scholarly journals Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Syanyonja, Busia Gold District, South Eastern Uganda: Impacts on the Mining Population and the Environment

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Omara ◽  
Shakilah Karungi ◽  
Stephen Ssebulime ◽  
Kibet Mohamed Kiplagat ◽  
Ocident Bongomin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gold Mining ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
School Dropouts ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Environmental Footprints ◽  
Metavolcanic Rocks ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Mining Population

Syanyonja village in the gold district of Busia, South East of the Republic of Uganda contain geologically epigenetic gold quartz vein deposits in carbonate-altered mafic metavolcanic rocks, deposited as quartz reefs in mineralized shear zones. In supracrustal rocks, alluvial gold is obtained from weathered auriferous quartz veins, which are of late orogenic granitic activity. The Syanyonja gold deposits have long been subjected to artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) by the locals for livelihood. This study determined the amount of mercury discharged with tailings into Namukombe stream, a major water body in Syanyonja village and investigated the impacts of ASGM on the mining population and the environment. Quantitation of mercury discharged with tailings was done by mass balance method. Field survey at the mining sites was done followed by administration of questionnaires to 50 stampeders in the village. The study indicates that about 8% of mercury mixed with auriferous materials are lost in tailings, accounting for an annual mercury release of about 1.757 kg into the environment. Socio-demographic results indicate that the majority of the mining population (64%) are male and ASGM have left health and environmental footprints, which directly or indirectly affects the population. The most common health problems among miners are malaria (36%) and abdominal pain (20%). The standard of living of the miners are evidently low, and most mines are characterized by school dropouts, prostitutes and thieves. Mining sites have deplorably poor hygiene, with evident burning of amalgams to recover gold. ASGM have been accompanied by wanton mowing down of vegetation, land degradation as well as mercuric pollution of water, air, land and aquatic ecosystems. It is suggested that the Ugandan government should re-enforce committees to follow up on ASGM activities, train artisans on sustainable gold mining using borax, magnets, sluice boxes as well as take up farming actively as an alternative.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Challenges in Policy Implementation in the Small Scale Gold Mining Sector in Ghana – A Case Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Arroja Eshun ◽  
E. Okyere
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mining District ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Mining Sector ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Adequate Knowledge ◽  
Acquisition Processes

In recent times, stakeholders in the mining sector have expressed concerns about the environmental degradation and the social impacts of uncontrolled Small Scale Mining (SSM) activities in Ghana despite the existence of legislative instruments that define the procedures required for the acquisition of licences and operations of SSM activities in the country. This paper assesses the challenges in policy implementation in the small scale gold mining sector of Ghana by reviewing policies on regularisation and environmental management. It further identifies challenges faced by small scale mining operators in adhering to laid down policies for the smooth operation of the sector and furthermore assesses the views of some principal stakeholders on the benefits and challenges of small scale mining using the Dunkwa mining district as a test case. The methods employed include: field visits to some  small scale mining sites within the Dunkwa mining district; interviews and questionnaire administration; and statistical and content analysis of data. The study reveals the following factors, among others, to have contributed largely to the difficulty in regularisation, environmental and social challenges that have plagued the SSM sector: low level of education of majority of miners; bureaucracies and centralisation of licence acquisition processes; lack of sources of finance for SSM projects; lack of geological information on mineable areas; and lack of adequate knowledge of the laws and regulations on mining and environment. In addressing the challenges the following recommendations are made: decentralisation of the regularisation processes to simplify licence acquisition; adequate geological investigations should be undertaken on SSM blocked-out areas to reduce the try and error mining approach adopted by miners; and continuous education and training of miners on good mining and environmental practices. Keywords: Small Scale Mining, Mineral Policies, Environmental Impact, Regularisation, Challenges

scholarly journals Heavy Metals in the Soils of Placer Small-Scale Gold Mining Sites in Myanmar

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (27) ◽  
pp. 200911
Author(s):  
Aung Zaw Tun ◽  
Pokkate Wongsasuluk ◽  
Wattasit Siriwong
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Metal Concentrations ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Heavy Metal Concentrations

Background. Artisanal and small-scale mining activities are widely practiced globally. Concentrations of heavy metals associated with gold, such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) can increase in the environment as a result of mining activities, leading to environmental pollution and pose toxicity risks to humans and animals. Objectives. The aim of the present study was to investigate soil concentrations of toxic heavy metals in placer small-scale gold mining operations in Myanmar. Methods. Soil samples were collected from three placer small-scale gold mining sites: Site A located in the Hmawbon public protected forest, Site B and Site C, situated in the Nant-Kyin reserved forest around Nar Nant Htun village. At each site, soil samples were collected from four gold mining stages (ore processing, sluicing, panning, and amalgamation). Atomic absorption spectroscopy was utilized to examine the concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, and Hg. Results. The highest heavy metal concentrations were generally found in the amalgamation stages across all the gold mining sites. Across the three mining sites, the maximum heavy metal concentrations in the amalgamation stage were 22.170 mg.kg−1 for As, 3.070 mg.kg−1 for Cd, 77.440 mg.kg−1 for Hg, and 210.000 mg.kg−1 for Pb. Conclusions. The present study examined the concentrations of As, Cd, Hg and Pb in the soil of several small-scale gold mining sites in Banmauk Township, Myanmar. The results demonstrated the presence of high concentrations of heavy metals in the soil of the gold mining sites. Miners in this area work without proper personal protective equipment, and frequent exposure to heavy metals in the soil may cause adverse health effects. The present study provides baseline data for future risk assessment studies of heavy metal contamination in gold mines. Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests

scholarly journals Review Of The Small Scale Gold Mining Practices At Cineam, Tasikmalaya Regency, West Java, Indonesia

1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-11
Author(s):  
Hutamadi Hutamadi ◽  
Bambang Nugroho Widi ◽  
Sabtanto Joko Suprapto
Keyword(s):  
Gold Deposit ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Mining Operation ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Gold Content ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
West Java ◽  
Gold Miners

Gold deposit at Cineam area is an epithermal gold deposit of low sulphidation type which lies about 180 km southeast of Bandung at an elevation of 400 meter above the mean sea level. The Cineam deposit is administratively belongs to Cineam Subdistrict , Tasikmalaya Regency, West Java Province, which dominantly occurred within volcanic rocks unit of Jampang Formation. Alterations developed in this area namely propylite, argillic, sericitation, and silisification, occurred in andesitic lava, volcanic breccia, and andesitic to dacitic tuff. The thickness of gold bearing quartz veins are commonly from few cm up to > 20 cm, while for the veins of higher grade of gold content the thickness are about 5 cm or less. The average grade of gold content is around 6 - 10 gr/t Au. Although Cineam gold deposits can not be classified as a big scale deposit, itsmineral genesis has an interesting characteristic to be further studied. The Cineam area representing one of the most prospect areas of gold found in the eastern part of West Java Southern Mountain Range. As the Cineam gold deposit is proportionally suitable for a small scale gold mine, the local government had already gave a mining license to a Family Firm in the form of a Village Unit Cooperation or “KUD” such as KUD Mekarjaya which had also been updated to become a B class of Exploitation License category that permitted for the realization of metallic exploitation. This action was in line with the implementation of Autonomy Policy since the year of 2001.Although KUD Mekarjaya’s mining production is relatively so small but in fact the mining activity is still being maintained to be daily earnings for the local gold miners to rely on. Within the long run of the local gold miners activity at Cineam which has been working since 1968, this condition can give rise to many well skilled and experienced labors in seeking for gold ores, in handling small scale gold mining works, and in obtaining for the bullions. In other side, on thecontrary, there are some negative actions must be kept under control such as the disposal of the waste or tailing directly into the river and the unsafely process of heating the amalgam to obtain the bullion including other improper ways done during the handling of their mining activities. Since the whole mining operation so far generally financed by individual investors it is very likely that small scale gold mining lacks of the capital needed for the mining operation. This condition is what the KUD always facing with so that management and financial matters can be a very serious problem affecting the progress of the KUD Mekarjaya From some presentation given by the CCOP-CASM Meeting in Bandung we can compare the condition of small scale mining in Indonesia. and that from other countries which have conducted good management in mining regulation and policy in relation with licensing, mining workers, tax payment and awareness of environment live in the vicinity of mining areas On account of that event this can be expected to motivate and encourage the policy anddecision makers either locally or centrally throughout Indonesia in giving more attention related to the guidance, monitoring and inspection of the implementation of small scale mining activities which is actually growing in numbers.

Deforestation and forest regeneration following small-scale gold mining in the Amazon: the case of Suriname

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry D. Peterson ◽  
Marieke Heemskerk
Keyword(s):  
Gold Mining ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Gold Rush ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Old Growth Forest

Despite scientific concern about Amazon deforestation and the impacts of the Amazon gold rush, few researchers have assessed the long-term impacts of small-scale gold mining on forest cover. This study estimates deforestation from gold mining and analyses the regeneration of abandoned mining areas in the Suriname Amazon. Fieldwork in December 1998 included observations and ecological measurements, as well as qualitative interviews with local miners about mining history and technology. Vegetation cover of abandoned mining sites of different ages was compared with that in old-growth forest. By present estimates, gold miners clear 48–96 km2 of old-growth forest in Suriname annually. Based on different assumptions about changes in technology and the amount of mining that takes place on previously mined sites, cumulative deforestation is expected to reach 750–2280 km2 by 2010. Furthermore, the analysis of abandoned mining sites suggests that forest recovery following mining is slow and qualitatively inferior compared to regeneration following other land uses. Unlike areas in nearby old-growth forest, large parts of mined areas remain bare ground, grass, and standing water. The area deforested by mining may seem relatively small, but given the slow forest recovery and the concentration of mining in selected areas, small-scale gold mining is expected to reduce local forest cover and ecosystem services in regions where mining takes place.

scholarly journals Food Security in Artisanal Mining Communities: An Exploration of Rural Markets in Northern Guinea

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 479
Author(s):  
Laetitia X. Zhang ◽  
Fatima Koroma ◽  
Mohammed Lamine Fofana ◽  
Alpha Oumar Barry ◽  
Sadio Diallo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Future Market ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mining Communities ◽  
Customer Needs ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Study Sites

The number of people engaged in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has grown rapidly in the past twenty years, but they continue to be an understudied population experiencing high rates of malnutrition, poverty, and food insecurity. This paper explores how characteristics of markets that serve ASM populations facilitate and pose challenges to acquiring a nutritious and sustainable diet. The study sites included eight markets across four mining districts in the Kankan Region in the Republic of Guinea. Market descriptions to capture the structure of village markets, as well as twenty in-depth structured interviews with food vendors at mining site markets were conducted. We identified three forms of market organization based on location and distance from mining sites. Markets located close to mining sites offered fewer fruit and vegetable options, as well as a higher ratio of prepared food options as compared with markets located close to village centers. Vendors were highly responsive to customer needs. Food accessibility and utilization, rather than availability, are critical for food security in non-agricultural rural areas such as mining sites. Future market-based nutrition interventions need to consider the diverse market settings serving ASM communities and leverage the high vendor responsiveness to customer needs.

Structural controls on hypozonal orogenic gold mineralization in the La Ronge Domain, Trans-Hudson Orogen, Saskatchewan

2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 1453-1471
Author(s):  
Bruno Lafrance ◽  
Larry M Heaman
Keyword(s):  
Gold Mineralization ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Orogenic Gold ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Structural Controls ◽  
Quartz Veins ◽  
Metavolcanic Rocks ◽  
Orogenic Gold Mineralization

The La Ronge Domain is a granite–greenstone belt in the Saskatchewan segment of the ca. 1.9–1.8 Ga Trans-Hudson Orogen. The La Ronge volcanic arc was accreted to the Archean Hearne craton from ca. 1.87 to 1.86 Ga. Subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath the accreted La Ronge – Hearne margin produced a voluminous suite of continental-arc intrusions. In the Waddy Lake area, the 1852.6 ± 1.5 Ma Corner Lake stock and 1859 ± 4 Ma and 1861 ± 2 Ma feldspar porphyry dykes crystallized from magmas generated from melting of the subducted oceanic slab. During the ca. 1.83–1.80 Trans-Hudson collision of the Hearne craton with the Archean Sask and Superior cratons, a penetrative regional foliation and a steeply plunging lineation formed within the La Ronge Domain. During further contraction across the domain, the deformation became localized in dextral and oblique-slip shear zones that generally follow contacts between more competent and less competent rock units. Orogenic gold mineralization is associated with quartz veins that are surrounded by hypozonal potassic and sulfidic alteration zones. The Komis gold deposit, the only past-producing gold mine in the Waddy Lake area, formed in the strain shadow of the Round Lake stock during the development of the regional foliation and lineation. Mineralization is associated with quartz veins that cut through tonalite dykes that behaved more brittlely than the surrounding metavolcanic rocks. The Golden Heart and Corner Lake gold deposits are hosted by south-side-up oblique-slip shear zones, which belong to a regional system of structures that extend from Saskatchewan to Manitoba.

scholarly journals Structural Evolution of the Rio das Velhas Greenstone Belt, Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Brazil: Influence of Proterozoic Orogenies on Its Western Archean Gold Deposits

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 983
Author(s):  
Orivaldo Ferreira Baltazar ◽  
Lydia Maria Lobato
Keyword(s):  
Greenstone Belt ◽  
Gold Mineralization ◽  
Structural Evolution ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Crenulation Cleavage ◽  
Quadrilátero Ferrífero ◽  
Tectonic Transport

The Quadrilátero Ferrífero region is located in the extreme southeast of the Brasiliano São Francisco craton, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It is composed of (i) Archean TTG granite-gneaissic terranes; (ii) the Archean Rio das Velhas greenstone belt; (iii) the Proterozoic metasedimentary and metavolcano-sedimentary covers. The Rio das Velhas rocks were deposited in the synformal NW–SE-directed Nova Lima basin. The Archean deformation converted the Nova Lima basin into an ample synclinorium with an eastern inverted flank. Archean orogenic gold mineralization within the Rio das Velhas greenstone belt rocks is controlled by NNW–SSE-directed, Archean regional shear zones subparallel to the strata of the Nova Lima synclinorium borders. Transamazonian and Brasiliano orogenies are superposed onto the Archean structures that control gold mineralization. In the eastern domain, Brasiliano fold-and-fault belts prevail, whereas in the western domain Archean and Transamazonian structures abound. The present study focus mainly is the western domain where the Cuiabá, Morro Velho, Raposos, Lamego and Faria deposits are located. Gold orebodies plunge to the E–NE and are tectonically controlled by the Archean D1–D2 deformation. The D3 Transamazonian compression—Which had a SE–NW vector sub-parallel to the regional mineralized Archean foliation/bedding—Buckled these structures, resulting in commonly open, synformal and antiformal regional folds. These are well documented near the gold deposits, with NE–SW axial traces and fold axes plunging to E–NE. Such folds are normal to inverted, NW-verging, with an axial planar foliation dipping moderately to the SE. The Transamazonian compression has only been responsible for the reorientation of the mineralized Archean gold ores, due to coaxial refolding characterized by an opposite tectonic transport. It has therefore not caused any other significant changes. Thrust shear zones, sub-parallel to the strong Transamazonian foliation, have given rise to localized metric segmentation and to the dislocation of gold orebodies. Throughout the region, along the towns of Nova Lima to Sabará, structures pertaining to the Brasiliano Araçuaí orogeny are represented only by gentle folding and by a discrete, non-pervasive crenulation cleavage. Thrust-shear zones and small-scale normal faults have caused, at most, metric dislocations along N–S-oriented planes.

scholarly journals Pollution of mercury and cyanide soils and plants in surrounding in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) at Sekotong District, West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-37
Author(s):  
Suhadi Suhadi ◽  
Sueb Sueb ◽  
B. K. Muliya ◽  
Anisa Meilia Ashoffi
Keyword(s):  
Research Method ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Surface Soil ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Sample Analysis ◽  
Chemical Laboratory ◽  
Living Things ◽  
The Republic

The Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) activities at Sekotong District, NTB have a negative impact on the environment. This study aims to determine the content of mercury and cyanide in soil and plants around gold mining. The research method used is descriptive explorative. The research sample was taken purposively at 4 locations and sample analysis at the Chemical Laboratory of Universitas Brawijaya. The results showed that the Hg and HCN content in surface soil ranged from 2.90-26.94 and 63.93-104.08 mg/Kg, Hg and HCN in soil with a depth of 30 cm ranging from 3.48-53.86 and 66.59-106.55 mg/Kg. The Hg and HCN content in plants ranges from 1.23-8.15 and 18.41-52.85 mg/Kg. Referring to the standards set by WHO and the rules of Health the Republic Indonesia 2016, soil and plants have polluted and have a negative impact on other living things.

scholarly journals Spatializing Social Change: Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Upper Guinea

2021 ◽  
pp. 213-235
Author(s):  
Anna Dessertine
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Spatial Perspective ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Spatial Framework ◽  
Industrial Companies ◽  
Masculine Behavior ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis chapter proposes a spatial perspective on the analysis of social change in the making via a study of artisanal and small-scale gold-mining sites in Guinea based on twenty-two months of fieldwork between 2011 and 2019 in the region of Upper Guinea, where increasing numbers of inhabitants have been circulating between artisanal and small-scale mining sites to search for gold since the price of gold rose between 2008 and 2012. The chapter starts by discussing artisanal and small-scale mining spaces through the notion of hotspots of transition, insisting on their liminal character. This liminality is analyzed as a spatial framework in which new opportunities emerge regarding gender—women’s adoption of what is considered masculine behavior, for instance—and where instantaneity is more privileged than continuity in some actions, such as those associated with consumption. More generally, it shows how the potential for change in artisanal and small-scale mining spaces is closely linked to their ephemeral nature. The relationship between space and temporality is more explicitly discussed in the second part of the chapter, which explores how the ephemerality of artisanal and small-scale mining spaces has recently been challenged by the Guinean government’s move to control mining mobility and fix mining sites spatially by delimiting legal mining territories. Since 2015–2016, multiple military operations have been conducted to expel miners from land for which the Guinean State has given industrial companies legal permits to prospect for and mine gold. This part of the chapter analyzes the socio-spatial consequences of this situation and shows that perceptions of time and of social change are constructed by the forms that space take.

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