Gobernanza de la gestión y el reprocesamiento de los relaves de la minería aurífera artesanal y de pequeña escala: tendencias mundiales

The report examines the critical issue of tailings management in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), highlighting the prevalence of hazardous chemicals like mercury and cyanide. It identifies a significant gap in international, regional, and national governance, noting that most frameworks lack specific provisions for ASGM tailings. The document advocates for the formalization of the sector, the creation of specific legal frameworks for tailings management, and the integration of gender-sensitive approaches to protect women and children. It also suggests exploring the potential of ASGM tailings as a source of critical minerals and encourages collaboration between ASGM and large-scale mining (LSM) to transfer technical expertise.

• Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) involves approximately 20 million people across 80 countries and contributes 20% of the global annual gold supply, but it is also the largest anthropogenic source of mercury emissions.
• ASGM tailings are frequently managed inadequately due to a lack of technical capacity, often being released directly into the environment or stored in ponds without containment or stabilization measures.
• Cyanidation is the most common method for recovering residual gold from tailings, but applying it to tailings already containing mercury is identified as a "worst practice" under the Minamata Convention.
• Current governance of ASGM tailings is insufficient at all levels: international governance is limited to two chemical-focused guides, most regional blocs lack ASGM frameworks, and national laws often lack specific provisions for ASGM waste, leading to confusion over operator responsibilities.
• ASGM tailings represent a potential source of critical minerals, which could change how they are managed if mapping and characterization are implemented to enable secondary extraction.
• Women are active in the ASGM tailings value chain, yet gender issues are largely absent from tailings management agendas, necessitating targeted programs for leadership, financing, and childcare.

APA

Mutemeri, N., de Tomi, G., Naré, C., Bellois, G., Weldegiorgis, F., & Taquiri, J. (2024). Gobernanza de la gestión y el reprocesamiento de los relaves de la minería aurífera artesanal y de pequeña escala: tendencias mundiales. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/igf-asgm-tailings-management-reprocessing-governance-summary-es.pdf

Chicago

Mutemeri, Nellie, Giorgio de Tomi, Clémence Naré, Grégoire Bellois, Fitsum Weldegiorgis, and Jaqueline Taquiri. Gobernanza de la gestión y el reprocesamiento de los relaves de la minería aurífera artesanal y de pequeña escala: tendencias mundiales. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/igf-asgm-tailings-management-reprocessing-governance-summary-es.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mutemeri |first1=Nellie |last2=de Tomi |first2=Giorgio |last3=Naré |first3=Clémence |last4=Bellois |first4=Grégoire |last5=Weldegiorgis |first5=Fitsum |last6=Taquiri |first6=Jaqueline |title=Gobernanza de la gestión y el reprocesamiento de los relaves de la minería aurífera artesanal y de pequeña escala: tendencias mundiales |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=May 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/igf-asgm-tailings-management-reprocessing-governance-summary-es.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mutemeri2024gobernanza, author = {Mutemeri, Nellie and de Tomi, Giorgio and Naré, Clémence and Bellois, Grégoire and Weldegiorgis, Fitsum and Taquiri, Jaqueline}, title = {{Gobernanza de la gestión y el reprocesamiento de los relaves de la minería aurífera artesanal y de pequeña escala: tendencias mundiales}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/igf-asgm-tailings-management-reprocessing-governance-summary-es.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }