Widely diverging numbers (comments at 2014 and 2019 numbers!). UNIDO 2019 and Hollestelle 2012 make sense.
Perhaps a Min/max range of 3,000 - 10,000 with an average total of 5,000 could be an informed best guess.
Female participation: no data. perhaps 20%? → 1,000?
Gold: All data are for ASGM.
Source: UNIDO 2019: Gabon GEF National Action Plan Project for Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining. Self-Evaluation. https://open.unido.org/api/documents/17112500/download/Gabon%20GEF-NAP%20eval%20final%2006-28.docx
The NAP surveys describe how ASGM involves a limited number of workers and communities in Gabon. The number of artisan gold mining workers is assessed at 3,000. Previous estimates were at 7,500–10,000. Families involved in ASGM account for around 3% of Gabon’s non-urban population (0.4 million people).
Comment: The “3,000” is surprisingly low. On the other hand, Gabon is a small country with just 2.1 million inhabitants and a rural population of only 225,000.
(ARM-18), Table Annex 3: 5,000 - 10,000
Quoting Hollestelle (2012): https://www.profor.info/sites/profor.info/files/ASM_Gabon_0.pdf
(UBC-14): Gold-only data produced by statistic modelling:
Expected ASM population: 36,000 Estimated ASM gold production: 0.6 t/a
Comment: Number of miners appears exagerated, because 600,000 g/a / 36,000 miners makes for 17 gram per year per miner, which at 40 USD/g is only about 1/10th of the GNI per capita.
| Reference | Year | Citation | Archived Copy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARM-18 | 2018 | Barreto, M.L.,Schein, P., Hinton, J., Hruschka, F. (2018): The Impact of Small-Scale Mining Operations on Economies and Livelihoods in Low- to Middle-Income Countries. ARM, Envigado, PACT, Westcombe. | arm-18.pdf | responsiblemines.org/… |
| IGF-18 | 2018 | IGF (2018): Global Trends in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM): A review of key numbers and issues. IIED/IISD, London, Winnipeg. | igf-18.pdf | iisd.org/… |
| GMA-18 | 2018 | UNEP (2018): Global Mercury Assessment 2018. Technical Background Report E-Annex. Chapter 3.2. UNEP, Geneva. | gma-18.pdf | wedocs.unep.org/… |
| UBC-14 | 2014 | Seccatore, J., Veiga, M., et al. (Univ. of British Columbia - UBC) (2014): An estimation of the artisanal small-scale production of gold in the world. Scitotenv. 496. | ubc-14.pdf | doi.org/… |
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| ASM DATA - Country Database Record | |
|---|---|
| Country Code | GAB |
| Country | Gabon |
| ASM Status | Existing (data assessed) |
| Country Count | 1 |
| Data year | 2019 |
| Publ. year | 2019 |
| ASM Miners | 5,000 |
| - gold | 5 ,000 |
| Inc. DevMin | no |
| - min. | 3,000 |
| - max. | 10,000 |
| - female | 1 ,000 |
| ASM Commodities | gold |