What Is Artisanal & Small-Scale Mining?

Artisanal and small-scale mining, usually shortened to ASM, covers mineral extraction that relies on manual labour and simple tools. It sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from large-scale mining (LSM), which operates through formal concessions, mechanised equipment and corporate reporting structures. ASM is often informal or semi-formal, organised around individual miners, families or small cooperatives.

The term covers a wide range of realities. It includes gold panning in riverbeds, shaft mining for diamonds and gemstones, small-scale extraction of minerals like tin, tantalum and tungsten, and, in parts of Central Africa especially, artisanal cobalt digging that feeds directly into battery and energy-transition supply chains. Scale and organisation define the category more than any specific mineral: an ASM operation can be highly skilled and productive while still lacking the formal registration, safety systems or documentation that a buyer or regulator expects.

ASM sites also rarely sit outside existing social structures. Customary land tenure and traditional authorities, chiefs, elders and community leadership bodies, typically govern who can mine a given piece of ground well before any formal licence enters the picture, and community structures around an ASM site often predate the mining itself.

Why ASM matters to formal supply chains

The scale involved makes ASM hard to treat as a side issue. The World Bank and Pact estimate that around 45 million people work directly in ASM across roughly 80 countries, making it the largest mining workforce of any kind, and industry estimates put ASM’s share of global gold production at roughly 15 to 20 percent. Material from artisanal sources enters the same markets as material from industrial mines, often after passing through several intermediaries who may or may not document its origin carefully.

This is exactly where responsible sourcing frameworks like the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas come in: they ask buyers to understand and document where material actually came from, even when the source is informal.

Where ASM struggles, and where advisory work helps

The practical challenges facing ASM operators are rarely about willingness. Most operators want safer sites, better prices and recognised status; what they usually lack is a clear, affordable path to get there; formalisation processes that are slow or costly, limited access to the record-keeping and safety practices buyers ask for, and little leverage to negotiate fair terms with intermediaries.

That gap between where an ASM operation stands today and what a formal buyer or investor expects is the space Orivia works in, informed by direct experience running an ASM operation ourselves.