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6 - Artisanal Gold Mining in Uganda: Towards Formalization as Remediation of Dignity and Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2025

By
Julius Kaka
Edited by
Peter Stoett  and
Delon Omrow
Peter Stoett
Affiliation:
Ontario Tech University
Delon Omrow
Affiliation:
Ontario Tech University
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Summary

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining offers opportunities to a diverse set of actors operating in formal, legal and clandestine realms. The sector has considerable expansion potential but it is hampered by corruption, illegal actors and a poorly regulated market. This chapter focuses on Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners (ASM) in Uganda, exploring ongoing tensions between ASM communities, mining firms, and the government. While enforcing health and safety laws in the extractive industry has proven challenging to departments responsible for worker health and safety, the government in Uganda is trying to establish a structured approach with detailed legal and technical collaboration between artisanal miners and technical people whose obligation is to offer legal and technical guidance in regulating ASM.

Keywords

UgandaArtisanal and Small-Scale Miners (ASM)mercuryillegal mininglabor-abusehyper-exploitation
Type
Chapter
Information
Ecoviolence Studies
Human Exploitation and Environmental Crime
 , pp. 101 - 120
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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