Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining with Alec Sellem — Geeks News
By: Alec Sellem
Tags: Gold, Human Rights, Artisanal Mining

Alec Sellem is a renowned mining specialist and human rights activist based in London. He has been invited to join the panel of energy experts at United Nations headquarters focusing on human rights in the exploration of energy and national resources in Africa. Sellem is the CEO and founder of Sellem Industries LLC and works closely with trade and business operations partners in Africa and South America. “It was an honor to be asked by the Paris 2 Pantheon Sorbonne University and the United Nations to discuss the current state of energy law in Africa and possible solutions to improve it,” Sellem said. His interests include the trends in Artisanal and small-scale mining and the laws currently in place to assess their overall effectiveness in protecting human rights and the environment.

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has seen a tremendous growth due in part to increased difficulty in profitable agriculture in some of the most impoverished and rural areas of the world. Artisanal and small-scale mining differs from large scale mining primarily with lower levels of investment and less use of mechanization. Local communities provide most of the labor force for ASM estimated at 40.5 million people in 2017 compared to 7 million in 2013. ASM is a source of employment for people in approximately 80 countries. Though the productivity is lower than that of large scale mining, it is still a significant source of minerals and metals. ASM accounts for about 20% of the world gold supply, 20% of the diamond supply and up to 80% of the sapphire supply. There are multiple factors that make ASM work with profitable outcomes for the investors and the communities they employ, but there are many issues that need to resolved to make ASM sustainable. Alec Sellem will focus on those types of human rights issues in the United Nations forum, and effective energy laws propose solutions for increasingly responsible mining.

Due to the location and demographics of most ASM mining operations, significant improvements and investments in the community must be made to the area prior to mining production. These improvements include educating the work force and communities and the creation or improvement to the existing infrastructure including power, water and roads. This lack of infrastructure in developing areas is a major obstacle in the development of economic activity in the ASM regions. Employment opportunities provided by ASM often provide jobs in areas with little or no economic activity.

Artisanal and small-scale mining consists primarily of unskilled local workers and migrant workers who move from site to site. While governments are realizing the importance of ASM in alleviating poverty in many areas of the world, health and environmental practices are often poor and not up to acceptable standards. Hazardous materials often used in mining put miners and the community in danger. The exposure of mercury, zinc, cyanide and other acids in gold mining are major concerns polluting farmlands, rivers and streams putting the health of communities in danger. More environmentally friendly mining practices are used in many Central America and Asian countries with the most damaging practices being used in Africa. Some countries have banned the use of mercury used in ASM. Most governments and environmental organizations have worked for decades to reduce the impact of mining on the environment by monitoring, training and introducing new technology. Clearly, there are obstacles to implementing the new technology including unwillingness to invest in the technology. There must be an education process demonstrating the efficiency of the new technology allowing the miners to witness improvements and informative training on the cleaner technology. There is not a “one size fits all.” Several technologies may be integrated to find one that works specifically for a location and is accepted by miners and investors. There are also geographic and other site-specific factors. The goal is to identify and customize technology to meet the human rights and environmental needs.

Currently, organizations are in place to address and work towards the integration of ASM into an area to maximize both mining production and the preservation of natural resources while maintaining responsible practices. Some of these include The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Fair Trade Mining Standards, the global Mercury Partnership, and the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM). These organizations work with investors, operators and workers to minimize the negative impact on human rights and the environment. Production by ASM can have a tremendously positive effect on economically deprived areas when guidelines and standards are followed and enforced and there is commitment and communication between investors, miners and communities. Continued efforts to address changing trends and to determine the effectiveness of current energy laws will be addressed by Sellem and a panel of energy experts. Their focus will be on what these laws and organizations do to support the energy policies and to determine their overall effectiveness and possible solutions to customize them to African nations to protect human rights.