the zambian copper series, part eleven: artisanal and small-scale mining
artisanal and small-scale mining — ASM — refers to mining activity conducted by individuals, families, and small groups using basic equipment, without the large capital investment or formal corporate structures of the large mines. in zambia, ASM copper mining is concentrated on the copperbelt — around chingola, ndola, and older mine lease areas where historical waste dumps, old tailings, and near-surface ore occurrences can be worked with basic tools.
tens of thousands of people are directly involved in artisanal copper mining on the copperbelt at any given time, with hundreds of thousands more in supply, processing, and trading relationships. the majority of ASM activity operates in a grey zone between formal artisanal licensing and unlicensed activity.
environmental and safety risks. processing copper from waste dumps typically involves acid leaching — using sulphuric acid to dissolve copper content from low-grade material — creating contamination risks for soil and water. underground artisanal workings present collapse risks that have resulted in fatalities.
the social dimension. the people working in ASM copper are predominantly young men, many migrants from other provinces who found the formal mine employment market too restricted. the ASM economy is for many workers the only available copper economy. precarious, physically dangerous, often technically illegal in its specific location. and for tens of thousands of families: what stands between them and destitution.
the formalisation debate. decades of discussion about how to bring artisanal miners into a regulatory framework without destroying the flexibility that makes ASM accessible. the international evidence is clear: formalisation without genuine economic empowerment does not work. the formalisation that works is the one that makes legal operation cheaper and safer than illegal operation.
the informal copper economy is not a marginal story. it is the copper story for tens of thousands of zambian families. the large mines and the small miners are working the same geology, on the same plateau, in the same communities.
the zambian copper series continues. 🟤
