The role of artisanal and small-scale mining in China’s economy Lei Shen a,b, * , Aaron James Gunson b,c a Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), C.A.S., 11A Datun Road, Anwai, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China b Communities and Small-Scale Mining Regional Network in China (CASM-China), Beijing, China c Department of Mining Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada Received 7 July 2004; accepted 1 August 2004 Available online 26 April 2005 Abstract The last decades have seen increased international attention paid to a number of features of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The beneficial roles of ASM in society and the economy in many countries, however, are often overlooked, while its negative impacts dominate official press coverage and scholarly publications of the sector. Through a review of the available literature and statistics, this paper works toward building a balanced picture of the overall role of ASM in China. First, the positive and negative impacts of ASM internationally are reviewed, followed by a short review of suggested and actual international policy responses. Then an examination of the impacts and role of ASM in China is undertaken. The authors argue that the contributions of ASM outweigh its negative impacts, but the central government needs to make more effort to regulate, guide and encourage the development of ASM and to create a sound environment for its operations. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Role; Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM); China; Policy 1. Introduction Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has had unprecedented growth in developing economies over the past few decades. ASM is defined as the use of rudimentary processes to extract valuable minerals from primary and secondary ore bodies, and is characterized by the lack of long-term mine planning/control. It can be illegal or legal, formal or informal and can encompass everything from individual gold panners to medium-scale operations employing thousands of peo- ple. In 1999, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that there were between 11 and 13 million artisanal miners worldwide, almost 30% of whom were women [1]. ASM activities emphasize the extraction of a wide range of metals, precious stones, and industrial minerals, and accounts for a significant portion of the world’s mineral and energy production. Academics and especially journalists tend to focus on the negative impacts of ASM, generally underreporting its positive aspects. This is certainly the case in China [2], home of the world’s largest ASM sector [3]. While these negative impacts should not be underestimated, over- looking ASM’s positive aspects has led to policies that focus on the negative, with little consideration for the wider consequences. Through a review of the available literature and statistics, this paper works toward building a balanced picture of the overall role of ASM in China. First, the positive and negative impacts of ASM internationally are reviewed, followed by a short review of suggested and actual international policy responses. Then an examination of the impacts and role of ASM in China is undertaken. * Corresponding author. Tel.: C86 10 648614555; fax: C86 10 64854230. E-mail address: shenl@igsnrr.ac.cn (L. Shen). 0959-6526/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.08.006 Journal of Cleaner Production 14 (2006) 427e435 www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro