Perhaps best known for its diamond mines, an increasing number of artisanal miners in Sierra Leone are shifting to gold mining as alluvial diamond deposits have declined and international gold prices have risen.
The artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector is an essential source of livelihood for at least 80,000 miners in Sierra Leone, especially young men and single mothers, enabling them to provide for their families. It is a primary driver of local economic development in rural communities where it provides additional income during the farming off-season. Nearly half of all people involved in the sector are women and children, who are often involved in supportive activities such as washing or transporting ore.
Sierra Leone’s ASGM sector is largely informal and causes substantial environmental and health impacts, primarily due to the widespread use of mercury by miners, leading to land degradation and water pollution within the country and beyond. Illegal gold traders often take advantage of the sector’s informality, leaving subsistence miners and other low-income workers susceptible to exploitation. The amount of mercury used in Sierra Leone’s ASGM sector is estimated at 352 kilograms per year, which is likely an underestimate, as mercury is often imported clandestinely from neighboring countries. Mercury use is expected to increase in the future if action is not taken to tackle the sector’s informality, limited access to finance, and inadequate training and access to mercury-free technologies.
With global gold demand continually rising, transforming the ASGM sector in Sierra Leone is critical for improving livelihoods and unlocking the sector’s full development potential, while also alleviating negative social, environmental and health impacts. The national government has demonstrated commitment to addressing these issues by ratifying the Minamata Convention on Mercury and creating a National Action Plan on ASGM.
Key Figures from Sierra Leone
-
2.9 tonnes of gold produced annually
by ASGM sector -
352 kg of mercury used annually
by ASGM sector -
80,000 artisanal gold miners
work in the country -
950 hectares of land
are used for ASGM
Sierra Leone's Approach
The planetGOLD project in Sierra Leone aims to reduce the use of mercury in the ASGM sector in Sierra Leone through a holistic, multisectoral integrated formalization approach, and to increase access to finance—leading to the adoption of more responsible, mercury-free technologies and access to traceable gold supply chains.
The project aims to eliminate 1.408 tonnes of mercury and will benefit 11,560 people across three project sites, 50 percent of whom will be women.
Key Strategies
Optimize formalization of | 
Promote financial inclusion and |
Enhance uptake of | 
Share knowledge and support |
Resources
National Action Plan for Reducing Mercury Use in the ASGM Sector in Sierra Leone
Environment Protection Agency - Sierra Leone English
The goal of Sierra Leone's National Action Plan (NAP) is to formalize, sensitize and assist miners, traders, their communities and other relevant stakeholders in an inclusive and comprehensive manner, in order to mitigate the sector’s negative social, environmental and health impacts and to unlock the sector’s full development potential. The reduction of mercury use and the mitigation of its harmful impacts are among the NAP’s key priorities.
Knowledge areas:
Countries:
Sierra Leone - Minamata Initial Assessment
Environment Protection Agency - Sierra Leone English
The objectives of Sierra Leone's Minamata Initial Assessment are to provide an overview of the country’s use, emissions and re- leases of mercury and mercury compounds. First, it identifies and quantifies flows of mercury and mercury compounds. It then proposes an analysis of the legal and institutional frameworks that may guide the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury at the national level.
Knowledge areas:
Countries:
Other planetGOLD countries
planetGOLD project sites in Sierra Leone