Needs Analysis for Capacity Building of
Artisanal Miners in Central Africa
Steven M. Rupprecht
University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
The artisanal mining sector in Central Africa is largely informal, yet provides an essential
livelihood for many (directly or indirectly) participants, as well as facilitating an
important source for the flow of income into many communities. Artisanal mining varies
from site to site, but appear largely well structured despite its informality. The artisanal
mining sites in Central Africa have some inherent management structure and the
extraction itself is often organised.
Artisanal mining is labour intensive and is generally conducted utilising hand digging
methods e.g. shovels or hand chisels. Artisanal mining is generally more dangerous than
small-scale or large-scale modern mining operations. This is especially true as artisanal
operations are generally subsistence activities with artisanal miners focusing more on
immediate concerns than the long-term consequences of their activities. When miners
have no other source of income, they will usually find ways to evade controls and carry
on working.
The objective, through proper/dedicated training of artisanal miners is to migrate
Artisanal mining to establish a small-scale mining (SSM) industry in Central Africa.
Through developing the necessary skills in the fundamental areas of mining it is
proposed that Artisanal Mining can become more productive and safer mining
operations.
The paper reviews the above focus areas, highlighting the skills and tools that are
necessary to assist in establishing a sustainable small scale mining industry migrating
from manual labour to semi-mechanised mining and processing. The purpose of the
transformation process is to create a safe, healthy, environmental and community
oriented mining operation with the objective to uplift the skills and wealth of the
mineworkers and the general community.
INTRODUCTION
The artisanal mining sector in Central Africa, namely Rwanda and Burundi, is largely informal, yet
provides an essential livelihood (directly or indirectly) for many participants, as well as facilitating an
important source for the flow of income into many communities. Artisanal mining varies from site to
site, but appears largely well structured despite its informality. The artisanal mining sites in Central
Africa have some inherent management structure and the extraction itself is often organised through
teams of about 10 to 20 diggers who co-operate in one working area, whether surface or underground.
The miners are generally accompanied by supporting crews, e.g., transporters, rock crushers, mineral
washers and waste-disposal crews.
Copper Cobalt Africa, incorporating the 8th Southern African Base Metals Conference
Livingstone, Zambia, 68 July 2015
Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy 45
Surface mining hazards for artisanal mining include highwall collapse or slumping, falling from
heights, rock falls from slopes above the workings and under mining of pit highwalls. Underground
hazards are associated with portal collapse, falls of ground, insufficient ventilation and falls from
heights. Artisanal mining is labour intensive and is generally conducted utilising hand-digging
methods, e.g., shovels, picks and hand chisels. Artisanal mining is generally more dangerous than
small- or large-scale modern mining operations. This is especially true because artisanal operations
are generally subsistence activities with artisanal miners focusing more on immediate concerns than
the long-term consequences of their activities. When miners have no other source of income, they will
usually find ways to evade controls and carry on working.
The objective of the University of Johannesburgs Artisanal Small Scale Mining Programme is to
establish small-scale mining (SSM) in Central Africa by transforming artisanal mining to more
productive and safer mining operations. An increase in productivity is a fundamental premise:
without productivity improvements, artisanal workers will not support safety initiatives, as safety
programmes often represent additional resources and work. The University of Johannesburgs
Artisanal Small Scale Mining Programme focuses on the actual mining process with the aim of
creating a sustainable mining industry, migrating from manual labour to semi-mechanized mining
and processing. The purpose of the transformation process is to create a safe, healthy,
environmentally friendly and community-oriented mining operation with the objective of uplifting
the skills and wealth of the workers, the general community and mine owners. An important
conclusion to the process is to create an empowered mining industry enabled to make informed
decisions and understand the opportunities created by exploiting natural resources.
DEFINITION OF ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING
For the purposes of the needs analysis, it is necessary to clearly differentiate between artisanal mining
and small-scale mining.
Artisanal Mining
The World Bank (1995) defines artisanal mining, as a type of manual, low technology mining
conducted on a small scale, predominantly in rural areas of the developing world. Artisanal mining
is the smallest and simplest mining operations, which involve the use of simple tools and the absence
of a formal enterprise. Because of the informal nature of these operations, even subsistence farmers get
involved on a seasonal basis.
Small-Scale Mining
Small-scale mining involves the use of basic mining and processing technology, such as mechanical
drilling and blasting, manual loading, hoisting, a mill with gravity concentrator and other similar
techniques. Traditional SSM includes licensed and registered non-mechanised or semi-mechanised
mining operations, usually run by individual or organised cooperatives. SSM hires labour and applies
basic management principles in their operations.
BACKGROUND TO RWANDA AND BURUNDI
Rwanda
There have been four major periods of mining in Rwanda (Perks, in press).
From the 1920s to 1974, mining was conducted largely of foreign operators;
Between 1974 and 1985, a post-independence joint venture operation existed;
From 1989 to 2000, a nationalised structure was implemented with limited success;
Privatisation or a foreign-led model as of 2000 to present day.
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Prior to 1994, mineral commodities typically provided 10% of Rwandas export earnings, mainly from
concentrates of tin, tungsten, and tantalum ores and gold bullion. Although the Rwandan minerals
sector has largely recovered since the 1994 genocide, many obstacles continue to impede optimal use
of its mineral resources. Among them include decreasing high-grade ores, lack of sufficient capital,
periods of civil unrest, massive population displacement, a 65% poverty rate, a shortage of skilled
labour, the country's landlocked status and transportation costs (amongst the highest in Africa), recent
increases in oil prices, persistent risks of Hutu extremist insurgency and involvement in two wars in
the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In 2000, the government privatised Regie d'Exloitation et de Developpement des Mines, the state
mining exploration company. The privatisation led to mineral production increases in tin ore (345 t),
tungsten ore (130 t,; tantalite ore and concentrate (83 t) and gold (10 kg) (Butura, 2014).
The Rwandan mineral industry consists mostly of a number of small companies with approximately
750 licences currently issued to cooperatives and individual artisanal miners who produce ores and
concentrates from locations dispersed across a 30 km-wide zone that extends eastwest through Kigali
(Kagabo, 2014). While some areas are legally operating, most activities are only marginally
mechanized, largely inefficient and characterised by widespread occupational safety and health risks.
Burundi
Burundi is a producer of columbium and tantalum (coltan) ore, tin ore, tungsten ore and gold, with
exploration taking place for rare earths. National gold production is reportedly 750 kg per year (2011)
and represents a large portion of the value of Burundis total mineral production. Machanga Limited
of Uganda and the Burundi Mining Corporation are responsible for mining much of the country's
primary gold reserves, which are concentrated in Muyinga Province in the north-east of the country.
In 2011, the production of coltan was estimated at 68 000 kg, while 30 t tin 340 t tungsten were
produced (USGS, 2011).
Burundi has identified the mining sector as a major factor for economic growth and revenue income.
The Burundian mining sector is dominated by informal small-scale mining activities targeting gold,
tungsten and tin, with no significant economic output for the national economy. However, the mineral
resource could allow for the development of an industrial mining sector. In the period 1960 to 1980,
the Geological Surveys of Belgium and France and Bundesanstalt fr Geowissenschaften und
Rohstoffe (BGR) inspected deposits of nickel and gold. Despite good results, these deposits have not
been exploited. Recent studies indicated a potential for hydrocarbons in Lake Tanganyika.
By granting prospecting and exploration licenses to private companies, the Burundian Government
has made the first step towards the development of an industrial mining sector. Due to the complex
nature of developing mining projects, including the large capital requirements to develop a mine, it
may be a number of years before the Burundi mining industry commences production and revenue
generation.
The present status of the Burundi mining sector is characterised by weak institutions with insufficient
capacities and technical knowledge.
GENERAL NATURE OF ARTISANAL MINING IN CENTRAL AFRICA
There is a wide range of skills and abilities currently exploiting the varied deposits, but, in general,
there is a low level of understanding of safe and compliant mining. The objective of government, non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) and other concerned parties is to find a safe and realistic
approach to improve mining conditions, raising independent operators safety, health and
environmental awareness and improving the overall productivity of the operations in a manner
appropriate to local circumstances while maintaining employment levels. The capacity of government
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to oversee the artisanal mining sector is limited and ineffective due to the inability to cover the area
under their responsibility, lack of financial support, few vehicles, shortage of personnel and a lack of
capacity and technical knowledge. The creation of an organisation to support small-scale mining,
whether by the government or private sector, is considered critical for the improvement of the
artisanal mining sector. Such an initiative is important so as to improve mine health, safety and
productivity.
The role of mineral traders is also important, as a trust-based relationship enables miners to receive
funding to develop their mining project. Examples may be funding to secure land for access to the
mine site, developing roadways or the hire of equipment to assist in establishing blocks of ground for
mining.
Any action taken should be transparent to the artisanal mining community and should be presented
to all stakeholders with real local ownership. The formalisation initiatives must secure local buy-in in
order to succeed and achieve long-term results.
SAFETY, HEALTH, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND UNDERSTANDING LIMITATIONS
There appears to be a gap in providing clear mine safety, health and environmental standards to
mining operations. Occupational safety, health and environmental guidelines, which are usually
unenforceable, are often set as mandatory codes of practice for mines and quarries. These guidelines
discuss safety, health and environmental issues in general and are suitable for formal small-scale
mining operations, rather than informal operations and are therefore, for the most part, irrelevant to
artisanal mining operations. The author is of the opinion that attempting to apply standard codes of
practices, which are developed and used by formal large-scale mining operations, to artisanal mining
may be detrimental, as unrealistic standards or expectations could be imposed on the mines and its
workers.
The implementation of mining standards to artisanal mining operations must be viewed in context.
Artisanal mining is currently subsistence work for most, thus safety standards may be seen as
interference and could negatively impact on a workers income. Therefore it is critical that mine
owners realise the importance of finding a balance between this and the need to improve the working
conditions. Standards must be relevant, with the concept that the introduction to safety measures
should be seen as a process requiring the relevant buy-in from a number of stakeholders; starting with
the miners themselves and including the mine owners, governmental agencies, the community and
mineral buyers. Together, appropriate minimum standards should be identified and progressive
improvement in standards established. The implementation of mine health and safety standards
should be seen as a process with immediate to short-, medium-, and long-term goals.
Artisanal miners must be able to understand the benefit of the proposed safety standards in order for
change to take place. Initial standards must be realistic and achievable so that immediate results can
be seen, thereby encouraging the miners to commit to and remain engaged in the process. Unrealistic
goals will result in noncompliance and failure. To some extent, mine owners will be required to
enforce basic safety standards. Failure to comply should result in corrective action being taken by the
government and the threat of losing technical or financial support by government or mineral buyers
should be used as further motivation.
Rewarding positive behaviour should be considered to jump start the safety process so as to create a
positive response. This could be in the form of an increase in salary or purchase price in the
metal/concentrate linked to general safety compliance and performance. It must be understood by all
participants that the transformation required will incur costs. The cost of such action needs to be
shared amongst government, owners, workers and buyers. However, by introducing improved
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standards and working conditions, it anticipated that the additional costs incurred for improving
conditions will be off-set by the increase in productivity.
Mining is often conducted in an up-dip orientation (Figure 1), with water being used as a medium to
move the ore downwards into gullies or slushers (Figure 2) where the mineralised material is
concentrated. Mining tools consist of picks and shovels. Material is excavated off the face using picks,
with workers forming a line and transporting the material with shovels down-dip into the slusher
formed in the centre of the mining area. In some cases, small tunnels from 2 m to several metres long
are developed into the ore body, which then induce the overburden to collapse. In other cases, water
is placed on the surface where the water causes swelling of the soil, resulting in the collapse of the
highwall area. In the gully, the heavier material is concentrated and stockpiled adjacent to the gully at
the base of mining operations. The remaining material that has not been concentrated continues
downstream where the material eventual settles, with the heaviest material settling in proximity of the
mine, while the lighter material can travel several hundreds of metres downstream.
Figure 1. Up-dip mining. Figure 2. Slusher used in up-dip mining.
CAPACITY BUILDING
The objective of a capacity-building programme for artisanal small-scale miners, through the
participation of a number of simple training courses, is to migrate artisanal mining to a small-scale
mining industry in Central Africa. Through developing the necessary skills in the fundamental areas
of mining and its ancillary functions, it is proposed that artisanal mining can become more productive
and safer. The areas of instruction to build the capacity of small scale miners are as follows:
Exploration techniques and geological knowledge;
Mining methods and techniques;
Material handling including mine access;
Mine surveying, sampling and grade control;
Mineral processing;
Waste disposal and tailings storage;
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Safety, health and environmental management;
Social and community engagement;
Understanding of legal requirements;
Business fundamentals.
Exploration Techniques and Geological Knowledge
Geological knowledge and the establishment of the mineral resources are the foundation to any
mining project. However, artisanal operations have little or no knowledge to the extent of the deposit,
with artisanal miners pursuing the outcrop of the pegmatite veins without knowing the extent of the
mineralisation. Mining continues until the vein is depleted or hard rock is intersected, necessitating
drilling and blasting.
Basic geological knowledge and exploration techniques suitable for SSM operations need to be
developed so that fundamental mine planning and project evaluation can be conducted. A fit-for-
purpose module is required for basic geology: for example, the identification and characteristics of
rock types and minerals, including the specific economic geology of Central Africa. For prospecting
and exploration purposes, basic skills like map reading, sampling and exploration techniques need to
be addressed, including how to estimate a mineral resource (volume, tonnes and grade).
Mining Methods and Techniques
Artisanal miners do not understand the fundamentals of mining. Surface mining generally fails to use
bench mining techniques. Underground access via portals is seldom excavated safely nor are the basic
rock engineering principles used to achieve stability of the underground rock mass. Applying basic
mining methods with appropriate rock breaking techniques, load and hauling of ore, support and
associated facilities, such as secondary access ways, pumping and ventilation, is seldom done.
A number of mining modules are required to address mining and mining techniques. Typical areas
for learning include identification of surface versus underground mining, surface mining, mine access,
underground mining, rock breaking techniques, material handling, mine support, mine power and
drainage, rock engineering and ventilation.
Mine Surveying
Basic survey skills are required to ensure efficient and safe mining. The ability to mine at right angles
is critical for support requirements as is the ability to determine the position of the underground
workings for purposes such as ventilation shafts, secondary access ways and monthly measuring of
mined volumes and tonnages.
Mineral Processing
Basic principles of mineral processing are understood in the artisanal mining environment.
Methodologies to optimise mineral processing are not well understood and potential increases in
recoveries and profits unrealised. Therefore increasing knowledge in crushing and grinding,
screening and classification and mineral separation is required.
Waste Disposal and Tailings Storage
The two main sources of waste produced in artisanal mining are waste rock and tailings. These wastes
have different properties and need to be handled in different ways. Poor waste and tailings
management can lead to death, cessation of mining and cause conflict with government authorities
and adjacent communities.
Discussion as to the location and the stability of waste and tailing storage facilities, as well the
management and monitoring of the facilities, should be covered. The construction of tailings storage
facilities and water control systems should be reviewed and understood.
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Safety, Health and Environmental Management
Safety and health issues should be addressed, discussing basic concepts of hazards associated with
lifting heavy materials, mechanical equipment and tools, chemicals, gasses and fumes and electrical
shock. Sanitation, first aid equipment and training, risk identification and control measures should
also be addressed as learning outcomes.
Although mining permits include guidelines to protect the environment, compliance is poor.
Promotion of good environmental management practices should be covered in course work: for
example, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) can be beneficial to mine developers in that
compliance can lead to good community interaction, are a requirement for finance and create a
positive relationship with the government. Understanding of environmental impact assessments and
monitoring should be covered.
Understanding of Legal Requirements
Artisanal miners need to be issued with a license to legally mine. Some of the benefits in having legal
tenure include secured tenure, government-assisted training and support, access to financing and a
voice with government. Understanding the mineral policy of the country where operations are taking
place is critical because items such as financial, environmental, social and mining acts and regulations
have a major impact on any mining operation.
Business Fundamentals
Business skills are important in order to convert artisanal to small-scale mining. It is a common
occurrence for miners to invest in equipment without understanding the value of the acquisition.
Understanding market demand and pricing is equally important. Candidates will be instructed in
estimating the amount of precious material contained in the run-of-mine material; how and to what
extent the precious metal is removed/concentrated and in what acceptable form must the metal
concentrate be to achieve reasonable market prices.
CONCLUSION
Small-scale mining represents a significant sector for the Rwandan government and promises to be an
important source of foreign exchange for Burundi. In order to achieve a sustainable mining industry,
basic mining skills need to be developed. The capacity-building programme is designed to produce
mining personnel equipped with basic technical skills necessary to work productively and safely in
the Central African mining industry. Learners will be trained both theoretically and practically to
meet the requirements of the mining industry to supply knowledgeable and skilled personnel capable
of supporting the industry, as well as developing their own careers in the mining industry as
specialists.
REFERENCES
Butura, J. (2014). Mineral Economics, Minirena division of Geological and Mines Department, Rwanda.
Personal Communication, November 2014.
Kagabo, J. (2014). Department of Geology and Mining Department (GMD) and Rwanda Natural
Resource Authority (RNRA). Personal Communication, November 2014.
Perks, R. (2015). Mining cooperatives: re-invigorating small-scale mining participation and benefit in
Rwanda. PhD thesis, University of Reading, United Kingdom (in press).
US Geological Survey (2011). Mineral Commodities Summary 2011. US Department of the Interior.
World Bank (1995). Regularizing Informal Mining. A Summary of the Proceedings of the International
Roundtable on Artisanal Mining. Mamadou, B. (ed.). Organized by the World Bank, Washington,
D.C., May 1719, 1995.
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