. The risks of ergonomic hazards derive from extensive manual handling. Psychosocial hazards include common effects on mining employees in remote locations due to their separation from their families and communities over long periods of time.