IDRN is pleased to be a part of the upcoming International Roundtable on Artisanal Gold Mining (AGM) being hosted at UBC Dec 1-3. Interdisciplinary experts and emerging scholars from around the world will be participating in the 3 day event.
AGM supports 15-20 million livelihoods worldwide, with up to ten times that number of indirect dependents. Overall, artisanal miners operate in over 80 countries, accounting for 12-15% of global mineral production.Consequently, AGM has received a low proportion of development aid relative to its contribution to local livelihoods. Recognition of the sector’s connection to poverty alleviation and conflict mitigation between artisanal miners and large-scale mining companies has rapidly increased in the last decade.
With the recent adoption of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2013 that calls for the reduction in mercury use in gold mining, the global community urgently requires solutions to advance, sustain and support artisanal miners and their families, but must also consider development perspectives beyond issues associated with mercury use.The expected outcome of the roundtable is to advance knowledge on artisanal mining through a high-level interdisciplinary platform seeking to address these complex global challenges, propose solutions through collaboration and enhance coordination between UBC and international scholars, donors, and UN agencies in the area of artisanal gold mining.
See the Roundtable website for more information or Facebook page.
Lucky for us, the final reception at the Museum of Anthropology is open to the public, so we hope to see you there!
