Small-scale mining, rural subsistence and poverty in West Africa / edited by Gavin M. Hilson.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hilson, Gavin M.

Hazel M. Hussong Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mineral industries--Africa, West.

Mineral industries.

Mines and mineral resources--Africa, West.

Mines and mineral resources.

Mineral industries--Developing countries.

Developing countries.

Mines and mineral resources--Developing countries.

West Africa.

Physical Description:

xxi, 323 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Rugby, Warwickshire : Practical Action Publishing, 2006.

Summary:

In recent decades, Africa's poverty-driven artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector has attracted significant donor aid. To date, millions of dollars have been pledged toward the design, redesign, and implementation of efficient equipment at sites, providing industry support services, and improving the quality-of-life of subsistence operators. The majority of initiatives, however, have been undertaken without careful analysis of, and interaction with, target communities; consequently, there has been minimal improvement overall in a rapidly expanding industry in dire need of assistance.

This book aims to facilitate a radical change in the way in which policies and support services are implemented for ASM by underscoring the importance of improving understanding of the industry's population and industry dynamics. Focusing upon the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the book raises important questions concerning the general approach taken to deliver support for ASM, and presents findings from community-based research, a key to strengthening industry policy and assistance. Essential reading for engineering and geological consultants, academics, practitioners, and government officials involved with research and policy implementation in the sector.

Contents:

Pt. 1. Artisanal and small-scale mining in West Africa: An overview / Gavin H. Hilson

Poverty and economic development in West Africa: a historical analysis / Christopher J. Hilson

Poverty and artisanal mining in West Africa / Gavin M. Hilson

Artisanal and small-scale mining in West africa: an overview of sustainable development and environmental issues / Matthew Gibb

Mercury: an agent of poverty in West Africa's small-scale gold-mining industry / Sandra Pardie and Gavin M. Hilson

Fostering cooperation between small- and large- scale gold miners in West Africa / Richard K. Amankwah and C. Anim-Sackey

Artisanal and small-scale mining in West Africa: achieving sustainable development through environmental and human rights law / Karen MacDonald

Pt. 2. County case studies: francophone West Africa: Introduction / Gavin M. Hilson

Artisanal and small-scale mining in Mali: an overview / Dialla Konate

Artisanal and small-scale gold mines in Burkina Faso: today and tomorrow / Eric Jacques ... [et al.]

Artisanal gold mining in Burkina Faso: permits, poverty and perceptions of the poor in Sanmatenga, the 'land of gold' / Sabine Luning

Artisanal gold mining in northern Benin: a sociocultural perspective / Tilo Grèatz

Pt. 3. Country case studies: Anglophone West Africa: Introduction / Gavin M. Hilson

Diamonds, poverty and war in Sierra Leone / Victor A.B. Davies

Reflections on the political economy of artisanal diamond mining in Kono District, Sierra Leone / Estelle Levin

Perspectives on diamond mining and public health in Akwatia, Ghana / Kaakpema Yelpaala and Saleem H. Ali

Socioeconomic, environmental and policy implications of alluvial diamond mining in the Birim diamondiferous field, eastern Ghana / Frank K. Nyame and S.K.A. Danso

'Live and let live': the relationship between artisanal/small-scale and large-scale miners at Abosso Goldfields, Ghana / Anthony Kwesi Aubynn

Strained relations: a critical assessment of the mining conflict in Prestea, Ghana / Gavin M. Hilson and Natalia Yakovleva

Addressing the environmental challenges of artisanal and small-scale mining in Nigeria / Miriam Anike Lawal

Postscript: progress on the horizon? / Gavin M. Hilson.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [295]-311) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Hazel M. Hussong Fund.

ISBN:

185339629X

9781853396298

1853396354

9781853396359

OCLC:

80145453