JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENT & DEVELOPMENTHilson / SMALL-SCALE I ING IN AFRICA Small-Scale Mining in Africa: Tackling Pressing Environmental Problems With Improved Strategy

Small-scale mining—low-tech mineral extraction and processing—has long been an important industry in Africa. For centuries, operations have provided inhabitants of the rural, more impoverished regions of the continent with a wealth of employment benefits and, more recently, have made important con-tributions to mineral wealth and foreign exchange earnings. However, the small-scale mining operations of Africa have also caused considerable environ-mental complications, including chronic soil degradation, chemical contami-nation, and air pollution. The aim of the present article is to provide an over-view of the environmental complications associated with small-scale mining activity in Africa and to outline some environmental strategies that, if adopted, could mitigate these problems. Marked industrial environmental improve-ments can only be achieved if government agencies and international organi-zations play an expanded role in providing African small-scale miners with the economical, technological, and educational resources needed to operate more efficiently. Mining has long been an important economic activity in Africa. Since colonial times, significant quantities of minerals have been extracted and processed for national markets. From the time of the first diamond rushes in Southern Africa at the turn of the 20th century, the continent’s mineral economy has grown rapidly. Today, several companies (e.g.