TITLE:
Development of Safe and Sustainable Mining Methods for Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Operations Exploiting Alluvial or Colluvial Deposits with Hard Rock Potentials
AUTHORS:
Akuba Bezeba Yalley, Bright Oppong Afum, George Agyei
KEYWORDS:
Mining Methods, Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining, Sustainability, Environmental Degradation, Safety
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.13 No.7,
July
11,
2025
ABSTRACT: Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) operations are known to contribute significantly towards rural economic development. The operations which are widespread in about 80 countries across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Central and South America have the potentials to alleviate poverty, create employment opportunities, generate income and produce large quantities of the precious mineral gold. In spite of all these potentials, the sector is associated with high levels of environmental degradation, health and safety threats and low productivity that threaten the sustainability of the sector. These challenges have been linked to the use of inappropriate mining methods for the various deposit types exploited. In mining engineering principle, the selection of a suitable mining method for a particular ore deposit is critical for the environmental, safety and economic sustainability of a mining project. However, little attention has been given to the subject of sustainable mining methods for ASGM operations. This study seeks to fill the gap in science by developing safe and sustainable mining methods for ASGM operations exploiting alluvial or colluvial deposits with hard rock potentials. These particular deposit types have been chosen because they are the most exploited deposit types by ASGM miners. The methods used in conducting this study include literature review of the occurrence of these deposit types. Field visits to 3 ASGM sites in Ghana exploiting these deposit types and evaluation of the challenges regarding the mining methods being used. The development and design of the mining methods were done using Surpac 6.6.2 software and design tools in Microsoft PowerPoint. Results from the study indicated that there is a gap in literature regarding ASGM mining methods and a gap in the miners’ knowledge about the appropriate mining methods tailored for their deposit types. Moreover, the wide pits which were used to exploit the deposits posed safety risks, had low productivity and limited access to deeper hard rock deposits. This study aims to bridge the existing knowledge gap by developing the Bench Pit-Underground Mining (BPUM) method, designed specifically for ASGM operations exploiting these deposit types. It is therefore recommended ASGM operations adopt the BPUM method to ensure safety, increased productivity and sustainability in their operations.