Mechanisation-Alluvial-Artisanal-Diamond-Mining

7 FinAL ThouGHTS
There are examples from around the world where
artisanal miners have brought themselves from the
most basic of operations to running proper smallor
even medium-scale mines in their countries
of origin. These examples, however, are rare.
Countries rarely create an enabling environment
for artisanal miners and, instead of nurturing
their indigenous sector through targeted efforts
to professionalise their artisanal miners into
proper corporate miners, they prefer to rather
facilitate investment and mine development by
foreign actors. This may be cheaper and easier,
and bringing more immediate gains, especially
for the state. But emphasising a nation’s artisanal
sector can bring more sustainable development
and larger gains in the longer-term for the people
and eventually the state (Tibbett 2009). Helping
artisanal miners mechanise their operations as
part of an integrated approach to formalisation
could help create a culture of professionalisation,
which would nurture more sustainable local
and national development. As this study has
shown, mechanisation (or formalisation) alone,
however, cannot achieve these development gains.
An integrated approach is required, incorporating
investment in the addressing of other barriers to
development in ASM.
5. Front hoe extracting the gravel
sand at the bottom of a trench, Ghana
Although facilitating investment
and mine development by foreign
actors may be cheaper, easier and
brings more immediate gains for
the state, advancing the nation’s
artisanal sector can bring more
sustainable development and large
gains in the longer-term for the
people, and eventually the state.
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