New technologies are bringing increased efficiency and productivity to the mining sector along with transformative change concerning workplace health and safety and environmental protection, among other areas.
But new technologies present challenges to host governments and communities, which may see reduced employment- and procurement-related benefits. It remains unclear how the changes will affect established gender dynamics in the sector.
While technological evolution is nothing new in mining, the coming changes—incorporating digitization, big data, automation, artificial intelligence, and more—are faster and stronger than anything seen before.
This emerging wave of technological adoption is a combination of evolutionary and revolutionary technologies, presenting new opportunities for improved alternative livelihoods for communities.
We work with governments to ensure they’re equipped to deal with the changes while spurring sustainable development for communities, the environment, and the economy.
Our Mining Policy Framework informs the Secretariat’s capacity building, technical training, events, and publications designed to help policy-makers address challenges related to technology-driven changes in mining to support:
New technologies will lead to a shift in employment and could erode the value that mining activities bring to local communities and host countries. If harnessed and supported, it can also be a game changer.
We work with policy-makers to establish tools to rebalance the sector’s benefits, ensuring governments and communities alike reap the rewards of new technologies in mining, including:
A flagship IGF report to address the important questions about new mining technologies: New Tech, New Deal: Mining Policy Options in the Face of New Technology. The report specifically examines how technological developments will affect communities, governments, and mine operators and identifies how governments should respond to promote sustainable development through mining in the future. It surveys four broad types of “new deal” mining policies, that should:
Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) directly employs approximately 45 million people across 80 countries and an estimated 150 million individuals depending on the sector indirectly. Process changes within ASM operations can have a significant socio-economic impact on all parts of the artisanal production sector. While technological progress will help improve yields and reduce environmental risks, these evolutions can also negatively impact livelihoods.
Our work spotlights how to ensure technological change does not disrupt local economic development, in particular maintaining the balance between communities, to help improve ASM’s efficiency, miner safety, and environmental performance while ensuring low-skilled workers are not economically displaced.
Modernizing Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining: Harnessing New Technologies for Sustainable Development provides a comprehensive analysis of ASM’s current state before examining newly developed technologies to assess the associated benefits, opportunities, and policy options for ASM.
