Very interesting analysis in the connection between SDGs and ASM.

I am now convinced that ASM should be approached as poverty alleviation instead as a mining operation. The efficiency and knowledge to do proper mining is barely there. Instead you have thousands of people that take high risk to make a living extracting some mineral. If you add to it red tape, intricate regulations and corruption then you ended with a loop difficult to solve.

That ASM could bring some progress towards the SDGs is true. But the sector needs more accommodation from government in terms of regulation and compliance. Some governments simply put ASM under the same regulation framework of big and medium mining companies. This is nonsense. The result is informality and illegal trade of ore.

ASM is there and it is not going to go soon.

@Andres, i could not agree more. Whether we want to address poverty; mitigate negative impacts to the environment, health and societal fabric; or promote viable economic benefit in an ASM community it is imperative to propertly face the sector from a holistic approach. We can not simply avoid it.