Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is an invisible sector that has long been neglected by government programs and regulations. Giving due recognition and formalizing this poverty-driven sector will benefit not only poor ASGM communities on the ground but also the country as a whole.

 

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) are mining activities that use rudimentary techniques in extracting minerals, most commonly gold, by miners working in small-sized operations.

Globally, ASGM is an ancient industry that is still in existence in places such as Africa, Latin America and Asia. In the Philippines, this practice is believed to have existed for many centuries.

 

A poverty-driven industry

The primary characteristic of this sector is that it is largely poverty-driven.

Small-scale miners typically labor in harsh conditions usually with no proper training, protective equipment or pollution control measures. They process heavy sacks of ore, and if they use mercury to amalgamate the gold, are exposed daily to highly toxic poisons—all to extract a mere gram or two of gold.

ASGM activities are usually conducted in remote areas, often outside the reach of government rules and regulations. Because of their remote locations, the miners and their families either have no or little access to basic health care services. Most of these communities are susceptible to the breakout of diseases such as diarrhea and malaria.

In most traditional mining communities in the Philippines, small-scale gold mining is a family enterprise. Each family member, including women and children, has a defined role in the gold production process and some activities are conducted inside or in the vicinity of their homes. In some cases, children are driven or choose to work in mining, dropping out of school to help their family earn a living.

Some miners solely depend on gold mining for their subsistence while others are drawn into mining to augment the meager income they get from farming or fishing. They have no fixed wages and the income they receive depend purely on luck or the quantity of gold they are able to extract from a day’s work.

Lack of capital forces most miners to deal with unscrupulous financiers and loan sharks, some of whom are also gold and mercury traders. Whatever profit they eke out from their labors, for example PHP500 for a gram of gold processed from one sack, will usually still need to be divided among four miners and will also be used to pay for loans or the use of mills and other machinery or input.

Small-scale gold miners in the country may be classified as traditional or gold rush miners. Traditional gold mining employs indigenous methods and is carried out by communities or tribes for collective benefit. This type of ASGM is to some extent self-regulated by social norms and rituals. Gold rush mining, on the other hand, attracts poor migrants and others who work at site until it is exhausted and then move on to another gold rush area [1].

 

Contribution to the economy
The ASGM sector in the Philippines contributes significantly to the economy, making up as much as 80% of the country’s annual gold production [2]. It also provides direct employment to about 300,000-500,000 Filipinos in more than 40 provinces [3].By directly and indirectly supporting formal and informal businesses in the countryside, the industry also helps trigger rural economies. It is estimated that around two million Filipinos from marginalized sectors, including indigenous peoples, women and children, benefit directly and indirectly from the industry.
 
An undervalued and overlooked sector

However, ASGM’s contribution is undervalued and overlooked. National and local government and development agencies have given little attention to making the sector address its issues and challenges. A large percentage of the industry also remains undocumented and occurs illegally and without permits.

Some national policies are poorly designed and unresponsive to the development agenda of ASGM communities, and often these policies favor large-scale mining over the artisanal and small-scale sector.

The miners themselves lack access to government benefits, financial services, market information, training and technology they need to make the sector a prosperous economic activity and at the same time mitigate environmental and health impacts.

As a result, many small-scale miners are driven to operate informally—and it is this informal set-up that has generated biased attitudes about the ASGM sector as a whole [4].

 

Related laws and policies

ASGM has been devolved to provincial and city local governments by virtue of Republic Act 7076 (An Act Creating a People’s Small-scale Mining Program and for Other Purposes) and the Local Government Code of 1991.

Under Republic Act 7076, issuance of mining permits and licenses and the establishment of Peoples’ Small-Scale Mining Area (PSSMA, also called Minahang Bayan) shall be the responsibility of the Provincial or City Mining Regulatory Board, a multi-sectoral body that is under the supervision and control of the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The government recognizes ASGM only under the purview of the Minahang Bayan. Small-scale miners are expected to voluntarily form a cooperative to engage in the extraction or removal of minerals or ore-bearing materials from the ground [5]. The scope and limit of ASGM operation is further defined under the aforesaid decree. Small-scale contractees are allowed to mine up to 20 hectares per permit and extract up to 50,000 metric tons of ore per year [6].

 

Policy and other challenges

At present, there are only five registered Minahang Bayan areas in the country, hence majority of ASGM communities are informal. Although many mining communities around the country are organized into informal cooperatives, small-scale miners say that approval as a Minahang Bayan area is difficult; some cooperatives have applications that have been pending for around five years.

In the absence of a formally designated Peoples’ Small-Scale Mining Area, most mining operations are currently carried out in mineral-rich areas to which the miners have no legal titles. Mining activities are carried out in an ad hoc manner and often with disregard to safety and environmental standards.

The encroachment of miners within previously claimed lands and the unregulated migration of miners in gold rush areas have spawned conflicts that often result in violent confrontations among competing resource users.

Lack of formal recognition and support from the government has also led to poverty-related challenges in ASGM areas such as the exploitation of women and children, poor and inequitable labor practices, drug use, and so on.

The widespread use of mercury in ASGM is another serious challenge. Because the sector is unregulated, mercury use, although banned, is hardly monitored. Mercury is a highly toxic chemical. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) estimates that nearly 100% of all mercury used in ASGM is released into the environment. Mercury, aside from being extremely harmful to human health, persists in the environment in soil and water and bioaccumulates in organisms.

[1] Child labour in gold mining: The problem; International Labour Organization, International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), June 2006 (http://www.rimmrights.org/childmining/child_labour_in_gold_mining.htm)
[2] U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook; Mines and Geosciences Bureau; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
[3] Ban Toxics, The Price of Gold: Mercury Use and Current Issues Surrounding Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining in the Philippines; January 2011
[4] IEED, http://www.iied.org/iied-shines- light-small- scale-mining
[5] Section 3(c), RA 7076
[6] Presidential Decree 1899, otherwise known as the Law Establishing Small-Scale Mining as a New Dimension in Minerals Development.
Photo: Luis Liwanag/BAN Toxics