Resources

Undermining Rights: Indigenous Lands and Mining in the Amazon

Patricia Quijano Vallejos, Peter Veit, Pedro Tipula and Katie Reytar English

Conducting geospatial analysis of the Amazon biogeographic region, this report estimates, for the first time, the full extent of legal, large-scale mining concessions and illegal mining operations on Indigenous territories within the rainforest. The study focuses on Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana and Peru.

Health responses to COVID-19 in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining sector: Mitigating the risk of infiltration, spread and severity

Mareike Kroll and Kevin Telmer 2020 English

The looming third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have devastating impacts in many countries in the Global South, with far worse health outcomes and economic implications. While formal and informal income sources in LMICs are collapsing, the ASGM sector offers a rare and desperately needed income opportunity due to the stable or rising international gold price. At the same time, artisanal mining communities can be considered as most-affected and at-risk group according to the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan COVID-19. 

Impact of COVID-19 on artisanal and small-scale mining

Alliance for Responsible Mining 2020 English

Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining provides livelihoods for about 40 million people worldwide, representing 90% of the gold mining sector workforce and generating around 20% of their annual production. 

In the context of the global crisis generated by COVID-19, this population is exposed to a number of particular vulnerabilities that need to be urgently assessed at the global, national and local levels to take action to mitigate their impact.

USAID: Sector Environmental Guideline (SEG): ASM

Battelle and The Cadmus Group, Inc. USAID 2017 English

These guidelines are designed for project managers, project implementers, practitioners, or others working on development or environmental management projects that could impact ASM projects or communities that engage in ASM.  This document addresses: (1) impact of development projects on ASM; (2) impacts of ASM on the environment, health, and socio-political systems; (3) best practices on mitigation measures for minimizing impacts of ASM; (4) impact of climate change on ASM; and (5) impact of ASM on climate change. 

The Colombian Artisanal Mining Sector: Formalizaton is a heavy burden.

Veiga, Marcello M. Marshal, Bruce G. 2018 English

Forest-Smart Mining: Artisanal & Small-Scale Mining in Forest Landscapes

World Bank 2019 English

This report reviews existing knowledge and experience around mining in forested landscapes. It focuses on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). It analyzed several active ASM mine sites as case studies to identify good and bad practices for forest-smart mining and the conditions and mechanisms that motivate these practices.

La Realidad de la Minería Ilegal en Países Amazónicos

Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA) 2014 Spanish

Este estudio nos ha permitido tener una visión detallada de la dimensión regional del problema, siendo uno de los hallazgos más relevantes la importante brecha de información oficial que limita el alcance y efectividad de las políticas de Estado para hacer frente a la minería ilegal e informal. A esta realidad se suma la heterogeneidad de criterios entre cada país para definir y medir los problemas de la ilegalidad e informalidad en minería. 

State Gold-Buying Programmes: Effective instruments to reform the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector?

RCS Global 2016 English

Can state gold-buying programmes (SGBPs) be an effective tool for governments – to not only bolster state financial reserves, but also to reform the sector, raising its standards and improving its environmental and social outcomes? And can these programmes operate in countries that often lack institutional capacity, infrastructure and stability? This paper analyses case studies in five countries, drawing out the challenges and potential factors for success in developing an effective SGBP.