Small Mines Tested by Standards
Artisanal mines, which represent 150 million people worldwide, struggle to assert themselves against large corporations. Safety, traceability, ethics: the challenges are numerous, but promising initiatives are paving the way.
Small-scale artisanal mines represent 150 million people worldwide, across all sectors, and 25% of diamond mines. They are far from being a minor phenomenon. In the precious stones and metals sector, they face multiple challenges. The first is to carry out extraction work safely, starting with shoring up the mines and securing underground tunnels. Another challenge is to be able to enter the international market, which is most often dominated by the major players in the industry. However, artisanal mines are often managed by a few villagers who lack both the necessary understanding of the mechanisms and the financial means to access it, especially as an additional requirement is added: that of traceability and ethics. These small artisans will have to prove that they comply with the imposed standards (safety, social rights, labor rights, environmental protection, calling on suppliers upstream and downstream who also respect the standards, etc.). In addition, a portion of the profits must be redistributed for the benefit of the local population (infrastructure, health, food, education...) in order to create a virtuous ecosystem. These criteria are now essential in order to be approved on the international market. /public-objects/8d9e812c-db3e-407b-9975-51da62ba69a4-5b76887b-b523-4bda-b07a-eb2bbc83fd22-Washplant_1-red-1-768x576.webp Image sélectionnée There are some commendable initiatives to highlight, which combine all of these elements. GemFair (a De Beers group) assists 136 small diamond mining sites (2,000 people) in Sierra Leone, while Diamonds do Good funds community projects around the mine ($365,000 in grants in 2024). In Tanzania and Kenya, Moyo Gems has already sold 10,000 colored stones from artisanal mines and guarantees that 95% of the proceeds go back to them. More well-known, the Fairtrade and Fairmined labels for ethical gold have a reputation for being highly demanding in terms of labor rights, environmental respect (gold mines use highly toxic products), and traceability.