AMDC: Towards a Continental Artisanal Mining Strategy

The African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) recently hosted the East and Southern Africa Regional Consultative Workshop for a Continental Artisanal and Smale-Scale Mining (ASM) Strategy in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the ACP-EU Minerals Development Programme , in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

By Temwa Mhone

The African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) was established in 2013 to assist Member States of the African Union (AU) derive maximum socioeconomic benefits from the mining sector, following a 2009 adoption of the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) as Africa’s response to “the paradox of great mineral wealth existing side by side with pervasive poverty.”

Therefore, AMDC provides strategic operational support and coordination for the implementation of AMV and its Action plan to enable the mineral resource sector to play its deserved role in Africa’s socioeconomic development by promoting the transformative role of mineral resources in the continent’s development. As a blueprint, the AMV seeks to position the continent’s mineral endowment as a key driver for structural transformation, industrialisation and sustainable growth.

Along with the growth of Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM), which occurs in almost all African countries endowed with minerals, Africa has witnessed the creation of several policies that collectively will help it harness the immense opportunities offered by both ASM and Large-Scale Mining (LSM). These include the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the African Green Minerals Strategy (AGMS) as well as the African Commodities Strategy.

Unexpected geopolitical occurrences such as the Covid-19 pandemic have had tremendous impacts on global value chains, demonstrating the significance of economic diversification and leapfrogging local production. This spurred the AMDC’s to leverage community-supported value chains for locally-produced minerals through ASM, which subsequently proved the viability of these interventions targeted at micro-to-small scale players and product value chains based on locally-available minerals.

The AMDC’s efforts also exposed the need to continuously improve market structures for ASM products, access to finance and financial inclusion for ASMiners through credits and access to technology that comes with ASM formalization, eliminating child labour as well as supporting women in mining by simplifying continental mining policies and strategies to be accessible to ASMiners including women.

It was against this backdrop and in its quest to harness the potential of ASM to stimulate local entrepreneurship, improve rural livelihoods and address the challenges surrounding the domestication of the AMV that AMDC resolved to develop a continental ASM strategy to help Member States drive maximum social benefits from mineral mining activities. 

It was to this end that the AMDC recently hosted a three-day East and Southern Africa Regional Consultative Workshop for a Continental ASM Strategy, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The workshop was the first of a three-part consultation, hosted in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the ACP-EU Minerals Development Programme, which supports the Neglected Development Minerals sector in 40 countries across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Moreover, the maiden AMDC Media Forum was held on the sidelines of the three-day workshop which engaged journalists, media professionals, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to enhance their understanding of and coverage of mineral development issues within Tanzania and across the continent. The Forum fostered collaboration, knowledge exchange, and capacity building towards a more positive reportage of ASM that happens within the realm of locally understood livelihood and development contexts. 

In his welcome remarks, Mr Charles Chiza Chiumya, Acting Director, Industry, Minerals, Entrepreneurship and Tourism (IMET), African Union Commission, said the African Union was working towards a continental ASM strategy that is “progressive, sustainable, and equitable” and described the ASM sector as the future cornerstone of the continent’s burgeoning rural and peri-urban economies, one that provides direct employment to millions and is undeniably vital to the livelihoods of millions of Africa’s citizens. 

“We cannot turn a blind eye to the challenges that have long plagued ASM, though they are now fortunately being addressed in different ways across the continent, hence the need for a harmonized strategic framework to address them, namely: environmental degradation, the occupational, health and safety risks, unregulated markets and the inimical social issues that affect the communities involved,” the IMET-AUC Director noted. 

Mr Chiumya urged all AU countries to ratify the AMDC Statutes to make Africa’s quest for minerals development a reality and described the recently launched Pan African Resource Reporting Code (PARC) and the African Minerals and Energy Resource Classification Framework (AMREC) – both of which are the only globally recognizable resource classification framework that considers ASM – as a demonstration of AMDC’s deliberate efforts to craft African solutions to African challenges. 

“This strategy should be focused on integrating artisanal and small-scale miners into the formal economy, upgrading all attendant ASM actors and stakeholders across the value chain through professionalization programs to ensure that inclusivity is fostered, and no one is left behind as we strive towards economic growth and diversification. It should also focus on continued improvement of ASMiners’ access to finance, technology, and markets while ensuring environmental stewardship and community development.”

Mr Chiumya thus applauded the ACP-EU Development Minerals programme’s focus on the ASM sector, which is implemented in collaboration with the UNDP and AU/AMDC and expressed hope that the recently launched third phase of the programme will benefit more AU Member States beyond the pilot countries, thanks to the capable stewardship of the AMDC through knowledge management, knowledge sharing and peer-learning strategies. 

“The tone set by this first of multiple planning sessions should be the first step in a participatory process that will always include ASMiners and their respective associations, community members, civil society actors, environmental experts, health and safety authorities, and representatives from the private sector across the board. Each stakeholder category present here, brings unique insights and expertise that are crucial to the development of a comprehensive and inclusive continental ASM strategy.”

In his opening remarks at the Southern and Eastern Africa regions ASM Consultative Workshop, Mr Francis Mihayo, Assistant Commissioner of Mines in Tanzania, said it was high-time for Africa to tackle critical issues facing the ASM sector, which will allow ASM to contribute to the continent’s socio-economic development.

“Here in Tanzania, we stand at a pivotal moment in the development of the artisanal and small-scale mining sector. As a nation rich in natural resources, Tanzania has the potential to harness ASM for sustainable economic growth and social development. However, this potential can only be realized through strategic collaboration and innovative approaches,” he noted.

Mr Mihayo therefore described the ASM strategy workshop as an opportunity to exchange knowledge, share best practices and identify challenges facing the ASM sector in the East and Southern African regions, towards a continental strategy that empowers ASM communities, promotes responsible mining practices and fosters inclusive growth.

“As we delve into discussions over the next few days, let us remember the importance of balancing economic progress with environmental stewardship and social equity. Let’s strive to create a future where ASM contributes to the wellbeing of communities while safeguarding the natural heritage of our continent. I urge each of you to actively participate, to engage in dialogue, and to contribute your expertise towards shaping a sustainable future for ASM in Africa.”

Mr Lister Balegele, Secretary-General of the Federation of Miners’ Association of Tanzania (FEMATA), highlighted the now significant contribution of the ASM sector to Tanzania’s economy, which he attributed to the growth and development of the ASM sector, beginning with the John Magufuli-led administration’s 2017 ban on export of raw minerals in Tanzania that spurred value-addition activities in the minerals sector and resulted in the establishment of official minerals factories and markets across Tanzania.

Balegele said Magufuli’s commitment towards developing Tanzania’s ASM sector meant he personally visited and interreacted with the ASMiners, after which he introduced a number of far-reaching reforms. “The outcome of that meeting was reduction of taxes from 38% to 7.3%. The government then appointed a commissioner responsible for artisanal mining in the country and established mineral markets in every region of Tanzania.”                              

As a result of these reforms, Balegele said ASM’s contribution to Tanzania’s revenue had risen from less than 10% around 2017 to 25% around 2018 and now 40%, noting that FEMATA members are now actively engaged in value-addition and contributing to policy development for the country’s ASM sector. In a few years to come, he hopes the ASM sector will contribute the largest share to Tanzania’s revenue just as they continue to strive to ensure a safe, secure and sustainable working environment for miners. 

“There is a dramatic increase in market value achievable through processing raw materials like limestone into finished products to benefit more. For instance, the price of raw limestone is between $10 to $14 per tonne here in Tanzania, but processing and value-addition (which only involves burning of limestone from 800°C up to 1200°C to change into lime) changes the price per one tonne to between $80 to $120,” Balegele noted.

One of the key outcomes of the Dar regional consultative workshop for a continental ASM strategy was the validation of a comprehensive baseline assessment and value chain analysis of development minerals in Tanzania, which emphasizes key issues relevant to improving the sub-sector. Among others, the study highlighted the significance of the adoption of the landmark 2018 Mosi-Oa-Tunya Declaration on ASM.