scholarly journals History, Current Situation and Challenges of Gold Mining in Ecuador’s Litoral Region

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1220
Author(s):  
Carlos Mestanza-Ramón ◽  
Selene Paz-Mena ◽  
Carlos López-Paredes ◽  
Mirian Jimenez-Gutierrez ◽  
Greys Herrera-Morales ◽  
...  

Gold mining in Ecuador has been present in the country since Inca times; over the years interest in the mineral has increased, leading to the creation of legislation to control the mining sector in a safe manner. The Litoral region consists of seven provinces, six of which have registered gold concessions; the most affected provinces are El Oro and Esmeraldas. The objective of this study was to analyze the historical and current situation of artisanal and industrial gold mining in the Litoral region of Ecuador. Different methodologies were used for the elaboration of this study, including bibliographic review, grey literature, field interviews and a validation of expert judgment. The main results indicate that El Oro and Esmeraldas are essentially the most conflictive areas in the region, as they have sometimes had to establish precautionary measures due to the risks caused by illegal mining. In addition, in both areas there is a great socioeconomic impact ranging from lack of opportunities, forgetfulness, migration, emigration, and violation of rights, among others. With respect to environmental impacts, the study highlights the contamination of water sources (which leads to a lack of drinking water for people), and damage to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Finally, the study concludes that the authorities should control the mining sector more by implementing more laws and carrying out inspections to put an end to illegal gold mining, in order to improve the situation in the areas.

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel J. Spiegel

ABSTRACTAlthough conflict in Zimbabwe's diamond mining sector has recently received much international scrutiny, very little research has examined conflict in Zimbabwe's gold mining sector. This article analyses how a nationwide crackdown calledOperation Chikorokoza Chapera(‘No More Illegal Mining’) affected – and ‘disciplined’ – livelihoods in profound ways in both licensed and unlicensed gold mining regions. Drawing on interviews conducted between 2006 and 2013 with artisanal miners in the Insiza, Umzingwani and Kadoma areas as well as miners who crossed the border to Mozambique, the study reveals how a highly politicised crackdown led to uneven consequences. The analysis highlights both structural and physical violence, with more than 25,000 miners and traders arrested between 2006 and 2009 and more than 9,000 still imprisoned in 2013. Situating the crackdown within evolving political and economic interests, the study contributes to an understanding of how simplified discourses on ‘eradicating illegal mining’ mislead and mask power dynamics, while policing activities transform patterns of resource control. The study also emphasises that conceptualisations of the crackdown's legacy should carefully consider the agency of artisanal miners' associations, which, in some cases, have been actively seeking to resist coercive policies and rebuild livelihoods in the aftermath ofOperation Chikorokoza Chapera.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abdelaal ◽  
◽  
Mohamed Sultan ◽  
R.V. Krishnamurthy ◽  
Mustafa Kemal Emil ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Siqueira-Gay ◽  
Luis E. Sánchez

AbstractIncreased prices and political pressure are boosting illegal gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon, threatening forests, indigenous people, and conservation of biodiversity in protected areas. The rate of illegal mining deforestation increased more than 90% from 2017 to 2020, reaching 101.7 km2 annually in 2020 compared to 52.9 km2 annually in 2017. In that period, illegal mining deforestation rate grew more than the rate of clearing within mining leases. While formal mining is required to comply with environmental regulations, most small-scale or artisanal mining and especially illegal mining areas are abandoned after reserves are exhausted, without proper rehabilitation. Deforestation due to illegal mining is likely to increase in the next years, calling for coordination between local and regional policies as well as for strengthening and expanding international mechanisms to increase traceability of mineral supply chains with certification schemes to help to curb illegal mining.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Arroja Eshun ◽  
E. Okyere

In recent times, stakeholders in the mining sector have expressed concerns about the environmental degradation and the social impacts of uncontrolled Small Scale Mining (SSM) activities in Ghana despite the existence of legislative instruments that define the procedures required for the acquisition of licences and operations of SSM activities in the country. This paper assesses the challenges in policy implementation in the small scale gold mining sector of Ghana by reviewing policies on regularisation and environmental management. It further identifies challenges faced by small scale mining operators in adhering to laid down policies for the smooth operation of the sector and furthermore assesses the views of some principal stakeholders on the benefits and challenges of small scale mining using the Dunkwa mining district as a test case. The methods employed include: field visits to some  small scale mining sites within the Dunkwa mining district; interviews and questionnaire administration; and statistical and content analysis of data. The study reveals the following factors, among others, to have contributed largely to the difficulty in regularisation, environmental and social challenges that have plagued the SSM sector: low level of education of majority of miners; bureaucracies and centralisation of licence acquisition processes; lack of sources of finance for SSM projects; lack of geological information on mineable areas; and lack of adequate knowledge of the laws and regulations on mining and environment. In addressing the challenges the following recommendations are made: decentralisation of the regularisation processes to simplify licence acquisition; adequate geological investigations should be undertaken on SSM blocked-out areas to reduce the try and error mining approach adopted by miners; and continuous education and training of miners on good mining and environmental practices. Keywords: Small Scale Mining, Mineral Policies, Environmental Impact, Regularisation, Challenges


2012 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalmo Arantes de Barros ◽  
João Carlos Costa Guimarães ◽  
José Aldo Alves Pereira ◽  
Luis Antônio Coimbra Borges ◽  
Rossi Allan Silva ◽  
...  

The intensive use of mineral resources brings along significant changes to the environment. The mining sector is essential for world economics, as long as it is operated on a basis that is technically coherent, socially fair and environmentally correct. This study aimed to characterize the bauxite mining of the Poços de Caldas plateau, MG, investigating its respective socio-environmental impacts. Through the overview presented, one can conclude that in most situations, the bauxite miningat the Poços de Caldas plateau mitigates its negative social and environmental impacts in a satisfactory manner in addition to generating positive social impacts; and the restoration methods of the mining-disturbed ecosystems have been continually improved and should be replicated by small-and-medium-sized companies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Edward Johnson

<p><b>The gold mining industry in Ghana is characterised by complexity in terms of its extended/sequential operations, its system-wide reach, its multiple stakeholders, and the variety of formal and informal organisations that constitute the industry. Perceptions of the industry differ considerably amongst stakeholders, depending on their stakes and interests, knowledge, understanding, involvement and agency within or without the sector. Studies of the industry to date have overlooked these diverse viewpoints and used limited-scope, single-frame analyses. However, they have highlighted wide-ranging industry issues that impact the diversity of stakeholders, which could benefit from a fuller and more comprehensive analysis.</b></p> <p>This study addresses this need by adopting a multi-framing systems-based approach. Data was examined and analysed through a variety of systems-based lenses and frames, including a stakeholder analysis (SA) frame, a causal loop modelling (CLM) frame, supply chain analysis (SCA) frame and the Theory of Constraints (TOC) Thinking Processes analytical frames lenses. First the Current Reality Tree (CRT) tool of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) was used to synthesise information from the literature examined, providing an initial provisional CRT model. Interview data was collected by sharing and seeking feedback to the CRT model at multiple levels of the industry, giving voice to stakeholders throughout the sector. Subsequent analysis used all the modelling frameworks mentioned above in a multi-framing analysis.</p> <p>In particular, the evaporating cloud (EC) tool from TOC was used to structure and develop potential solutions to conflict highlighted by the literature review, the SA, SCA and CLM. Building on this, a final CRT was developed, and a goal tree (GT) used to design the desired future whilst employing the future reality tree (FRT) to test the plausibility of solutions from the EC to deliver the desired future. The prerequisite tree (PRT) was then used to identify obstacles and intermediate objectives that must be overcome for successful transition to the desired future.</p> <p>Insights from the research shows a desire by multi-national large scale-gold mining companies and government alike to minimise adverse impacts and maximise the sector’s outcomes for key stakeholders, including those at the community level. However, the research has documented many instances of actions taken to address issues and improve outcomes that have instead resulted in unresolved dilemmas and paradoxes, failing to achieve desired outcomes.</p> <p>A number of factors have been identified as being responsible for these situations. Key amongst them is a limited understanding to deliver desired outcome for stakeholders without compromises, a focus on short-term goals, no collective effort, and arms-length/win-lose relationships amongst the Ghanaian stakeholders of the industry.</p> <p>The study’s concluding findings and results allow decision makers to benefit significantly from the study through its recommendations and showcasing of tools that may allow them to make sound decisions and address endogenous and exogenous cause-effect relationships limiting desirable outcomes from actions taken.</p> <p>Theoretical and knowledge-based contributions are made by conceptualising and offering evidence for three key factors or dimensions that can explain a significant number of issues limiting desirable outcomes for stakeholders of the gold mining industry. These include difficulty to transition from theory (espoused aims) to practice, a relative focus on local optima (silo thinking), poor monitoring (lack of evaluation), and a control culture. Methodological contributions are made by demonstrating the application of a multi-framing approach in a more organic and iterative manner as opposed to its use in a designed sequence, working down through layers of various systemic levels of an industry (in this case, the gold mining industry in Ghana). By so doing, the study builds on and extends the practicality of the multi-framing approach and stimulates further research in the field.</p> <p>In terms of its contribution to practice, the study provides Government, political and mining sector policy decision makers, and other interested actors, with a platform for understanding the sector in order to support their decision making about the industry to ultimately improve outcomes for key stakeholders. In particular, the study allows mining sector policy decision makers and other stakeholders to recognise complexity, uncertainty and conflicts that are embedded in the mining system and in their everyday decision-making activities about the industry. It also allows these stakeholders to become more aware that such issues can be addressed and improved by identifying and focusing on one or few underlying causes.</p> <p>This thesis draws on systems-based frameworks drawn both from functional management, for example, the supply chain and value chain frameworks of operations management and the stakeholder framework of strategic management, and from the broad domain of systems thinking (ST) and systems-based methodologies; and then focuses on the intersection of these frameworks in relation to the gold mining sector in Ghana. Due to the wide range of techniques applied, none are over-explored, creating potential for further research. On the other hand, with regard to explanations, depending on background, practitioners, and researchers familiar with some techniques may consider those sections over-explained. The researcher has sought a balance for the purpose of this study. Whilst limiting the scope of this work has been necessary in the context of doctoral study, topics ripe for future research are set out in the conclusion.</p>


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