The potential in small scale is many times that in large scale gold mining in East Africa (especially in Tanzania) but yet to take it’s deserved lead in gold production in the region due to lack of access to financing and methods which are not effective in terms of productivity and in ore and gold recovery, and which poison the environment with mercury. It is a huge potential in the small scale gold mining sector still waiting for others to farm in with the financing to enable appraisal of reserves and their attractiveness for the investing of financial institutions and /or individuals in the exploitation which would be highly productive and efficient in ore and gold recovery, and friendly to the environment. The farm in could enable small scale mining clusters to share employed professionals, equipment and milling and cynadation plants, and transformation of small scale gold mining into highly productive and efficient small and medium scale mining which leads gold production in East Africa (especially in Tanzania).

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have shown the way, all other stakeholders should follow.

Transformation to happen simply needs Governments in East Africa to encourage East African small scale miners to share in partnerships with the highly experienced foreign small and medium scale gold miners .

Dr. Antipas is correct, the potential for ASM across East Africa is huge. As I see it governments in the region are captive to two problems. 1) They believe the lobbying done by Large scale miners whose basic narrative is large is good and small is bad - trust us and we will help your country to grow economically. This simply does not happen, LSM has little or no positive social impact that is sustainable or detached from their profits. Secondly we in the progressive development set, have failed to demonstrate working models of good practice. This is why I am now so encouraged by the work of Fairtrade Africa. They are demonstrating the potential, through working models, that ASM can be a force for the good for the whole community, environment and nation as a whole.

Greg, thanks for your very honest advice and willingness to participate in the modernization of small scale gold mining in Tanzania practically. Tanzania is the gemstone, gold and tourist center in the region, meaning the country is also the most appropriate base for jewelers in the region as well. Bring all of them and they won’t regret.

You are very right that the fault belief of Governments in large scale against small scale gold mining is to blame for the underdevelopment of potentials in small scale gold mining in the region. In Tanzania for example small scale gold mining which dominate in major gold Districts like Lupa and Mpanda in South Western Tanzania has yet to take up its deserved lead in gold production within the region due to mining rules which prohibit the highly skilled and experienced foreign small scale gold miners to engage with their Tanzanian counterparts through small scale mining in the country.

The only way local small scale gold miners could engage partnerships with foreigners is to convert their small scale mineral rights into large scale rights which are subjected to stringent rules foreign small scale miners shy away from. The skills and experiences the highly skilled  and experienced foreign small scale would brought in through partnerships with the Tanzanian small scale gold miners  would enabled the sector to access financial services for the modernization to enhance productivity, efficiency in ore and gold recovery and mitigation of environmental pollution.

Small scale gold miners in Tanzania are discarding the low grade ore because the backward methods restrictive mining rules have tied them to won’t process and recover from such ore profitably and most of the gold in the high grade ore they process is left in the tailings, most which are left in small amounts here and there in the bush where they scatter as waste over the ground never to be recovered for reprocessing to recover the gold left in again.

 I strongly belief that allowing the highly skilled and experienced foreign small scale gold miners to engage with their Tanzanian counterparts through partnerships in small scale gold mining in the country constitutes the most effective foundation in the transformation of East African small scale gold mining into a leading gold mining sector in terms of production and contribution to economies in the region.

A great mistake was made by African countries like Ghana when they chased away small scale gold miners from China instead of devising rules which would enabled their participation in the local small scale gold mining sector to contribute positively in the modernization of the sectors and more  in their economies.

It was a bad treatment to the small scale gold miners from China because implication is that the African countries would welcome the super rich foreigners only and reject the others who are similar to the struggling small scale gold miners in Tanzania.