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Everyday items employ minerals from artisanal mining, especially in technological devices. Coltan from the Democratic Republic of Congo for use in cell phones, pacemakers, and video cameras and lithium for batteries from Afghanistan, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, as well as industrial diamonds from Sierra Leone, arrive daily at ports all over the world. But these gems and minerals that make lives so much easier in the developed world, exact a heavy toll on the people who extract them and on the environment. As the world becomes more aware of the sources of these minerals, the need for a group such as Communities and Small-Scale Mining (CASM) becomes self-evident.
In existence for 10 years under the World Bank directorship, CASM has been able to achieve a great deal, including developing comprehensive strategies to mitigate the environmental impacts of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM,) developing training materials to preserve the health, safety, and environment of artisanal miners; increasing integration of awareness; and increasing implementation of “integrated policy and practice” models by international agencies and governments.
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