Small-Scale Mining in Africa: Tackling Pressing Environmental Problems With Improved Strategy

Small-scale mining—low-tech mineral extraction and processing—has long been an important industry in Africa. For centuries, operations have provided inhabitants of the rural, more impoverished regions of the continent with a wealth of employment benefits and, more recently, have made important contributions to mineral wealth and foreign exchange earnings. However, the small-scale mining operations of Africa have also caused considerable environmental complications, including chronic soil degradation, chemical contamination, and air pollution. The aim of the present article is to provide an overview of the environmental complications associated with small-scale mining activity in Africa and to outline some environmental strategies that, if adopted, could mitigate these problems. Marked industrial environmental improvements can only be achieved if government agencies and international organizations play an expanded role in providing African small-scale miners with the economical, technological, and educational resources needed to operate more efficiently.