CLIMBING THE INCLUSION LADDER: ARTISANAL GOLD MINING IN TANZANIA

The document examines artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Tanzania as a critical but under-governed source of employment and income. It argues that while the sector provides a vital livelihood for approximately 1.5 million people, it is plagued by severe health and safety risks, specifically mercury poisoning and pit collapses, and environmental degradation such as deforestation. The author contends that current legislation, specifically the 2010 Mining Act, prioritizes large-scale mining (LSM) and creates bureaucratic and financial barriers that marginalize artisanal miners. To harness the sector's potential, the paper recommends lowering licensing costs, improving geological information access, and implementing context-sensitive technology rollouts, such as mercury-recycling retorts, through partnerships between the government, private sector, and international organizations.

• Artisanal mining is a massive employment engine in Tanzania, directly employing at least 1.5 million people and supporting 9 million dependents.
• The sector is characterized by severe occupational hazards, including frequent pit collapses during the rainy season and widespread mercury poisoning.
• Mercury use in gold extraction causes significant health and environmental damage, including neuropsychological disorders in humans and the bio-accumulation of toxic methylmercury in aquatic ecosystems.
• The use of mercury-recycling retorts is identified as the most effective interim technological solution to reduce health risks and costs, as they can recycle up to 95% of mercury.
• Artisanal mining contributes to deforestation and the creation of abandoned pits, which threatens food security and undermines the effectiveness of forests as carbon sinks.
• The 2010 Mining Act is criticized for favoring large-scale mining (LSM) and imposing prohibitively high costs and bureaucratic hurdles for artisanal miners seeking formalization.
• There is a significant conflict between large-scale and artisanal miners, often stemming from the allocation of land rights to corporates over existing informal customary claims.
• Tanzania's narrow tax base, where fewer than 500 companies provided 43% of government revenues in 2015, underscores the need to formalize and tax the artisanal mining sector.
• The UN's REDD initiative may inadvertently marginalize artisanal miners if it restricts access to mineral reserves in forested areas without considering rural livelihood sustainability.

APA

HARVEY, R. (2017). CLIMBING THE INCLUSION LADDER: ARTISANAL GOLD MINING IN TANZANIA. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Occasional-Paper-259.pdf

Chicago

HARVEY, ROSS. CLIMBING THE INCLUSION LADDER: ARTISANAL GOLD MINING IN TANZANIA. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2017. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Occasional-Paper-259.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=HARVEY |first1=ROSS |title=CLIMBING THE INCLUSION LADDER: ARTISANAL GOLD MINING IN TANZANIA |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2017 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Occasional-Paper-259.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{harvey2017climbing, author = {HARVEY, ROSS}, title = {{CLIMBING THE INCLUSION LADDER: ARTISANAL GOLD MINING IN TANZANIA}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2017}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Occasional-Paper-259.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }