Situational Analysis of Gold Processing Practices at Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining in Tanzania

Abstract

This study reports the state-of-art situation of gold processing practices at artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in Tanzania. It involved literature review, document review of public domain reports, and field survey during data collection. This was followed by screening of literature, reports, and field data relevant to the study topic. Further, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges (SWOC) analysis of ASGM was conducted and discussed. The study indicates that ASGM subsector in Tanzania continues growing with people involved directly in ASGM ranging between 1 to 1.5 million. Further, the study indicates that ASGM in Tanzania contributes about 90% of the total employment in the mining sector and contributed 30% of total gold production (42 tonnes) in the year 2020/2021. Furthermore, the average monthly revenue collection from mineral commodities in Tanzania has increased from TZS 1.7billion to TZS 7.06 billion after establishment of mineral markets. Moreover, the study indicates ASGM still employ inefficient processing methods such as hand crushing, sluicing with manually regulated water flow rate, and environmentally pollution gold recovery method such as amalgamation. Following this, a mercury free gold processing flowsheet was proposed subject for further investigation to reduce environmental impacts and improve gold recovery in ASGM. Also, the SWOC analysis identified the critical barriers for the maximum contribution of ASGM to the national economy of Tanzania, which need further attention by ASGM stakeholders.