Artisanal and small scale mining in India: selected studies and an overview of the issues

Abstract

In India, mining is one of the main economic activities since time immemorial, giving rise to a long historical tradition of artisanal mining. As modern mining rose during the colonial occupation, artisanal mining activities began to be overlooked and this great tradition became obscure. This invisibility, added with confusion with regard to legally accepted definitions has enhanced the negligence of the artisanal mining sector in India. This study draws attention to the contemporary artisanal mining practices in India – both traditional and non-traditional ones – with regard to four commodities, gold, tin, coal and lignite, and gemstones. It briefly discusses the occurrences of such mining, their salient features and concludes with four specific recommendations. Our recommendations primarily deal with the need for creation of a broader information base, delineating a responsible body to deal with this kind of mining, legal reforms leading to definitional changes and finally, the recognition of the poverty alleviation potential of this sector in view of the Millennium Development Goals.

Keywords:

• artisanal mining
• definitions
• legal reforms
• database
• India

Acknowledgement

We thank Dr. Satoshi Murao, AIST, Japan for providing helpful insights and also for partially funding the research related to ASM work of the senior author, which was particularly useful in development of a database software.

Notes

1. Kautilya's Arthashastra is the oldest written record of mining policies and practices of the time and it has been dated at 400 BC.

2. According to this Act, a ‘mine’ means any excavation where any operation for the purpose of searching for or obtaining minerals has been or is being carried out and includes many other specific activities and operations. ‘Minerals’ according to this Act means all substances which can be obtained from the earth by mining, digging, drilling, dredging, hydraulicing, quarrying or by any other operation and includes mineral oils which in turn include natural gas and petroleum.

3. Available from http://mines.nic.in/nmp.html, accessed by us on 16 December 2005.

4. This is a ‘subordinate organization under the Department of Mines, Ministry of Mines and Minerals. It is engaged in the promotion, conservation and scientific development of all the mineral resources of the country, other than coal, petroleum and natural gas, atomic minerals and minor minerals’ (Government of India, Department of Mines, Annual Report, 1999 – 2000, p.1 Available from http://mines.nic.in/archp4.html accessed on 12.14.2005.)

5. Small scale Mines upto 0.1 mtpy, medium scale Mines upto 0.1 to 0.5 mtpy, large scale Mines over 0.5 mtpy.

6. Sale dumps are depots where the mining companies store their coal after digging it out from different collieries. These are also distribution points for legal coal. Therefore, these are spots from where trucks leave with ‘linkage’ papers to their destinations.