IRJET- The Challenges of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sector in Sierra Leone

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The Challenges of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sector in Sierra Leone Ibrahim Ahmed kanu1*, Ibrahim Abdulai Sawaneh2 1*Department

of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology, Magburaka, Sierra Leone 2Department of Computer science, School of Technology, University of Management and Technology, Freetown, Sierra Leone ----------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------

ABSTRACT- Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) received official recognition in 1930, in which Diamonds were first discovered and mined in Kono District, Eastern Sierra Leone. Artisanal mining arose as the primary source of living for inhabitants of rural populations in 1950. The relatively inexpensive, essential nature of artisanal diamond mining combined with its relative success captivated the majority of the youths to the diamond mining fields of Tongo and Kono.

The fuming speed into the sedimentary diamond fields caused illegal diamond mining and population increase, which produced social and security worries to the state.

The widespread informality of ASM worsens challenges such as illegal mining, unlawful use of machines, smuggling, exploitative contracts between miners and followers, and unhealthy working environments. To overcome these above challenges, the paper provides an overview of the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) developed a roadmap for formalizing the sector.

Elements of the strategy include a land allocation for ASM, review of existing laws and regulations, organizing the supply chain, and facilitating access to finance. The paper reviews the support interventions, their intended roles, and their effect on the sector and picks out prevailing gaps and possible ways of dealing with the challenges. There is a necessity for research to measure the actual impact of this past and existing interferences on the ASM sector to draw lessons for future growth.

bribes, corruption, and violence are the primary factor that retards the growth and development of this sector in Sierra Leone. As a result, the low-cost technology involved in artisanal mining and its profitability has fascinated young Sierra Leoneans to the diamond mining fields of Tongo and Kono chiefdom in the Eastern Part of the country. In Sierra Leone, the artisanal mining sector accounts for almost 38% of diamond exports National Mineral Agency [1] and includes 120,000 people.

Therefore, finding long-lasting and practical solutions to Artisanal Small Scale (ASM) challenges that Sierra Leone faces could affect larger populations worldwide.

Minerals are removed in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining using simple tools and equipment [2].

Unfortunately, most of the populace, particularly those engaged in mining activities, are, perhaps, unaware of the dangers posed by this sector. Deforestation and biodiversity loss are some of the tall stand characteristics of spill effects of ASM. The abandoned mines site will serve as a breeding ground for significant diseases and leave the land unproductive. The workers in these mine sites operate with limited or no personal protective gear. Health testing and clinics are virtually absent at AM operational areas, and regularized health screenings are unavailable.

Widespread, near-surface mineral deposits and low barriers to entry make efforts to control ASM largely ineffective, and the smuggling of high-value natural resources will lead to insecurity and tax revenue loss for the Government. The impact of the artisanal mining sector on the country's economy has not been legitimately captured but practically is of noticeable effect. However, this sector creates employment and generates revenue in rural and isolated areas. Current data shows that nearly 40% of all diamond ships are excavated through artisanal processes. Aside from the chances available by artisanal mining all over the country, poverty rates are very high. The economic good of artisanal mining (notably from manufacturing) is not captured to decrease the upward poverty route, offer maintainable livings, and increase the quality of life of miners.

Keywords: Artisanal and small-scale mining, challenges, mining policy, Sierra Leone 1.

INTRODUCTION

Sierra Leone, a country located on the west coast of Africa, is a resource-rich nation with essential deposits of iron ore, diamonds, bauxite, rutile, and gold. These mineral resources contribute about 24% to the country's GDP and over 80% of export revenue. According to the last report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Government is currently ranked 184th on the Human Development Index (HDI). Sadly enough, the communities where these mines are located benefited little, if at all, from the revenues generated. The road infrastructures were poorly built, the medical facilities are nothing to write home about. Political

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Artisanal mining operations are categorized by untaught miners with insufficient technical and monetary capacity, non-mechanized skill, and practical mining practices. A separate method to artisanal mining in which workers, traders, dealers, and exporters operate as non-integrated sections of the mining cycle implies losing potential value-added and value chain opportunities.

long before the advent of sizeable modern mining industries. Some studies suggest that large mining industries started as artisanal and small-scale mining operations (e.g., the case of diamond mining in Tankaro chiefdom in the Eastern Province). ASM is not a new activity in Sierra Leone, but it was primarily discouraged during the rebel war, and it was reactivated after the decade of civil war in Sierra Leone

The Government policy and public supervision have absorbed large-scale mineral savings leaving artisanal operations to function with significantly less controlling leadership at far-off, local levels.

The Artisanal Mining Policy for Sierra Leone has been prepared as part of a sequence of changes introduced by the Government to ensure that Sierra Leone makes the most of gains from exploring and exploiting its mineral resources. These reforms include establishing the National Minerals Agency (NMA), adopting the Mines and Minerals Act 2009 [3], clarifying mineral contract needs, better environmental protection, straight financing of mining community development projects, and many more. In continuance of these changes, a new Sierra Leone Minerals Policy [4] has been developed to substitute the Core Minerals Policy of 2003 [5] in 2019.

This research study will identify the challenges that exist in the execution of mining policies and will help to reinforce the monitoring mechanism and the involvement of all players in making sure that this sector takes its shape and the miner’s interest or welfare is addressed. It will help stimulate decision-makers at all levels charged with developing and implementing mining policies in the country.

While the Sierra Leone Minerals Policy remains the central mining policy for the country, the devising of an artisanal mining policy as a distinct policy is reinforced by three comprehensive factors. First, the Government’s overarching policy commitment to domesticate the African Mining Vision (AMV), which African Heads of States adopted in 2009 [6] to position the mining sector of Sierra Leone at the center of economic change and development industrial development, and sustainable development. The country’s ongoing development and change goals proclaimed in the NEW DIRECTION are reliable with the AMV. Second, the country’s artisanal mining sector is the main driving power of local economic development and rural support. Third, answering to the economic, social, health, safety, and environmental protection issues rising from artisanal mining makes a solid case for preparing a separate policy document to guide the Government’s formalizing the sector. Therefore, this Artisanal Mining Policy captures issues that relate to the formalization of the artisanal mining sector, responds to challenges that threaten the viability of the industry, and locates the artisanal mining sector at the core of enhancing economic change, value addition, sustainable community living, and local economic development.

The research findings will attempt to answer the following questions: 1) Have artisanal mining methods and processes resulted in environmental degradation in the area 2) Have artisanal mining operations affected the living condition of local people in the study area 3) What are the degree to which mining regulations have been enforced and policies implemented to make sure that compliance to social, environmental, standards?

The objective of this study was limited to the following: (1) to investigate the challenges and impact of artisanal mining on the environment and the living condition of the indigenous community of the diamond mining region of Sierra Leone, around Koidu Town, Kono District, (2) to prospects attention and current capacity for small variations at the individual, community, or artisanal mine level to upsurge the social, economic, and environmental ease of diamond miners and their societies. Artisanal mining has and continues to be a vital livelihood activity across Sierra Leone, and the result research findings are in line with other major studies around the Globe.

2.

The development of the ASM sector in Sierra Leone

The artisanal mining sector in Sierra Leone offers livelihood chances for many citizens and other inhabitants from the West African sub-region. The industry is a massive donor to Government proceeds.

The local economy of numerous mineral-rich areas is reliant on the artisanal mining sector as it directly and, in some cases, indirectly affects the development and sustainability of nearly all other sectors. Therefore, it is crucial for all stakeholders’ Government, stockholders, mine workers, mine communities, civil society to distinguish and understand Government’s policy and its

The unearthing of diamonds in the Kono district in the 1930s proclaimed Sierra Leone as a mineral-rich country, but artisanal gold mining commenced much earlier. The Government has a long history of mining, both on a small scale and large scale. The discoveries of Diamond, followed by gold, were the first mining activities to be recorded in the country. The history of the mining industry focused mainly on the arrival of the large-scale mining (LSM) industries in the country.

Regardless of the evidence, ASM processes took place

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economic, environmental, and social insinuations for Sierra Leone. The objective of all these policies was to provide an overview of small-scale mining activities with a specific focus on the sector's contribution to the economy, and prevailing practices in terms of the agreement, interaction with institutions, and institutional backing. These policies were also aimed at providing recommendations on how the sector should be assisted [7]. In its deduction, the study stated that: 'Small-scale mining development in Sierra Leone must center on the nurturing of a well-organized and active small and junior sector that can move exploration and lucrative mining development in the country to attain this, issues such as legislation of illegal operators, finance, mineral and land rights access, and training all need to be addressed [8].

grouped, small-scale mining in Sierra Leone has almost disappeared due to the high costs of obtaining a license.

Knowing the degree and the difficulty of the ASM sector is stimulating due to the absence of reinforcement. Even the number of miners is challenging to determine. Some studies approximate the number of miners in Sierra Leone to be 120,000 [10], while more recent government reports estimate 300,000 [11]. The operating artisanal licenses are around 1,200 a year, and up to 50 workers can be registered for each license; the maximum number of ‘formalized’ workers is 60,000. This could mean that most mineworkers are involved in illegal mining.

Though artisanal mining is supreme as it provides income to a substantial part of the population, it makes very little revenue for the state. In fact, in 2018, less than 10% of the proceeds generated from the mining sector were coming from artisanal processes. In general, the artisanal sector backed less than 1% of total GoSL incomes.

The ASM Mining Policy of Sierra Leone was released in November 2018. The objective was to encourage and facilitate the sustainable development of small-scale mining to ensure the optimal exploitation of small mineral deposits and enable this sector to positively contribute to the national, provincial, and local economy [4]. The Minerals and Mining Policy was centered on three pillars related to the development of the ASM sector: encouraging participation of deprived communities and addressing challenges in the industry.

The ASM sector in Sierra Leone faced an extensive range of challenges, counting admittance to mineral rights, incomplete financial prospects, access to mineral deposits, absence of technical skills, deprived access to markets, and supervisory and administrative requirements [9].

As for most African countries, the dominant challenge of the artisanal sector is the absence of reinforcement. It is intended to integrate the industry into the formal economy, society, and regulatory system by reinforcement. This involves different specific aspects: making sure that miners, dealers, and exporters get the required license, miners are organized in genuine entities, policies are applied and imposed, and miners have admittance to technical, administrative, and financial support that is required to comply with regulations and increase productivity.

The reinforcement of the artisanal sector would convey great assistance to Sierra Leone. Firstly, the Government would be better positioned for monitoring and proceeds collection. At the same time, reinforcement helps help better working practices and conditions, decreases undesirable environmental effects of activities, and stops and helps to achieve better conflict associated with intrusion of miners and operations onto large-scale mining franchises. Finally, reinforcement could aid miners to move on from the exploitative association with their financial followers.

Previously, the Government established several programs to facilitate the development of the ASM sector. ARTISANAL MINING POLICY FOR SIERRA LEONE, published in November 2018 [4], seeks to address a broad spectrum of small-scale mining activities in Sierra Leone and will further help establish autonomous institutional support mechanisms for small-scale mining.

Based on these policy requirements, several programs to support and develop the ASM sector were recognized.

3.

Current Status of the ASM Sector

The Government of Sierra Leone has established a roadmap for the reinforcement of the ASM sector. The main elements of the reinforcement approach are: (i) assign land to ASM, (ii) apprise existing laws and regulations to control the latest tendencies of the ASM sector professionally, (iii) establish the supply chain, (iv) ease access to finance, and (v) enable access to markets.

ASM in the country is one of the oldest forms of mining in the sub-region. As in many countries, the most significant motivations to participate in ASM activities are high unemployment rates and high poverty levels.

ASM activities in Sierra Leone mainly occur in rural areas with known mineral availability, and ASM does not pay meaningfully to government proceeds. The sector plays a vital role in the Sierra Leonean economy, particularly foreigners' livelihoods. In the northern and eastern parts of the country, artisanal mining is widespread, and it represents one of the primary sources of livelihood, together with subsistence farming. Although usually

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mostly because they fear that the information will not be kept private and that members of their communities or creditors will entitle a share. As a result, no production data comes from artisanal mining, and all official figures provided by the GoSL are based on exports.

4. Main Challenges of the ASM 4.1 Illicit mining Making sure that artisanal miners attain a license needs a solid presence on the field. Sadly, this is not always possible because of the inadequate resources allocated to monitoring and compliance. Also, in some areas, especially the remote ones, unmonitored mining has been going on for periods, which means that a change in the attitude on the part of community members is required. This takes time. As a result, illicit mining is still prevalent in some areas of Sierra Leone, even though tremendous efforts have been undertaken by the National Minerals Agency (NMA). In particular, the condition has significantly enhanced since the NMA employed approximately 300 new Mining Compliance Officers in February 2019. This unique unit has dramatically improved the monitoring capacity of the agency, although illicit mining is still common.

4.4 Smuggling Mine production data is a severe challenge in Sierra Leone, which poses a severe threat in that regard. It will not help us understand the extent of smuggling and other illicit practices in the country. Concerning diamonds, the Kimberley Process Certification Structure played a vital role in aiding to fight to smuggle.

Conversely, there is convincing evidence that gold mined in Sierra Leone ends up in Guinea. This results from a lower royalty rate of 1% in Guinea, likened to a 3% royalty rate in Sierra Leone, leaky borders, and the nearness to Guinea, most times closer to the mining sites than Freetown. This inadequate royalty rate results from a race to the bottom in economic regimes in West Africa.

The export duty of gold was abridged from 5 percent to 3 percent by the Finance Act 2015 [14]. Sadly, it is doubtful that countries will collaborate and create a “minimum” royalty rate within the region.

4.2 Use of machines Artisanal mining is well-defined as ‘mining operations that do not surpass a depth of ten meters and carried out using basic hand-held tools except water pumps’ [12]. As the sedimentary deposit of the country has been typically drained, miners fight to make a living. Some of them would like to use machines such as excavators to improve their efficiency and productivity. To use devices, a small-scale mining license is required. This license is costly, mainly because of the hefty fees asked by the Environment Protection Agency. There were only two operating small-scale licenses in 2018. As a result, numerous artisanal miners opted to use excavators and other machines unlawfully, mainly overnight, when the monitoring officers were off duty.

A new experiential study [15] presented that up to 84% of gold excavated in Sierra Leone was ending up in Guinea. Even though this figure is grounded only on three mining locations and cannot be used to estimate the overall extent of smuggling, it provides excellent insight into the scope of this challenge.

4.5 Lack of Price Information Knowing the current market price before selling would help artisanal miners benefit significantly from their day’s catch. Artisanal miners are at a significant drawback during sales discussions when they have little knowledge of mineral and metal prices. This will lead to a cycle of systemic economic insecurity.

This created a complicated situation. On the one hand, the NMA had to fully implement the Mines and Minerals Act 2009, and therefore, machines needed to be seized.

On the other, artisanal mining is sometimes not prudently feasible using only essential tools. Presently, the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) is reviewing the 2009 Act to define and implement new types of licenses or fees[13].

This is mainly true of diamonds, which are very tough to value. Regarding gold, literature shows that the price is generally surprisingly high, around 70% of the international price of gold [16]. The increased demand for gold could explain, and study indication demonstrated that it is even used as a form of currency to buy produce in Guinea, then transported back to Sierra Leone for sale or trade [15].

4.3 Lack of transparency of the value chain In an ideal world, the regulators would trace down minerals from the mining pit to the dealer to the agent.

Sadly enough, monitoring the value chain for gold and diamonds is highly stimulating. The only moment when comprehensive data is obtained is at the export point when royalties are sheared. Equally, it is stimulating to collect data from dealers and miners, making it problematic to trail and monitor the value chain. Even though artisanal license holders are mandated to record their earnings, they are frightened of sharing such data

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4.6 Exploitative agreements between miners and supporters Even though the employment situations can differ from mine to mine, many miners live in a state of financial dependence with their 'sponsor', who is the financial supporter of the mining operations and pays everyday salaries, offers food and medicines, etc. The sponsor then

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takes the majority of the winnings, which leaves the miners financially stuck and living in a recurrent state of debt. This is particularly serious when mining is the only source of living available.

monitoring and upsurge the productivity of the miners.

By putting this into practice, land allocation is likely to tackle the conflicts between mining companies and ASM. 5.2 Licence and regulate Artisanal Mining

4.7 Environmental degradation and Health & Safety

GoSL is presently revising the Mines and Mineral Act (2009) [21]. This evaluation will redefine artisanal mining and small-scale mining. Though the study is still ongoing, new categories will likely be defined or fees to allow miners to use machines at a sensible cost. New procedures should be accepted for land and environmental protection. GoSL should plan and distribute controlling guidelines for land restoration and mine closure and put them into practice.

ASM relies on primarily inexpert personnel using essential tools and methods.

Naturally, it's environmental and health and safety activities tend to be very poor. For instance, dust and fine particles resultant from blasting and drilling source respiratory illnesses and degrade crops and farmlands. Streams and rivers often become contaminated near ASM sites, making water unsafe for drinking and affecting fish stocks.

Artisanal and small-scale mining could be a basis of mercury release, even though, in Sierra Leone, the majority of gold miners use gravity methods in its place [16]. Mercury exposure can have severe health effects.

Mercury is poisonous and can be elated long distances by air or water, poisoning the soil and waterways [17].

5.3 Organize the supply chain Monitoring the supply chain is key to fighting smuggling and illicit practices. Moreover, the GoSL should develop mechanisms for the raise of savings in mining and value addition. The lasting overall aim is to inspire the creation of facilities in Sierra Leone for the conditioning, treatment, refining, and processing of mined minerals.

Land restoration is a primary subject in the ASM. The law attributes the responsibility of land rehabilitation to artisanal miners, but it is usually not conducted. The critical disagreement miners use paying a “land restoration fee” of Le 150,000 ($15), an inadequate amount to carry out the land restoration. In that regard, the mining areas are destroyed with a massive loss of forestry and wildlife. Characteristically, after a few months of operations, the miners leave the site. As the rain comes, the mining pits become ponds, allowing mosquitos to flourish, and spread diseases. Furthermore, a majority of the people cannot swim; it is not unknown people who unintentionally drown.

5.4 Facilitate access to finance A financial needs assessment must be conducted to ascertain best practices. Artisanal miners’ dependence on supporters may be produced by credit constraints, risk aversion, or lack of managerial capacity. There is a requirement to involve and educate financial institutions about artisanal mining and identify concerned institutions to offer microcredit schemes/ loans to miners. Though, suppose the obstacles to direct access to financing is not just a credit constraint. In that case, capacity building needs to be provided to face other challenges such as risk aversion or lack of managerial capacity.

4.8 Vulnerable groups are at risk Even though ASM is a male-dominated environment, women are also part of the labor force. Whereas they are involved in diamond mining is limited, women are more involved in gold mining, contributing mainly to washing the gavel, organizing the camp, and cooking [16]. Some trials disproportionally impact women, counting being paid less, being disadvantaged against, anguish acts of gender-based violence, and facing the most significant danger of sexually transmitted diseases, mostly sex workers. Although the NMA strictly applies rules against child labor, we cannot exclude that child labor is still, regrettably, and sometimes, a sad reality in Sierra Leone.

5.5 Facilitate the establishment of Cooperatives The need to examine the current forms of organization and social arrangements in mining areas is very crucial.

The GoSL should speed up the creation of formal entities, namely cooperatives, and offer ongoing training on cooperative governance, business management, and gender equality.

5.6 Facilitate access to Assistance At the moment, miners have little support from institutions in the country. GoSL should institutionalize skills in ASM entities, public bodies, and NGOs. As ASM is such an essential source of living in Sierra Leone, focussed training and educational programs should be conducted to aid artisanal activities.

5. REINFORCEMENT STRATEGY Several improvements can be carried out as part of the ASM formalization process: 5.1 Geoprospect and allocate land for ASM Land with mineral potential should be openly assigned for artisanal mining. This will help to simplify

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[3] SIERRA LEONE GOVERNMENT MINISTRY OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES THE SIERRA LEONE MINERALS POLICY -NOVEMBER 2018 [4] SIERRA LEONE GOVERNMENT MINISTRY OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES THE SIERRA LEONE MINERALS POLICY -NOVEMBER 2018 [5] Mining in Sierra Leone: an overview of the current legal framework-Hebert smith Freehills LLPMay 20,2015 [6] ARTISANAL MINING POLICY FOR SIERRA LEONE November 2018 [7] The status of the artisanal and small-scale mining sector in South Africa: tracking progress by P.F. Ledwaba [8] SIERRA LEONE GOVERNMENT MINISTRY OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES THE SIERRA LEONE MINERALS POLICY -NOVEMBER 2018 [9] Artisanal and small scale mining in protected areasBabar Turay-Department of Minerals and Energy, 1998 [10] EXTRACTIVES HUB POLICY BRIEF FOR SIERRA LEONE “The formalization of the Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) in Sierra Leone” Authored by Jozef Masseroli*, Extractives Hub Champion for Sierra Leone-May 2020.

[11] EXTRACTIVES HUB POLICY BRIEF FOR SIERRA LEONE “The formalization of the Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) in Sierra Leone” Authored by Jozef Masseroli*, Extractives Hub Champion for Sierra Leone-May 2020.

[12] Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL). (2018).

Artisanal Mining Policy for Sierra Leone.

Accessible at http://www.nma.gov.sl/policies/ (accessed in November 2019) [13] Maconachie, R., & Hilson, G. (2016). Mapping informal financial flows in the artisanal mining sector: The cases of Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Policy Brief available at https://www.theigc.org/project/mappinginfor mal-financial-flows-artisanal-mining-sectorcases-sierra-leone-liberia/ (accessed in November 2019) [14] The Sierra Leone Finance Act, 2015 [15] Maconachie, R., & Hilson, G. (2016). Mapping informal financial flows in the artisanal mining sector: The cases of Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Policy Brief available at https://www.theigc.org/project/mappinginfor mal-financial-flows-artisanal-mining-sectorcases-sierra-leone-liberia/ (accessed in November 2019) [16] Cartier, L. E., & Bürge, M. (2011). Agriculture and artisanal gold mining in Sierra Leone: alternatives or complements?. Journal of International Development, 23(8), 1080-1099.

[17] Maconachie, R., & Hilson, G. (2016). Mapping informal financial flows in the artisanal mining sector: The cases of Sierra Leone and Liberia.

5.7 Facilitate access to markets Training of compliance officers by NMA on valuation and value addition is very key for quality assurance. Also, ASM miners and traders should gain knowledge on trade, valuation, and value add methods. Aid women’s access to markets and explore feasible business relationships between Artisanal Miners and Large-Scale operators.

5.8 Monitoring and enforcing Laws and Regulations Additional efforts and resources should be put towards the implementation of the prevailing laws and regulations.

Particularly concerning smuggling, monitoring should be improved, and the border controls tightened in collaboration with the MRU. Training of Customs officers on curtailing gold smuggling, improving their wages to deter bribery and corruption, and creating new mechanisms to incentivize disclosure of unlawful activity. Installation of remote sensing technology and drone surveillance system to reach remote areas by NMA is highly recommended.

5.9 Access to equipment One of the significant challenges for ASM operators is the lack of resources to replicate or adapt mining techniques.

Therefore, equipment and financing go hand in hand and, along with geological information and licensing processes.

6. Conclusions ASM sector is characteristically relaxed; changing the dynamics and strengthening the industry is a difficult task. The Government of Sierra Leone needs to sensibly evaluate the prevailing laws and regulations to ensure that the current bottlenecks are examined. Furthermore, all the approaches of the roadmap to strengthening should be carefully managed and applied. In so doing, the Government would be better positioned for monitoring and income collection. Simultaneously, strengthening will help increase working practices and conditions, decrease bad environmental effects of activities, and stop conflict associated with the intrusion of miners and operations onto large-scale mining areas. To end, better access to finance could help miners move from exploitative relationships with their financial supporters.

References [1] Artisanal Diamond Mining in Sierra Leone: Social Impacts, Environmental Awareness, and Opportunities for Change- 2014-12-07 Lichte, Rachel (NMA, 2013) [2] Environmental Impact of Artisanal Gold Mining in Luku, Minna, Niger State, North Central NigeriaAko T. A.*, Onoduku U. S., Oke S. A., Adamu I. A., Ali S. E., Mamodu A., Ibrahim A. T. March 25, 2014

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Biographies

Policy Brief available at https://www.theigc.org/project/mappinginfor mal-financial-flows-artisanal-mining-sectorcases-sierra-leone-liberia/ (accessed in November 2019) [18] Cartier, L. E., & Bürge, M. (2011). Agriculture and artisanal gold mining in Sierra Leone: alternatives or complements?. Journal of International Development, 23(8), 1080-1099.

[19] UNITAR & UN Environment. (2018). Handbook for Developing National ASGM Formalization Strategies within National Action Plans. UNITAR & UN Environment, Geneva.

[20] Cartier, L. E., & Bürge, M. (2011). Agriculture and artisanal gold mining in Sierra Leone: alternatives or complements?. Journal of International Development, 23(8), 1080-1099.

[21] Sierra Leone Mines and Mineral Act (2009)

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Ibrahim Ahmed Kanu, B. Sc. Geology FBC, University of Sierra Leone; M. Sc. Mining Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China.

Ibrahim Abdulai Sawaneh, Ph.D. Computer Science - Atlantic International University (AIU), Honolulu, USA; Ph.D. Management Science and Engineering (Awaiting) – Wuhan University of Technology (WUT), Wuhan, China; Master of Engineering in Computer Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, China; M. Sc. Human Resource Management, Professional Global Training Institute (PGTI), London, UK; B. Sc. Computer Science, Institute of Advanced Management and Technology (IAMTECH), Freetown, Sierra Leone.

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