'Govt Develops Handbook for Artisanal Mining Sector’ 31 December 2020

Artisanal and small-scale mining is the main source of income for more than 100,000 gold and diamond miners in Liberia. Out of the 1,293 mining operations in the country, 1,142 (88.3 per cent) are artisanal and small-scale miners. Weak legal and regulatory frameworks and limited institutional oversight contribute, however, to major revenue and income loss for both the Government of Liberia and artisanal miners, a release from the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA) said. The governance and regulation shortfalls have also contributed to widespread environmental pollution, human rights violations and mounting conflict and instability at mining sites across Liberia.

…To mitigate challenges associated with artisanal and small-scale mining here and improve revenue and income generation from the mining sector, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) in partnership with the EPA on Monday, December 28, 2020 held a one-day Technical Inception & Consultative Workshop in Kakata, Margibi County, on strengthening governance, human rights and environmental management for the artisanal mining sector. The workshop, which attracted artisanal miners from across the country, representatives of civil society groups and line Government Ministries and Agencies, is being held to kick off the Environmental Governance Project funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in partnership with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) under the Environmental Governance Programme (EGP). It was also intended to develop an artisanal small-scale mining user-friendly handbook which would strengthen governance, human rights and environmental management for the artisanal mining sector in Liberia and as well create awareness on global environmental values.

…He disclosed that key challenges facing small-scale miners include limited knowledge about environmental and human rights protection laws; complex and often convoluted supply chains which often make the local miners susceptible to exploitation; limited knowledge among miners about the value and pricing of gold and diamonds and the existing regulations to ensure that commodities are produced and exported legally. Professor Benjamin S. Karmorh, EPA chief technical advisor said the overall objectives of the workshop was to support the development of a simple English training handbook for artisanal miners and communities where mining are taking place to provide them with much needed skills and knowledge.