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Navigating the Potential of the ASM Sector

The background of the artisanal mining activities in Tanzania evidences significant structural framework adjustments intended to strengthen this economic subsector. Even though the said adjustments indicate success in revenue collection on the Government?s part, there seem to be governance, accountability, inclusivity and sustainability gaps.

Since 2015 and shortly after the installation of the 5th phase Government, the United Republic of Tanzania has shown an intent to strengthen the Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) sector. This can be seen in the different legal and policy provisions such as the Tanzanian Mineral Policy of 2009 which support and promotes development of the ASM sector by encouraging investment into the sector.

Moreover, there are deliberate efforts made by the 5th phase Government through focused initiatives to start a formal public and ASM stakeholder engagements. Through the Ministry of Minerals, there has been a national gathering (January 2019), and an international conference (February 2020) bringing stakeholders together to discuss the sustainability of the extractive sector, which includes the ASM subsector.

In the aforementioned meeting, a plethora of issues were raised by the miners for the Government to consider and offer lasting solutions. These included:

  1. the informality of the ASM sector that has negative spill over effects on the sector.
  2. slow process of formalisation process of the ASM sector
  • lack of geological data on the areas where primary mining licenses (PMLs) are provisioned for ASM activities
  1. lack of financing for ASM sector operators
  2. lack of a structured sector where there is a win-win environment between brokers, Government and miners, and
  3. lack of meaningful participation of women in the sector.

A report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development[i], released in 2018, on the