I awoke at 4:30am GMT and, like any normal day for me, I started the morning by offering prayers, and later listening to the news that bellowed through on the radio.
Artisanal mining, which supports millions but poses environmental and legal challenges, has a concerning link to wildlife poaching, highlighting the importance of formalisation for sustainability.
ASM research in Chocó rainforest reveals environmental threats. Solutions include responsible mining practices, formalization, and community engagement for sustainability.
Madagascar workshop discusses ASM's impact, governance. Recommendations aim to improve environmental, social factors, guide future ASM policies and programmes
In March 2013, I spent several weeks working at the headquarters of Not For Sale, a California-based NGO that seeks to combat modern slavery around the world.
The realities of mining are similar everywhere in Latin America, just the region varies. My organisation is located in Cotapata in Bolivia. In short, I will say that with Fairtrade certification we have gotten a better life and were able to take on social and environmental responsibility.
I’d like to talk about the challenges that my community faces. I represent a company formed by artisanal miners from Santo Filomena, called Sociedad de Trabajadores Mineros S.A (SOTRAMI). We work in an area that is completely arid and dry.
I would like to start with a personal experience in artisanal mining. I was born in 1971 in Lima. I wanted to study to have a career but due to the critical economic situation in my country, I had to start working at an early age.
I have been mining for the Afro-Colombian communities in Colombia. It’s not a very positive world –the process of slavery that our ancestors went through was partly linked to mining.
Stakeholders of the jewellery and precious metals industry recently had the rare opportunity to meet directly with representatives of artisanal and small-scale gold miners.
In July, our latest ASM-PACE report was released, focusing on the ASM of gold and tin – two 'conflict minerals' under the Dodd-Frank Act, Section 1502 – in the Itombwe Reserve in South Kivu, DRC.
I was recently in Mongolia to give a presentation on artisanal mining and conservation for the "Sustainable Artisanal Mining Project" ("SAM") funded by the Swiss and co-implemented with the Mongolian government.