The global mineral economy relies heavily on a sector that is often misunderstood and overlooked: Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM). Far from being a niche activity, ASM directly employs 45 million people worldwide, with an estimated 315 million people benefiting from the industry indirectly. Despite its massive scale, the sector faces a critical hurdle in finding viable paths for small miners to enter the legal mainstream.
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At the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2026, industry leaders and policymakers gathered to debate how to bring this “lived reality” into the formal economy while ensuring it can coexist with large-scale operations.
A Personal Perspective on ASM
For many, like Ntokozo Nzimande of South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), ASM is not an academic concept but a childhood memory of grandmothers digging for coal to sell in local villages. Nzimande clarified a common misconception: ASM is not illegal mining. Instead, it is a survival-based activity that requires a clear regulatory path to help miners “graduate” into junior miners and join the mainstream.
South Africa is addressing this through:
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Legislative Amendments: Updating the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.
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Licensing Systems: Implementing a new Artisanal Mining Licensing System that allows miners to acquire permits for three-year periods, with options for renewal.
Global Models for Formalisation
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which hosts between 2 and 3 million of the world’s 14 million artisanal miners, offers a blueprint for formalisation through cooperatives.
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Official Zones: The government created designated artisanal mining zones to recognize miners who turned to “survival-mining” after the collapse of state-owned companies.
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Cooperatives: These groups help market products internationally and ensure minerals are traceability compliant.
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Social Benefits: Through these formal structures, miners can now access financial services, life insurance, and retirement funds.
The Role of the Private Sector
The private sector is also proving that small-scale miners can be successfully integrated into global markets. Norman Mukwakwami of Trafigura highlighted a partnership at the Mutoshi mine involving Trafigura, Chemaf, and the COMIAKOL miners’ collective. This collaboration ensures the safe and secure delivery of cobalt to international markets by working directly with artisanal miners within the concession.
Key Requirements for Future Growth
To formalise ASM at scale, several factors must be addressed:
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Market Clarity: A better understanding of export requirements is needed.
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Security of Tenure: Miners need guaranteed rights to the land they work to move beyond “subsistence” levels.
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Gender Equality: Guidelines must be developed to promote gender equality within the ASM value chain.
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Coexistence: Large mining houses can support the ecosystem by ceding concessions that are not profitable for large-scale operations to smaller entities.
As Nzimande noted, there is room for operations of all sizes to work alongside one another, provided the laws allow for growth and mechanisation. Formalising ASM is ultimately about more than just legalisation; it is about protecting economic livelihoods.