Difference between revisions of "Informal mining (Global)"

Informal mining has deep historical roots throughout the world, but recent changes in the world economy through the decline of agriculture, logging, foraging and state-sponsored employment have caused increasing numbers of people to become informal miners. The World Bank put the number of informal miners in 2014 at 13 million. Meanwhile, as many as 100 million people are estimated to depend on informal mining in 80 countries across the world (Hentschel, Hrushka and Priester 2002<ref>Hentschel T., Hruschka F. and Priester M. 2002. Global Report on Artisanal & Small-Scale Mining. London: International Institute for Environmental Development http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G00723.pdf</ref>). The spread of informal mining has been further fueled by the rollback of state regulation of the economy in the Global South. Recent neoliberal reforms there mean that state companies that had traditionally held a monopoly over access to leases and employment have effectively been disenfranchised in many states. As a result, informal mining associations have sprung up across the world to compete for loan and credit opportunities (Bridge 2012<ref>Bridge, G. 2011. ‘Resource Geographies 1: Making Carbon Economies, Old and New,’ Progress in Human Geography 35(6): 820-834.</ref>; Camba 2015<ref>Camba, A. 2015. ‘From Colonialism to Neoliberalism: Critical Reflections on Philippine Mining in the “Long Twentieth Century”,’ Extractive Industries and Society 2(2): 287-301.</ref>; Hilson 2010<ref>Hilson G. 2010. ‘Challenges with Eradicating Child Labour in the Artisanal Mining Sector: Experiences from Northern Ghana,’ Journal of Community Practice: organizing, planning, development and change 41(3): 445-473.</ref>, 2012<ref>Hilson G. 2012. ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in the Extractive Industries: Experiences from Developing Countries,’ Resources Policy 37(2): 131-137.</ref>).

Informal mining has deep historical roots throughout the world, but recent changes in the world economy through the decline of agriculture, logging, foraging and state-sponsored employment have caused increasing numbers of people to become informal miners. The World Bank put the number of informal miners in 2014 at 13 million. Meanwhile, as many as 100 million people are estimated to depend on informal mining in 80 countries across the world (Hentschel, Hrushka and Priester 2002<ref>Hentschel T., Hruschka F. and Priester M. 2002. Global Report on Artisanal & Small-Scale Mining. London: International Institute for Environmental Development http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G00723.pdf</ref>). The spread of informal mining has been further fueled by the rollback of state regulation of the economy in the Global South. Recent neoliberal reforms there mean that state companies that had traditionally held a monopoly over access to leases and employment have effectively been disenfranchised in many states. As a result, informal mining associations have sprung up across the world to compete for loan and credit opportunities (Bridge 2012<ref>Bridge, G. 2011. ‘Resource Geographies 1: Making Carbon Economies, Old and New,’ Progress in Human Geography 35(6): 820-834.</ref>; Camba 2015<ref>Camba, A. 2015. ‘From Colonialism to Neoliberalism: Critical Reflections on Philippine Mining in the “Long Twentieth Century”,’ Extractive Industries and Society 2(2): 287-301.</ref>; Hilson 2010<ref>Hilson G. 2010. ‘Challenges with Eradicating Child Labour in the Artisanal Mining Sector: Experiences from Northern Ghana,’ Journal of Community Practice: organizing, planning, development and change 41(3): 445-473.</ref>, 2012<ref>Hilson G. 2012. ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in the Extractive Industries: Experiences from Developing Countries,’ Resources Policy 37(2): 131-137.</ref>).

Informal mining relies on labor-intensive methods to extract minerals. Manual labour such as shoveling, picking, digging and extracting, and the use of explosives such as mercury and cyanide, are common features in underground mining-tunnels. While capital-intensive mining digs deep into specific sites, informal mining tends to move on to other sites as soon as easily accessible mineral deposits have been gathered (Camba 2015<ref>Camba, A. 2015. ‘From Colonialism to Neoliberalism: Critical Reflections on Philippine Mining in the “Long Twentieth Century”,’ Extractive Industries and Society 2(2): 287-301.</ref>; Hilson and Garforth 2013<ref>Hilson G. and Garforth C. 2013. ‘“Everyone Now is Concentrating on the Mining”: Drivers and Implications of Rural Economic Transition in the Eastern Region of Ghana,’ The Journal of Development Studies 49(3): 348-364.</ref>). Membership in an informal mining firm is subject to social and market concerns, which include community involvement, ethnic kinship and families (ELLA 2012<ref>ELLA (Evidence and Lessons from Latin America). 2012. ‘Small-Scale and Informal Mining: A Big Problem for Latin American States.’ Policy Brief. 6 December. http://ella.practicalaction.org/knowledge-brief/small-scale-and-informal-mining-a-big-problem-for-latin-american-states/</ref>; Hilson 2012<ref>Hilson G. 2012. ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in the Extractive Industries: Experiences from Developing Countries,’ Resources Policy 37(2): 131-137.</ref>). As organisations grow to employ more people and as demand for minerals increases, market-based employment concerns take increasing precedence over social ones.

Informal mining relies on labor-intensive methods to extract minerals. Manual labour such as shoveling, picking, digging and extracting, and the use of explosives such as mercury and cyanide, are common features in underground mining-tunnels. While capital-intensive mining digs deep into specific sites, informal mining tends to move on to other sites as soon as easily accessible mineral deposits have been gathered (Camba 2015<ref>Camba, A. 2015. ‘From Colonialism to Neoliberalism: Critical Reflections on Philippine Mining in the “Long Twentieth Century”,’ Extractive Industries and Society 2(2): 287-301.</ref>; Hilson and Garforth 2013<ref>Hilson G. and Garforth C. 2013. ‘“Everyone Now is Concentrating on the Mining”: Drivers and Implications of Rural Economic Transition in the Eastern Region of Ghana,’ The Journal of Development Studies 49(3): 348-364.</ref>). Membership in an informal mining firm is subject to social and market concerns, which include community involvement, ethnic kinship and families (ELLA 2012<ref>ELLA (Evidence and Lessons from Latin America). 2012. ‘Small-Scale and Informal Mining: A Big Problem for Latin American States.’ Policy Brief. 6 December. http://ella.practicalaction.org/knowledge-brief/small-scale-and-informal-mining-a-big-problem-for-latin-american-states/</ref>; Hilson 2012<ref>Hilson G. 2012. ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in the Extractive Industries: Experiences from Developing Countries,’ Resources Policy 37(2): 131-137.</ref>). As organisations grow to employ more people and as demand for minerals increases, market-based employment concerns take increasing precedence over social ones.