1. technology and computing
2. programming languages

Informal Gold Mining
Key Issues for Rural Women
in
Papua New Guinea and Mongolia
Photograph: Jonathan Watts, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/oct/10/international.mainsection1
A review by
Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt
The Australian National University, Canberra, July, 2010
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 3
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 5
1.1 Introduction to the Countries ........................................................................................... 6
2. ASM in Papua New Guinea: Uyenda (greed) and poposia (gluttony) in a complex
ecosystem ............................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 A brief history of ASM in PNG ................................................................................... 9
2.2 Women and Gold – Not to be Mixed ......................................................................... 11
2.3 Current Situation of ASM .......................................................................................... 13
2.4 Mercury Use............................................................................................................... 16
3. ASM in Mongolia: Ninja Miners and People’s Gold Rush ......................................... 18
3.1 Minerals and Mining in Mongolia ................................................................................. 19
3.2 Ninja Miners of Mongolia ............................................................................................. 22
4. Gender in PNG and Mongolia: Key Issues .................................................................. 26
5. The Roles and Activities of Women in ASM .............................................................. 30
6. Vulnerabilities of Women in ASM in PNG & Mongolia ............................................ 34
6.1 Vulnerabilities arising from Working Conditions ..................................................... 34
6.2 Vulnerabilities arising from Informality .................................................................... 34
7. Health Risks to Women in ASM ................................................................................. 34
7.1 Mercury and ASM ..................................................................................................... 36
7.2 Arsenic and ASM ....................................................................................................... 40
7.3 Silicosis and ASM...................................................................................................... 44
7.4 Sexually Transmitted Infections and ASM ................................................................ 45
7.5 Malaria and ASM ....................................................................................................... 46
7.6 Dermatological conditions and ASM......................................................................... 47
7.7 Water-borne parasitic infections ................................................................................ 50
8. Public health and Sanitation Provision in ASM Areas ................................................ 50
2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report explores the relationship between gender and artisanal/informal mining in
Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Mongolia. More specifically, it addresses the roles and status
of women, provides some new insights into gender issues, and outlines the key issues that
need to be addressed for policy-making and intervention in this sector in these two
countries. It pays special attention on how women in ASM are rendered uniquely vulnerable
to a whole variety of health risks. It is based on desk research based on previously published
secondary information collected from libraries and the internet, and the author
acknowledges the assistance of Drs Aparna Nair in collating this research and David Williams
(for Mongolia) and Daniele Morreti (for PNG) photographs.
The report is structured into eight chapters. The first chapter introduces the two
countries to provide the context of their rural development situation. The second chapter is
on the ASM context of PNG. The third chapter is on the ASM context of Mongolia. The
fourth chapter is on gender context of both PNG and Mongolia. The fifth chapter outlines
the roles and activities of women in ASM in PNG and Mongolia. The sixth chapter is on
general vulnerabilities of women in ASM in PNG and Mongolia. The seventh chapter is on
health risks to women from ASM in the contexts of PNG and Mongolia. The last chapter
summarises the findings from the previous chapters and draws conclusions, and offers some
specific recommendations.
PNG has a long history of ASM since colonial times. The cultural values of indigenous
people influence the attitudes to ASM (incomes earned from ASM are destined to be
wasted) and women’s participation in it (women brings bad luck). Currently there are
between 70,000 to 1000,000 people involved in ASM which contributes significantly to the
rural economy of the country. ASM in PNG is legally recognised, practised in almost all
provinces of the country, characterised by seasonality and mercury use is common, women
are accompanied to the gold fields with children.
3
There are three kinds of ASM practices in PNG: heavily mechanised mining using
earth-moving equipment which accounts for only about 1% of the operations; simple
mechanized mining with hand-held portable equipment which accounts for about
approximately 10% of the operations; and artisanal (micro-scale) mining by individual
miners using simple panning dishes, shovels and rudimentary sluice boxes, which comprises
about 90% of the sector. In PNG, women are considered to account for at least 20% of total
workers in the ASM sector. Another 30% of this population are under-age children, both
male and female. There is considerable geographical variation in the numbers of women
involved in ASM: in areas where ASM is a family activity women across generations—
grandmothers, mothers and children—participate in mining. In their own right, however,
women in PNG’s ASM sector are rarely identified as miners.
Under-reporting of women’s work in ASM – because of informal nature. part-time workers,
family labour unit
4
1. Introduction
This paper explores the relationship between gender and artisanal/informal mining in Papua
New Guinea (PNG) and Mongolia. More specifically, it addresses the roles and status of
women, provides some new insights into gender issues, and outlines the key issues that
need to be addressed for policy-making and intervention in this sector in these two
countries. It pays special attention on how women in ASM are rendered uniquely vulnerable
to a whole variety of health risks. The experiences of the women of both these countries
with regard to ASM and health can provide the basis for policy interventions in these two
countries.
Although ASM can result in some revenues reinvested in the region, contributing to
economic and social development at the local level, it can have detrimental effects on the
social, environmental and economic regimes of the local regions. The lack of knowledge on
safe, efficient and ecologically sound mining techniques tends to keep miners and their
families trapped in a circle of poverty and vulnerability.1 Yet, the livelihood needs are such
that the poor in developing countries often choose to work in ASM to earn cash to
supplement meager incomes, although a host of factors, including tradition, environmental
shocks, long-term ecosystem damage leading to the degradation of subsistence base, rising
commodity prices have lowered the opportunity cost of mining for erstwhile farmers and
peasants. Amongst the environmental impacts of ASM, the ones of greatest concern include
mercury pollution, direct dumping of tailings and effluents into rivers, threats from
improperly constructed tailings dams, river damage in alluvial areas, river siltation, erosion,
deforestation, and landscape destruction.2 Of all kinds of minerals, gold requires the use of
most mercury and hence gold ASM leaves the biggest footprint on the environment.
Women in ASM, as both workers and as part of ASM communities, are particularly
1
Heemskerk, M., 2005. Collecting data in artisanal and small-scale mining communities: measuring progress
towards more sustainable livelihoods. Natural Resources Forum 29, 82–87; Sinding, K., 2005. The dynamics of
artisanal and small-scale mining reform. Natural Resources Forum 29 (3), 243–252.
2
MMSD. 2002. Breaking New Ground: Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development, IIED, xxiii.
5
vulnerable to the threats posed by these effects. They are also susceptible to all manner of
socio-economic, health and environmental stressors. 3
1.1 Introduction to the Countries
Both of these countries are important sites of ASM in the world. Home to a number of
different indigenous tribes and clans, PNG has a long history of ASM. Its mineral riches
ensure that this sector will continue to be important to both those who work in this sector
as well as those in government, NGOs and LSM.
Mongolia, on the other hand, is experiencing a more recent boom in ASM gold
mining in particular, and a study of this relatively new entrant into the arena should prove
interesting.
The broad similarity between the two countries lies in their recent exposure to
modernity, low levels of economic development, low levels of gender equity and women’s
empowerment. However, this similarity can be deceptive. Although both are developing
countries, a broad range of indicators reveal that the two countries had followed very
different growth trajectories. Mongolia outstrips PNG on average adult literacy, female life
expectancy, total fertility rates, school enrolment and other socio-demographic indicators.
PNG can be broadly characterised as a patriarchal society despite the existence of some
matrilineal cultural practices. Women have legal rights to land, but they generally do not use
clan or lineage land. In almost all aspects of life, women are perceived as inferior to men,
and consequently, they lack equal access to education and lag behind men in terms of
employment. Polygamy is sanctioned by traditional customs, particularly in the highlands,
and remains a means to flaunt wealth. Violence against women is widespread and
exacerbated by poverty, and in spite of its impressive economic growth in recent years, PNG
remains one of the poorest countries in the Pacific, a country where women have not
benefited from growth4. However, the PNG government has initiated an ‘Eight-Point Plan’ in
2008 calling for ‘the equal participation of women in all forms of social economic
3
MMSD, Global Report on Artisanal and Small Scale Mining, 7.
4
AusAID (2008), Pacific Economic Survey, AusAID, Canberra.
6
development for the country’ and efforts are underway to improve women’s visibility
particularly in politics and business (Drucza and Hutchens 2008).
Table 1 below gives a brief introduction to the two countries under study.
Table 1. Socioeconomic and Demographic Indicators in Mongolia and PNG
Indicator
Mongolia
Papua New Guinea
Adult literacy rate (%)
97.8
57.3
Gross national income per capita (PPP international $)
2810
1630
Population (in thousands) total
2605
6202
Population annual growth rate (%)
0.9
2.2
Population in urban areas (%)
57
13
Population living below the poverty line (% living on <
US$1 per day)
10.8
Population median age (years)
25
20
Total fertility rate (per woman)
1.9
4
Infant mortality rate (per 1 000 live births) both sexes
35
54
Life expectancy at birth (years) female
70
64
© World Health Organization
2. ASM in Papua New Guinea: Uyenda (greed) and poposia (gluttony) in a
complex ecosystem
Currently more than half of PNG’s national income comes from mining. 5 Papua New Guinea
has experienced acceleration in mineral exploration and development since the 1980s and
through the 1990s. Much of the focus tends to be on large-scale mining projects. Although
relatively less highlighted, ASM has also become an essential part of the economy of PNG
5
7
and contributes significantly to the rural economy and somewhat to the national economy
of the country. The small-scale mining sector currently mines gold with some silver. ASM has
a long history in the country and is currently a legally recognised economic activity. The
financial returns from ASM underpin the livelihood baskets of rural families or provide an
essential addendum to their cash incomes in many parts of rural and remote PNG. Social
changes unleashed by a number of forces – independence, modernisation and globalised
mining have resulted in a transformation of the subsistence-based economic system to a
cash-based one in some areas. As cash becomes necessary for year-round family and
individual well-being, such as for the provision of medical supplies, rural people have turned
more and more towards ASM for supplementary incomes. The need for cash is not met by
the limited number of opportunities thrown up by the stagnating economy in the rural
areas. The challenge of negotiating the extensive and unbridgeable distances over difficult
terrain, the hills, dense forests and the sea also requires cash. Cash is also needed for
children’s education and to procure modern needs; gold mining has therefore become an
important way of life in some parts of the country. Crispin6 (2006: 257) noted that the ‘need
for cash arising from changing aspirations and consumptions of the people is what drives
the SSM in most places’.
In PNG, small-scale mining applies to both alluvial and hard rock, which are covered by
mining permits such as an Alluvial Mining Lease (AML) and Mining Lease (ML). In the case of
the alluvial gold, this includes all unconsolidated rock materials, transported and deposited
by stream action or gravitational actions, which are capable of being freely excavated
without prior ripping or blasting. These early gold rushes were dominated by expatriates, a
trend which changed when indigenous people began to enter the industry from around
1949. Alluvial gold is common in PNG and Moretti (2005) observed that the ASM miners
operate in a variety of different geo-historical settings – from the heights of Mount Kare to
the lush meanders of the Sepik river, from historically marginal areas to regions of long
colonial experience, from new mining frontiers to established sites of resource extraction,
and from close proximity to large-scale mining operations and/or urban markets and
services to almost complete isolation. They exploit deposits that differ dramatically in
6
Crispin, Geoff 2006. Women in small scale gold mining in Papua New Guinea, in Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt and
Martha Macintyre (eds) Women Miners in Developing Countries: Pit women and Others, Ashgate, pp. 255-264..
8
nature, dimensions, easiness of reach, and average ore grade and fineness.
As ASM
replaces market gardening for cash incomes, it is readily seen in all provinces. However, the
main areas of artisanal and small-scale mining activities in PNG are:

the Wau/Bulolo areas in Morobe Province;

the Maprik area, East Sepik;

the Mt Kare and Porgera areas in Enga Province and

the Kinantu area of Eastern Highlands Province.
2.1 A brief history of ASM in PNG
Small scale gold mining has been part of the local economy since the late nineteenth
century. ASM probably started around 1888, when gold was first discovered on Sudest
Island in the east, which was soon followed by discoveries in other parts of the country. The
gold rush in the Wau and Bulolo districts in 1922 grew into a major dredging operation
along the Bulolo valley, resulting in small open-pit mining in the Wau region from the
1930s.7
The discovery of significant amounts of gold around Wau resulted in a rush which
attracted all kinds of people from outside: miners, indentured labourers and entrepreneurs.
Large-scale development of the alluvial gold resources in Bulolo and Wau areas did not,
however, begin till 1930s. At that time, all mining leases were held by expatriates, and PNG
people were allowed to work only as tributors or labourers. The Australian Administration
decided that only married women would be allowed to join in the gold rush. This was
justified in the name of ‘protecting the weaker sex’ from the harsh living conditions of the
mining frontier. Such action was often justified by a sensitivity to indigenous cultural beliefs
about the polluting effects of women from outside communities. In Morobe for example,
the Anga men believed that loose single women and ‘prostitutes’ would exploit and pollute
the miners by draining them of their will to work and relieving them of their hard-earned
gold. Even married women were not officially allowed in the goldfields at that time.
However, in spite of these measures, the goldfields were not entirely women-free areas;
women became miners from the very early stages of the gold rush and/or followed their
7
Blasius Susapu and Geoff Crispin, 2001. Report on Small-scale Mining in Papua New Guinea.
9
husbands into the goldfields. European women remained primarily as wives at home rather
than working as miners.
Figure 1: Man Panning for Gold
After 1950s, many PNG nationals started mining older mines and were granted new mining
leases. This is when the actual transfer of the skills and knowledge of alluvial gold mining
began as the local residents around the Wau/Bulolo area began applying for Mining Leases.
Another decade later, most of the expatriates in the industry who had originally held mining
leases for ASM gold mining had transferred their leases to local citizens. This was also the
time when a few women also started to go into the fields and with help from men, started
mining themselves.
Since the 1970s, the large alluvial mining operations closed in Wau and the
expatriate owners began to leave in anticipation of independence of the country. This was a
period of change as the political transformation was accompanied by social and economic
changes, which affected the rural poor adversely. Unemployment was rampant on the heels
of a general decline of the economy, services and law and order. This was also the time
when the population of the goldfields began to increase from the influx of population from
other parts of the country. From the core areas, ASM also spread to other provinces. As
women faced the social and economic changes, they coped with the pressures of providing
food security and survival of their families by turning to artisanal mining as a coping
strategy. Thus, the history of ASM gold mining in PNG is not gender-neutral, although the
10
understandings of the roles of women in mining are neither homogeneous nor resistant to
change. Today, as Moretti8 observes (2006: 134):
...artisanal and small-scale miners operate in a great variety of geo-historical
settings...they bring an astonishing spectrum of ‘traditional’ political forms,
cosmological outlooks, gender ideologies, kinship practices, landownership systems,
subsistence strategies and modes of ritual exchange to bear on how they regulate
access to mineral deposits, understand the environmental and health and safety risks
connected to resource extraction, assess the viability and durability of their
enterprises, and organise the production, distribution and consumption of their
natural resources.
Moretti goes on to show that women face serious obstacles to full participation in mining,
including a variety of cultural factors such as pollution beliefs, land tenure practices, the
unequal control of household resources, and the gendered division of labour. The high
degree of diversity in ASM practices in the country means that a detailed understanding of
gender and labour organisation in ASM is crucial to the development of effective strategies
and policies to make the livelihoods of ASM communities more sustainable. The ability to
participate in ASM and benefit from the activity would be critical for rural women’s
empowerment in the country. PNG is also one of the least developed countries in the world
– at par with Burundi and Mali on Human Poverty Index with 31 per cent of its population
living below the poverty line of US$ 1/day. The richest 10 per cent account for 36 per cent of
consumption and the poorest 50 per cent account for just 20 per cent. This extreme poverty
poses a challenge to see ASM as a vital source of income for many rural communities. The
access for women to the economic benefits from ASM, safety issues, and increased
awareness of health impacts and the need for their amelioration would be a key factor in
improving the livelihoods of entire communities in rural areas of the country.
2.2 Women and Gold – Not to be Mixed
The attitude to gold, which is the main mineral mined by artisanal miners in PNG, is
connected to the indigenous attitude to women and gender. The Anthropological
complexities of the country, including those around indigenous people’s rights, mean that
8
Moretti, Daniele 2006. The gender of the gold: An ethnographic and historical account of women’s
involvement in artisanal and small-scale mining in Mount Kaindi, Papua New Guinea, Oceania, 76, pp. 133-149.
11
Melanesian eco-cosmologies – the holistic ways individuals and communities construe and
pursue their relations with a cosmos where humans and non-humans form an integrated
whole – shape how minerals and mining are viewed locally. In Mount Kaindi, for example, it
is common for a miner who discovers gold or who wishes to mine there to invite a senior
male landowner to offer gifts to warn the spirits of his intention to mine the area (Moretti,
2009). Such cultural beliefs and practices are important for even policy formulation; for
example, gold is believed to be polluting and is incorporated into myth. Many men from the
Huli community in the Southern Highland province believe that money obtained from the
sale of gold cannot be invested in bisnis (Melanesian Pidgin term for ‘business’); gold money
can be used only for consumption, particularly for the purchase of luxury commodities such
as beer, gifts and airline tickets. The gold itself is closely associated with Satan and those in
permanent contact with the devil to increase their productivity can only use it to purchase
luxury goods but cannot use it as capital. The strong sense of purity and pollution had
shaped male-female relations during the colonial times, but post-colonial societal changes
and removal of taboos imply that men have lost a large degree of ritual and political control
over the world. The presence of women in gold mines is often equated with pollution and
illness.
When gold was discovered at Mt Kare (by CRA), a high-altitude valley in Enga province,
thousands of Huli, Ipili and Paiela walked or flew in helicopters to Mt Kare to work the
surface and alluvial gold, turning entire area into a muddy quagmire9. As many men fall ill
due to unsanitary living conditions, and the damp and cold climate, they attribute their
overall health problems to the presence of women. This is related to a belief in Mt Kare area
that the money obtained from gold is destined to be ‘wasted’, in cohabitation with sexworkers, leading to a state of ‘confusion’ which is a symptom of the mental illness caused by
sexual intercourse with women, particularly ‘foreign’ (from outside or other communities)
women. The actual cause of the illness is the gold itself; as women, who have the smell and
secretions of sex on their bodies, pan for gold in the streams and contaminate the metal,
gold assumes the power to cause illness. Clark (1993: 746) gave a striking illustration of the
connection between women, gold and pollution in Mt Kare. It is believed that, while
9
Ryan, Peter. 1991. Black Bonanza: A Landslide of Gold, Hylands House Publishing, Melbourne.
12
panning, a woman may get flakes of gold dust under her fingernails and then later, while
feeding men, purposely or inadvertently transfer the gold dust from her nails to the food,
causing them to fall ill. Similarly, a woman may get flecks of menstrual blood under her
fingernails when dealing with her discharge and may then, again either purposely or
inadvertently, poison her husband when giving him food10. Cultural beliefs prevent or
disadvantage women in ASM in other parts of the country; in Mount Kaindi, for example,
Moretti (2006: 139) reports Anga men proclaim that ‘if you let women mine, the gold will
disappear from your land, or landslides will cover and kill you’, and on this basis attempt to
keep women away from their workings.
Besides In PNG, women often find it difficult to cope with the burdens of household
chores and mining, find it harder to acquire and maintain tools of production, and have little
or no control over the incomes from ASM. All this results in a poor incentive and low returns
for women from labour in ASM.
2.3 Current Situation of ASM
In PNG, as in other areas of the ASM sectors worldwide, there are seasonal fluctuations in
activity, in addition to the difficulty of actually taking a census of this largely unregulated
sector. Estimates do suggest however, that by 1998, between 18,000 and 20,000 people
were involved in the small scale gold industry and by 2001, this estimate had nearly tripled
to between 50,000 and 60,000, although this is most likely to be a conservative estimate.11
Susapu and Crispin both point out that this accounts for 1.25 percent of the total national
population, and the number of dependents on these artisanal miners exceeded 420,000. A
more recent report by Javia and Siop put the figure of ASM miners at a much higher level –
somewhere between 70,000 to 1000,000. About 80-90% of these miners are illiterate and
work in very harsh conditions12.
10
Clark, Jeffrey, 1993. Gold, sex, and pollution: Male illness and myth at Mt. Kare, Papua New Guinea,
American Ethnologist, 20(4): 742-757.
11
Ibid.
Javia, Immaculate and Paulia Siop, 2010. Paper on Challenges and Achievements on Small-scale Mining and
Gender: Papua New Guinea, SIDS -18, New York.
12
13
Figure 2: Digging a gold vein
ASM is an economic activity that significantly contributes to the rural economy of PNG
although the sector presents a different set of social development problems than the rest of
the country’s rural economy. For example, small-scale miners do not have a ‘savings’
culture. Illegal mining and land disputes are interconnected with violence, prostitution, gold
smuggling, unsafe use of mercury and severe environmental impacts. The bulk of these ASM
miners throughout the country use very basic equipment and little initial capital. Their
average monthly income is K250–K500.1314
14
Susapu and Crispin, 2001.
14
Figure 3: Goldfields in PNG
ASM operations in PNG start with minimal basic capital—sometimes as little as 15$, which is
the price of the gold pan to 3000$ which is the expenditure on basic tools and portable
equipment such as high bankers and suction dredges.15
Figure 4: Miner Working in a Tunnel
15
Ibid.7
15
Figure 5: Selling gold
There are three main types of small-scale mining operations in PNG, all of which are both
very inefficient and hazardous:

Mechanised mining which uses heavy earth-moving equipment such as
bulldozers and excavators and high-capacity ore-processing kit such as trommels
and jigs. This category accounts for only about 1 per cent of the operations in
PNG.

The second group includes simple mechanized miners, who use hand-held
portable equipment such as pontoon dredges, hydraulic sluice pumps and sluice
boxes. This group accounts for about approximately 10 per cent of this sector’s
operations.

The last group includes the individual artisanal (micro-scale) miners who use
simple panning dishes, shovels and rudimentary sluice boxes and comprises
about 90 per cent of this sector.
2.4 Mercury Use
In PNG, the alluvial gold, in most cases, is extracted with mercury. Mercury is used either in
the sluice box compartments or mercury is used in gold panning to extract gold from the
16
black sand. The mercury/gold amalgam is then heated to evaporate the mercury and leaves
behind a pure gold residue. 16
Table 2: Estimated mining population in PNG
Province
Est. Mining Pop.
Bouganville
900–1000
Central
2–300
East New Britain
50–100
East Sepik
10–12,000
Eastern Highlands
1000
Enga
4–5000
Gulf
3-4000
Madang
2–3000
Manus
20–50
Mine Bay
1000
Morobe
15–20,000
National Capital District Uncertain
16
New Ireland
4–500
Oro
4–500
Southern Highlands
2–300
Simbu
Uncertain
West New Britain
A few only
West Sepik
3–5000
Western
50–100
Western Highlands
50–100
Total
42,700–53,950
Susapu and Crispin (2001). Report on Small Scale Mining in Papua New Guinea.
17
3. ASM in Mongolia: Ninja Miners and People’s Gold Rush
Mongolia is a landlocked country in north-eastern Asia, sandwiched between the People’s
Republic of China and the Russian Federation. It is a relatively large country (~ 1.5 million
km2) but with a small population (~3 million) of which 57% is urbanised. It is a is high, cold,
and dry country, with an extreme continental climate characterised by long, cold winters
and short summers, during which most precipitation falls. Precipitation is highest in the
north, average 20-35 cm/per year, and lowest in the south, which receives 10-20 cm. On the
extreme south of the country lies the Gobi, where some areas receive no precipitation at all
in most years.
‘Gobi’ is a Mongol word, meaning desert, depression, salt marsh, or steppe, but
which usually refers to a category of arid rangeland with insufficient vegetation to support
marmots but with enough to support camels. Mongols distinguish gobi from desert proper,
although the distinction is not always apparent to those not very familiar with the harsh
Mongolian landscape. Gobi rangelands are fragile and are easily destroyed by overgrazing,
which results in expansion of the true desert, a stony waste where not even Bactrian camels
can survive. Average temperatures over most of the country are below freezing from
November through March and are about freezing in April and October. January and
February averages of -20° C are common, with winter nights of -40° C occurring most years.
Summer extremes reach as high as 38° C in the southern Gobi region and 33° C in the capital
UlaanBaatar. Average annual temperature in UlaanBaatar is only -2.9oC. More than half the
country is covered by permafrost, which makes mining and transportation difficult.
Ulaanbaatar lies at 1,351 meters above sea level in the valley of the Tuul Gol, a river. Being
located in the relatively well-watered north, the city receives an annual average of 31 cm of
precipitation during July-August. A recent drought and an extreme winter (temperatures
dropping to -50oC) are forcing the herders to the urban centres where they set up their
yurts around the perimeter. In economic as well as political and social ‘transition’ Mongolia
is considered to be one of the poorest yet most democratic countries in Asia. As a
consequence of coming under Russian domination, literacy rates are very high (97%).q
Mongolia's weather is characterized by extreme variability and short-term
unpredictability in the summer, frosts and blizzards in winter and spring dust-storms. Such
18
weather poses severe challenges to rural livelihoods. Less than 1% of the land is arable, only
8-10 percent is forest, and the rest is pasture or desert. Grain, mostly wheat, is grown in the
valleys of the Selenge river system in the north, but yields fluctuate widely as a result of the
variability of rainfall and the onset of frosts17. Losses of livestock are inevitable under such
circumstances, and can wipe away the livelihood bases of entire communities in a matter of
days. Despite this, a large segment of the national populations rely on herding as their main
livelihood strategy.
The population growth rate of Mongolia reflects this harshness of rural livelihoods; it
is just under 1.5%.
18
Since it’s changeover to a market-based economic system around
1992, the employment opportunities, patterns, average incomes, human resource
utilisation and social costs in Mongolia have been changing (Morris, 2001; ix; Noerper,
2006).
The withdrawal, nearly two decade ago, of the communist social system has
resulted in a retreating public sector, which in turn resulted in unemployment for many
labourers. Many herders sought employment in the informal economic sectors; one such
sector is mining, which has experienced a surge of interest from both local and international
actors.19 Mongolia is therefore a particularly interesting case for studying ASM.
3.1 Minerals and Mining in Mongolia
Mongolia’s complex geology provides an extensive mineral potential with more than 6,000
mineral occurrences providing at least 80 different mineral commodities. Mongolia has
substantial deposits of coal, copper, molybdenum, gold, uranium, lead, zinc, rare earth
elements, ferrous metals, fluorspar, phosphate, precious stones, etc.
17
18
World Bank. (2003a). Land Resources and their Management: Mongolia Environment Monitor. World Bank,
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mg.html (accessed 1 September 2010).
1919
Bikales, et al. Bill Bikales, Chimed Khurelbaatar and Karin Schelzig.
19
Figure 6: Map of Mongolia
Mongolia has one copper mine in Erdenet, whose exports of copper and molybdenum bring
in half of the foreign exchange coming into the country. Mongolia has substantial reserves
of coal, and has the potential for significant petroleum exports. The country is estimated to
have potential coal reserves of 100 billion metric tons including coking quality coal. Coal
production over the past decade has been approximately 5-6 million metric tons annually of
which almost all was consumed by domestic power plants, but there is substantial
expansion in production with China as a ‘captive market’ and now an importer of coal. It is
estimated that China imported 8.5 million tonnes in 2009 from Mongolia and this will rise
sharply20. In 2007, mining accounted for about 20 percent of the real GDP of Mongolia, 56
percent of the gross industrial output and 69 percent of exports. This is expected to rise
rapidly over the next few years with the gold/copper project at Oyu Tolgio alone predicted
to contribute 34% of GDP by 2013. Several major mining operations were developed before
1989 with the assistance of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. Postcommunist Mongolia has experienced a mining boom with many private international
companies investing in various ventures in the country. According to the Mineral Resources
Authority of Mongolia (MRAM) there about 500 mining license owners (of which about 120
20
(http://www.chinamining.org/News/2010-04-14/1271207066d35440.html
http://www.chinamining.org/News/2010-04-14/1271207066d35440.html)
20
is of gold licenses). According to the Land Office of the Ministry of Nature and Environment
some 47,000 ha of land are under mining operations and an estimated 100,000 ha of land
have been degraded by coal and gold mining activities since 1997. Mining is now a major
contributor to the formal and informal Mongolian economy and is likely to remain
significant in the future. The formal mining sector in Mongolia employs at least 14,500
people and the informal mining sector is estimated to employ at least twice that number,
mostly in the very lucrative gold mining sector. The Mongolian MRAM estimates that at
least 30,000 individuals are involved in the ASM extraction of gold alone. The recent
exponential growth in ASM in the past decade is in part the result of the loss of traditional
herding livelihoods to thousands of rural Mongolians and the chance to extract minerals
manually from the periphery of already functioning mines and from the waste of placer gold
dredging operations. Since 1995, gold production has emerged as one of the most dynamic
sectors of the Mongolian economy, and is the current focus of many international mining
companies operating in Mongolia and the ASM sector. Gold production has grown ten-fold
since 1993, and topped 11.4 metric tons in the year 2000. Currently 94 percent of the
mining concerns in Mongolia are gold producers (Mongolia Mining Sector Sources of Growth
Studies, WHO, 6).
Figure 7: Mongolian Grasslands after being Dug by Ninja Miners
21
3.2 Ninja Miners of Mongolia
The so-called Mongolian El Dorado, which is also the largest focus of ASM in Mongolia,
consists of the area around Ogoomor, in the Zamaar valley about 700 km west of
UlaanBaatar, where geologists estimate, there are gold reserves of at least 100 tonnes. At
today's price of $23,000 (£11,315) a kilo, that means the land contains $2.3bn of wealth more than Mongolia's entire GDP last year.
Russian and local firms have bought up
concessions to mine the land. In the nearby hills, their giant draglines clear the top soil,
while their screeching dredges sift through the earth, spewing out giant heaps of dirt.
Figure 8: Ninja-dug landscape
Large areas of the country are now dotted with ‘wildcatters’, or groups of people who have
left their homes and occupations to dig and sift for gold on a full-time basis. Their numbers
are growing by 5000 annually. These informal miners are popularly called ‘ninjas’, as they
carry their green plastic bowls or sifting pans on their backs wherever they go (the pans are
said to make the miners look like the cartoon characters the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).
The ninjas come from all directions and all Aimags of Mongolia, with only one key purpose:
to earn cash incomes to supplement their declining livelihoods, although the average ninja
miner makes only around $10 or less in a week’s back-breaking work. They are usually
unemployed or have inadequate incomes, are local herders, farm-workers and include many
women and some children. Besides the hard-rock and placer categories, one can identify exherder ninjas, hybrid herder-cum-ninjas, hybrid herder-cum-ninjas, commuting ninjas and
undergraduate ninjas depending on the origin and nature of these groups. Although
individual hard-rick ninjas are found sometimes, placer ninjas usually work in groups
22
comprising of family and friends. There are usually no specific ‘boss’ or leader of one group
which are usually managed in the same way as herder ger families, that is large extended
families with sophisticated social structure and internal elaborate and multipolar decisionmaking. This means that women have relatively more freedom than they would in a
patriarchal society, but at the same time, it means that women are subject to the informal
rules and customs that define their roles traditionally. Thus, the shift from herding
occupation to ninjas have not empowered women significantly.
Environmental degradation, rising gold prices and loosening of social safety net since
the transformation of the economy are almost always cited as the key reasons for the rapid
growth in the numbers of ninja miners. However, livelihood shocks in terms of severe
winters causing widespread death of herds is the key driving factor behind the expansion of
the ninja mining sector in the country. Baatar et al observe (2004): ‘the gold rush is povertydriven, not greed-driven, with sudden waves of recruitment from herders who have lost
their livestock … … and steady influxes from underpaid under-employed rural people and
low-paid civil servants.’21
Figure 9: Equipment for Washing Gold
Placer ninjas typically mine gravel in terraces or side valleys, and process ore on the spot,
and live mostly in temporary villagers of felt tents (called gers, or yurts). Often thee ninja
miners wash the tailings of larger mines to secure the ‘out of balance’ resource that gold
mining companies cannot recover due to the prohibitive cost of stripping thick overburden.
21
Baatar, Chimed-Erdene, Robin Grayson, Baatar Tumenbayar, Minjin Batbayar, Bill Murray, Tsevel Delgertsoo
and Urtnasan Tuul (2004) Overview of the Ninja Phenomenon – the gold rush in Mongolia, World Placer
Journal, Vol 4.
23
In contrast, hard-rock ninjas typically mine the hill slopes or the hills, and process the ore in
their own permanent home and villages, usually with mercury. New gold-rush ger
settlements have come up around mining sites, in valleys that have never been mined
before, and in protected areas. Working in teams of three or four, they use heavy iron
stakes to dig holes between 3 and 5 m deep. When they reach a depth where the gold is
visible, the tunnel branches out horizontally, resembling a rabbit warren. Once the gold
deposits in a hole is finished, one of the ninjas climb down to the bottom with a candle and
digs up dirt by the bucketful. This dirt is then pulled up by other ninjas to the surface to be
sifted further.
In recent years, besides the rural residents students from the city have started to
take up ninja mining during their summer breaks. They arrive at the gold fields with their
parents to earn extra cash to help pay cost of their education. Women are usually handed
the job of sifting the freezing cold water through the dirt in order to sift out the gold. The
lack of legal rights not only lead to law and order issues in ninja mining areas, but also
human rights violations against ninjas. They are threatened with violence, beaten up,
arrested and detained without charges, their cash is stolen, tools are taken away, gold is
confiscated and gers are demolished.
24
Figure 10: Panning for Gold
Informal mining by Ninjas has recently attracted much international attention, as the ninja
miners and international mining concerns found themselves on opposite sides of the fence.
Conflicts often break out between the two with unequal powers, although often ninjas tend
to live around and use the tailings from larger gold mining operations. After a group of ninja
miners allegedly forced their way into the site of a Russian gold mining concern in Ogoomor
attacked the guards and employees and stole their gold, the Russian company has enlisted
the assistance of the local police and administration in order to ‘contain’ the ninja miners.
Unfortunately, this has resulted in many reported incidents of violence, incarceration and
conflict between the local miners and the authorities. The Guardian reported in 2007 of the
conflicts in Ogoomor, where women and children alike were feeling the results of these
police actions. Women who wandered too close to international-owned mines were seized,
physically assaulted and imprisoned.22
Other conflicts arise between the ninjas and the traditional land users because the
mining of the land encroaches upon the rights of the herders to pasture, who do not have
any formal legal rights to the land they use. The herders have no legal protection from the
damages to or the loss of their pasture lands or watering sources, and have become more
vulnerable due to the activities of both the ninjas and the formally recognised larger mining
companies. The herders have used, for generations, a community-based management
system that is largely unwritten, and their grazing rights have evolved as a set of social
customs allocating pasture to households and regulating behaviour within and between
smaller and larger groups. A herder’s rights over the land are not exclusive: anyone may
graze livestock on common land. It is remarkable that the land laws and regulations of
Mongolia have not recognised the traditional land rights of the herders, rendering this
community socially and economically vulnerable. The conflict is more serious between the
herders and the ninjas, both of whom belong to the informal domain, than the ninjas and
the larger mining companies who operate in a formalised and written framework of laws,
22
Watts, J. Prospectors and ‘ninja’ miners flood to East’s El Dorado’.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/oct/10/international.mainsection1
25
rules and regulations, licensing, contracts and taxes. By virtue of being part of the informal
economy, the ninjas remain outside of this framework, but the herders cannot claim their
rights against the ninjas as well. Other conflicts arise between traditional land use such as
forested land, the boundaries of which are better defined, are cleared by the ninjas.
As a result of the economic potential of mining in spite of these problems, the
Mongolian government has recently recognized the sector as economically important
(World Bank, 126-8). The ninjas hold neither exploration license nor mining licenses. One of
the key topics discussed among officials, civil society representatives and the general public
is how the government can change and improve the minerals law to best protect Mongolian
interests and further negotiate the growth of a strategic natural resource exploitation,
particularly the deposits at Tavan Tolgoi in partnership with international investors
(Noerper, 2006). Recently, new legislation was passed in the Mongolian Parliament
providing stricter environmental requirements for mining companies, which stipulated that
the government owned at least 34 percent of all mineral deposits. However, the ASM sector
still remains largely under-regulated.
4. Gender in PNG and Mongolia: Key Issues
Gender has been described by the well-known feminist Diane Elson (1993, p. 237) as:
the social differentiation of women and men through processes which are learned,
changeable over time and vary within and between cultures. At the economic level,
gender appears as a sexual division of labour in which some types of work are strongly
associated with women and some types with men. The costs and benefits of the sexual
division of labour are unequally shared between men and women to the disadvantage of
the latter.
For most ASM communities, which reveal a ‘gender division of labour’ this statement makes
sense. One can see that the various kinds of work that women and men do in ASM are not
just work in an absolute sense; they are also perceived as a certain kind of work, as much as
men and women are seen as being certain kinds of human beings created by nature, and
then the kind of work is attributed with masculinity and/or femininity, that is the work is
deemed suitable for men or women. This is not unusual, and in almost all societies starting
from the earliest ones, men and women undertook different tasks. Women’s reproductive
26
labour set them apart as ‘special workers’ who are endowed with a special ability and hence
special needs. However, in many ASM communities, even when men and women work
together, as part of the same production unit (such as a family unit of labour), the tasks that
men generally do assume greater importance. For example, mechanised jobs are often done
by men, digging is done by men and so on. Unequal power relations may hide behind such
division of labour, which is for all practical purposes, sexually-, not gender-, based division of
labour in ASM.
For an assessment of the incorporation of gender into development in Mongolia and
PNG, certain broad indicators may provide some idea of how the countries are faring. If one
takes into consideration the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Gender and
Development Index (GDI), Mongolia appears to fare much better than other developing
countries of the Asia Pacific region (such as Vietnam). Other indicators also indicate that
Mongolian women have advanced in the past decades to a more equitable status in society.
These include considerable access to government services, such as health with 99% of all
births are attended by trained medical personnel23 and higher life expectancy at birth
compared to males (F 70, M 62). In terms of education, gross enrolment ratios for females
are higher for primary secondary and tertiary levels are higher than for males (F= 83, M=72)
24.
Consequently literacy rates are high and similar to males (F=97.5, M=98.0). There is a
fairly high female participation in the labour force but female Incomes still much lower than
Male Incomes (Estimated Earned Income F=$1,413 PPP, M= 2,799)25.
Basic human rights of Mongolian women were officially recognized in the 1992
constitution. But despite such improvements, certain issues remain unresolved. For
instance, there appears to be growing gender disparities in major areas of economic and
social activities. A disproportionate number of the poor in the country are women, and the
rates of unemployment among women (although the difference is smaller compared to
other transitional economies). Female-headed households (FHH) are considered to be at
much greater risk of being poor, particularly in urban areas and women on average earn
23
http://www.who.int/whosis/data/Search.jsp
24
UNDP, Human Development Report, 2007-8, 343.
25
UNDP, Human Development Report, 2007-8, 343.
27
consistently less than men and this gap has only increased in 2000-02. School nonattendance rates are significantly higher among women, and lower educational attainment
means women hold fewer managerial or decision-making positions in the private or public
sectors. The proportion of women in elected office rose in 1997 and 2000 but fell in 2004 to
7%. In general, women are rarely involved in decision making, their concerns are not given
priority, and as a result, existing legislation is not enforced. Mongolian population is
characterised by high maternal mortality rates (MMR), that is 470/100,000 live births. 26
PNG currently has many strong policy frameworks that seek to improve the lives of
women, promote equality and to mainstream gender into development. The PNG National
Goals and Directive Principles enshrined in its Constitution outline a commitment to equality
for all. The National Women’s Policy was developed in 1990 to contribute to these goals and
principles through achieving ‘increased participation by women as both beneficiaries and
agents in the development process and improvement in the quality of life for all’. Female
Life Expectancy at Birth is higher than male life expectancy at birth (F= 60.1, M=54.3)
However the actual status of women remains low throughout the country. Some of the
indicators show that the access to government services such as health not as high as in
Mongolia only 38% of births are attended by skilled health personnel.27 Female infant
mortality rates lower than male infant mortality rates (f=51/1,000 live births and
m=58/1,000 live births)28 Female life Expectancy at birth higher than male life expectancy at
birth (f=64, m=60)29 Probability at birth of survival to age 65 significantly higher for men:
men 54.3 and female 40.3.30 Maternal Mortality Ratios very high 470 per 100,000 live
births.31 Female Incomes dramatically lower than male incomes (Estimated Earned Incomes
F=140 PPP US$, M=960 PPP US$)32 High levels of violence against women – both domestic
26
UNDP, Human Development Report, 2007-8. P. 263.
27
http://www.who.int/whosis/data/Search.jsp
28
http://www.who.int/whosis/data/Search.jsp
29
http://www.who.int/whosis/data/Search.jsp
30
World Health Organisation, 2001. Women’s Health: Western Pacific Region. WHO Publications, Gengva.
31
http://www.who.int/whosis/data/Search.jsp.
32
UNDP, Human Development Report, 343.
28
and sexual violence targeted at women and children - are not uncommon, so are high levels
of violent crimes against women. However, much of community violence is underreported,
although physical injuries often result in permanent disability and/or limb damage amongst
women. Women generally face discrimination in educational and employment
opportunities, reflected in significantly lower Female Adult Literacy Rates than Male Adult
Literacy Rates (F=50.9, M=63.4).3334 The combined Gross Enrolment Ratios for Primary,
Secondary and Tertiary Education are also lower among females than among males (F=38,
M=43). Women generally occupy lower status positions in the labor force and are rarely
represented in managerial positions. The general perception is that women cannot enter
into certain employment and educational spheres because they would have to interact with
men outside their ethnic group or ‘wantok’. Women who are already engaged in productive
economic roles are often hampered from advancement for fear that it would cause
upheaval at home. For instance, a study by the Department of Education in PNG found that
female schoolteachers refused promotion for fear that it would provoke their already
violent husbands to further violence.35
The continuing perception in PNG is that men are entitled to hold power over women
because of their gender and that male interests supersede female interests. Women have
very limited access to political authority: politics is still perceived as a ‘man’s game’;
similarly, female participation in the direct community decision making processes is also
minimal.
Gender inequality within household spheres and significant disparities in
household members’ workloads. In addition to the usual and traditional family and
household responsibilities, women’s responsibilities to generate income as well as the
education of children are expanding, while that of men is actually decreasing.
36
The
participation of women in development or empowerment projects in PNG is also an issue
that causes further friction between men and women. Some husbands have prevented their
wives from attending such meetings by locking them in the house, pulling them out of
33
UNDP, Human Development Report, 2007-8, 343.
34
http://www.who.int/whosis/data/Search.jsp
35
Gibson, M.A. 1990. Equity for female teachers: A national survey of employment, Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Port Moresby, PNG National Research Institute.
36
Loveridge, D. & Kotvojs, F, 2004. ‘Gender mainstreaming in the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary’,
Development Bulletin, no. 64, pp. 67-69.
29
vehicles headed for such meetings or by following them and dragging them home.37 Women
still not able to own land in many parts of PNG, restricting their economic opportunities,
particularly from mining-related projects.
5. The Roles and Activities of Women in ASM
Women are half the world’s population, receive one tenth of the world’s income, account
for two thirds of the worlds working hours and own only one hundredth of the world’s
property.
International Labour Organisation, 2006, Changing Patterns in the World of Work.
A recent global report by UNIFEM (2007) noted that worldwide, a trend of women’s work
reveals greater participation by women in informal activities. This is popularly called
‘Informalisation of women’s work’ as women find jobs in less secure, poorly paid and more
manual tasks. In mining too, as employment opportunities have been shrinking with
mechanisation in the formal sector, women have found employment in informal mining. The
estimates of the proportion of women compared to men in the informal sector are as yet
inconsistent because of the nature of this sector and the difficulty in collecting accurate
data. Estimates suggest that in general, at least 54 percent of labourers in the informal
economic sector, as a whole, are women.38 One can deduce that the proportion of women
in ASM could be similar. However, besides poor enumeration of their work, the ways in
which women work in and around ASM is also responsible for poor recording of their
contribution. Often, women work part-time in ASM or as part of the ‘family labour unit’
which is defined by a ‘head of household’ who is generally male and is the main ‘miner’,
with the wife and children accompanying him to provide additional manual labour support.
Therefore, the numbers of women in ASM sector can vary widely depending on whether
these women are enumerated as working part time or fulltime in the ASM mines. As women
are likely to work part time in the informal mining sector and have supportive ancillary roles
37
Bradley, C. 1994. Why male violence against women is a development issue: Reflections from Papua New
Guinea. In: Davies, M. (ed) Women and Violence. London: Zed Books Ltd. pp. 10-27.
38
ADB Gender in Mongolia.
30
there is a very high likelihood that the actual number of women in this sector is actually
much higher than the estimated numbers39 (Wasserman, 1999).
Figure 11: Woman Miners Carrying Tools Back
In PNG, women are considered to account for at least 20 percent of total workers in the
ASM sector.40 Another 30 percent of this population are school-age children, male and
female. There is also considerable geographical variation in the numbers of women involved
in ASM in PNG. In some areas, very few women appear to be involved in mining, but
elsewhere, particularly in areas where ASM is a family activity, women across generations—
grandmothers, mothers and children—participate in this sector. In their own right, however,
women in PNG’s ASM sector are rarely identified as miners.
39
Wasserman, 1999.
40
MMSD, 2002. Breaking New Ground, P. 314.
31
Figure 12: Baby Lying by the Mine
Papua New Guinean women working in ASM all over the country tend to perform the same
kind of functions. Usually these tasks are undertaken by both men and women, without a
strict gender division of labour and include: panning, carrying and processing ores, crushing,
grinding, sieving, washing and panning, amalgamation, and amalgam decomposition in gold
mining. In PNG, the primary contributions of women miners include panning, digging,
sluicing and the final separation of gold. Women are not usually reported as doing the
amalgam cooking, this appears to be an exclusively male province.41
Women do not tend to handle tasks that involve mechanised equipment, a role
usually reserved for men. Less commonly, women are concession owners, mine operators,
dealers. In some African countries, it is evident that these women-owned enterprises are
often better managed than those run by men, in spite of the fact that women find it very
difficult to get legal, financial and institutional support.42 Women also perform the
supportive services such as cooking and keeping shops. However, marketing and sales of
gold is in most cases done by men. It is paradoxical that while women often perform crucial
roles such as transporting and processing materials, they are not always considered ‘miners’
(Susapu and Crispin, 2001) because of their lack of land ownership.
41
Susapu and Crispin. Report on Small Scale Mining in Papua New Guinea.
42
MMSD, Breaking New ground, 315.
32
Figure 13: Woman Clearing a Wooden Sluice Box
As for Mongolia, it is well-known that women comprise a significant part of the labour force
in the informal sector. Mongolian women migrated into the informal economic sectors,
which include ASM, in order to generate incomes as post-communist employment rates
dropped, social welfare provisions did not cover family requirements. In hard-rock mining
sites, Baatar et al (2004) note that women comprise only about 15% of the workers,
whereas in hard-rock processing sites, as many as 60% of the workers are women. Placer
ninjas are more heavily represented by women in general, about 40% on an average. A
number of reports suggest that a gender division of labour exists in Mongolian ASM, based
on the popular premise that ASM is a dangerous and physically demanding activity. Most of
the times, men undertake the ‘heavy’ jobs, such as digging the tunnels, and lifting up the
ores from the tunnel to the ground. Women generally do not work underground, although
they are seen as assisting to carry bags of ore on their shoulders. Women usually do
repetitive work such as panning, sieving and amalgamation in gold ASM. Panning is tedious
back-breaking work which is especially difficult during the winter because panning requires
standing for hours in icy cold water. They also assist from the surface, prepare bags of ore
for transport, and provide various ger-based services such as cooking, washing, trading and
so on. This was noted in a report on women ninja miners of Mongolia by Mongolian
Business Development Agency (2004). The report noted that at the hard-rock mine-sites,
the male-female ratio was about 85:15, whereas women comprise as many as 40% of the
workers amongst placer ninjas. More recent reports (for example by Baatar et al, 2004)
33
report 45-50% women amongst all categories of Ninja miners. These women undertake the
complete spectrum of work from placer mining to mineral processing in groups of 5 or 6 in
shallow shafts. Women placer ninjas are more commonly found at work in Zaamar Soum
and Shariin Gol Soum, as tunnellers in thin placer deposits.
But no matter what the numbers or roles played by women in the ASM sector, their
control over their incomes continues to be limited by other factors. This is highlighted by the
ILO report, which suggested that the presence of women miners in the ASM sector could
prove to be a positive influence on households and economies: female members of the
household who were involved in mining tended to spend their incomes on maintaining their
families—food, education, clothing and agriculture. Men, however, were more likely to
spend on gambling, alcohol and prostitutes. But the report also stressed that women in
ASM, if they lived in a male-headed household, would have far less control over their
incomes, and their incomes would still be managed by the men in their households.43
6. Vulnerabilities of Women in ASM in PNG & Mongolia
6.1 Vulnerabilities arising from Working Conditions
6.2 Vulnerabilities arising from Informality
7. Health Risks to Women in ASM
The ILO report indicated that the major sources of health risks to the population dependent
on ASM came from the following sources:

Consequences of dust exposure

Exposure to mercury/other toxic chemicals

Noise, vibrations
43
ILO 1999 b.
34

Poor ventilation (Heat, humidity and lack of oxygen)

Overexertion,

Inadequate Work Space

Inappropriate Equipment

Mine sites as breeding sites for diseases such as malaria and bilharzia.
The MMSD report further specified that these health risks while uniform for all men,
women and children in the ASM sector, women miners might have an increased
vulnerability to ill health. Although the MMSD report focused on the unique effects of
chemical exposure on processes such as pregnancy, childbirth and childrearing, there are
several other ways in which the vulnerability of women to ill health in this sector is
amplified.
For example, in this informal, often unregulated and illegal sector, women are rendered
even more vulnerable than they usually are to all manner of perturbations, stresses and/or
shocks. Their vulnerability to ill health would therefore be significantly increased by certain
mechanisms:

Diminished economic opportunities within the ASM sector due to gender division of
labour,

Lack of control over their incomes within the sector,

Limited access to resources in comparison to the men in their communities and

Lack of legal and financial responsibility towards the health of these women among the
managers and owners of these mining concerns.

Their status as secondary or second-string labourers in this sector (men doing the
‘heavy’ work while women undertake the more tedious tasks, which are nonetheless
often hazardous and endanger their health)

The unregulated nature of this sector further renders them vulnerable by exposing them
to the possibility of various levels of abuse by male co-workers, superiors and managers.

The unregulated nature of this sector also renders these women often incapable of
turning to extraneous authorities such as the police or the courts.
35

In the case of mercury poisoning, which is endemic in areas where gold mining is
important, whatever medical staff do exist are often not conversant with the symptoms
of this toxin, and do not have the drugs to treat the poison. This is the case in many
parts of PNG.44
The following are some of the major sources of ill health that are linked to ASM in both
Mongolia and PNG.
7.1 Mercury and ASM
One of the most toxic elements in nature, mercury has no beneficial biological function and
its presence in living organisms is linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems.
Eisler, 2000. The use of liquid mercury to separate micro-gold particles from ore sediments
through the formation of amalgamation is a process that has been in use for at least 4700
years and continues to be used in ASM. This process however is accompanied by massive
mercury contamination of the biosphere; with gold mining currently accounting for at least
10 percent of global anthropogenic mercury activities.
The amalgamation procedures used for gold extraction are grouped into two categories:
1. Recovery of gold from soils and rocks containing 4-20g gold/t. This metal rich material is
passed through grinding mills to produce a metal rich concentrate. Such processes are
usually associated with severe deforestation, soil erosion, and river siltation. This
concentrate is then moved to small amalgamation ponds or drums, mixed with liquid
mercury, and then roasted. Any residue in the concentrate is then returned to the
amalgamation pond and the process repeated until gold is extracted.
2. The extraction of gold from dredged bottom sediments. Stones are removed with iron
meshes, this material is then separated to retain the heavier gold particles, which are
then collected in barrels, amalgamated, and treated as with the previous process.
Residues of this procedure however, are usually released into the rivers.45
44
Susapu and Crispin, 2001. Report on Small Scale Mining in Papua New Guinea. 15.
45
Eisler, 252.
36
The formal mining sector officially abandoned mercury amalgamation due to environmental
considerations, but ASM operators across the world continue to use the process as this
sector is often driven by unemployment, poverty and landlessness. Some 60% of the PNG
small-scale gold miners surveyed by the Department of Mining are using mercury. According
to wholesale records obtained again by the Department of Mining in 1999, excluding
additional inputs through illegal channels, approximately four tonnes of mercury is used
each year by small-scale miners in PNG.46 ASM miners in parts of PNG were provided
mercury by gold buyers who wanted them to use it to extract finer gold, but they were not
informed about its health implications.47
Miners are exposed to varying and often high levels of mercury vapours during
amalgamation. ASM miners traditionally handle mercury itself without gloves, absorbing it
directly into their skin, inhaling it as they cook the amalgam. In PNG, this process, although a
male province, is conducted over the family cooking stove, releasing mercury vapours into
the huts. This cooking is often done with implements that are later used for the preparation
of food for the entire family. In the village of Sambio in Morobe Province, for instance,
several people were observed to be burning amalgam cakes on the blades of the same
knives used for food preparation, suggesting that there is a great risk of long term mercury
poisoning through ingestion. The mercury tailings are often dumped into nearby water
sources, further contaminating the surrounding environment (Viega and Baker, 19). Since
mercury is insoluble in water, it tends to persist within river sediments and is ingested by
fish, and subsequently enters the system of humans who fish from contaminated water
sources. It is very difficult to detect, since mercury sinks to the bottom of river beds, leaving
the flowing river water almost mercury-free moving on top of highly contaminated river bed
sediments. In the Wau/Bulolo area, for instance, dredge mining was carried out for only
forty years, and it is still common for bulldozers to uncover large pools of mercury. In the
Bougainville area, it has been observed that the region contains mercury from operations
conducted in the early twentieth century. It is equally common for contemporary sluice
46
Susapu and Crispin. Report on Small Scale Mining in Papua New Guinea.
47
Geoff Crispin. 2003. Environmental Management in Small Scale Mining in PNG. Journal of Cleaner
Production, Vol. 11, Iss. 2, pp. 175-83.
37
operators to dislodge naturally formed lumps of mercury and gold.48 Therefore, it is the
location where the amalgamation takes place that determines the exposure. This is the case
in other parts of the world where ASM is a major industry—in some Peruvian mining
villages, mercury poisoning among women and children is higher than among male miners,
as the amalgamation take place in the shanty towns and the miners spend at least 8 hours
daily in the relatively un-contaminated environment of the mine itself.49 “noncontaminated” environment, which is the mine.
In 2002, the UNEP’s Global Mercury Assessment Working Group expressed
considerable concern in particular about populations worldwide engaged in or living near
ASM operations. Certain sub-populations in these areas were identified as being particularly
vulnerable to mercury: these included women of childbearing age, pregnant women and
children of all ages as well as indigenous people and communities who were dependent on
fish as a source of food, as well as women who had occupational exposure to mercury (such
as women in ASM).50
Miners and their families in ASM are thus vulnerable to chronic and long-term
mercury intoxication and poisoning.
51
Even if women were not directly involved in the
mercury amalgamation, it is doubtless that they would be physiologically more vulnerable
to mercury poisoning merely as a result of living in the proximity of ASM, or having men
bring the ores home for the process of amalgamation. These are some of the clinicpathological effects of these varying methods of mercury exposure:
Chronic exposure may lead to general subtle symptoms52 such as weakness, fatigue,
anorexia, weight loss, gastrointestinal disturbances (Dewailly, 1997; Prati et al., 2002).
48
Geoff Crispin. 2003. Environmental Management in Small Scale Mining in PNG. Journal of Cleaner
Production, Vol. 11, Iss. 2, pp. 175-83.
49
MMSD, Global Report on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining.
50
UNEP, 2002. Report of the Global Mercury Assessment Working Group on the Work of its First Meeting. UN,
Geneva.
51
Susapu and Crispin. Report on Small Scale Mining in Papua New Guinea.
52
Amin-Zaki, L., S. ElHassani, M.A. Majid, T.W. Clarkson, R.A. Doherty and M. Greenwood. 1974. Intrauterine
Methylmercury poisoning in Iraq. Pediatrics. Vol. 54, 587-95.
38
Inorganic mercury ingestion induces other symptoms such as acute thirst, metallic taste,
nausea, abdominal pain, tenesmus53, bloody diarrhoea, stomatitis, gastritis, colitis,54 renal
tubule degeneration, and eventual death (Choi et al., 1978; Albers et al., 1988; Dewailly,
1997).
Chronic ingestion results in excessive salivation, loose teeth, gingivitis, irritability,
nervousness, tremors, slurred speech, Paresthesia55 in the distal extremities, fatigue,
headache, and neurasthenia56.
Among children, toxic mercury poisoning can manifest with Itching, burning and
rashes, lesions and eruptions on the palms, soles and face, ulcers, increased heart rate and
blood pressures,
pain of the extremities, alopecia (hair loss),
insomnia, apathy and
irritability. difficulty urinating, back pains, sore throats, night sweats and sweating. High
level inhalation of volatile vapours of metallic mercury can cause acute bronchitis,
pneumonitis with symptoms of cough, dyspnoea and chest tightness, leading eventually to
pulmonary oedema, respiratory distress and death from respiratory failure.57
Long term exposure to volatile metallic mercury vapours can lead to central nervous
system defects such as insomnia, forgetfulness, loss of appetite, and mild tremors. This
condition later manifests with progressive tremors and erethism. Women are uniquely
vulnerable to mercury poisoning as a result of the particular toxicity of mercury for pregnant
women and their foetuses. Mercury can cross the placenta of a pregnant woman and has
the capacity to damage DNA, impair cell growth and is therefore particularly dangerous or
neurotoxic during the prenatal and postnatal periods.58 (Sager et al, 1984; WHO). The
53 Tenesmus is generally associated with inflammatory diseases of the bowels, which may be caused by an infection or by other conditions. Tenesmus is characterized by
a sensation of needing to pass stool, accompanied by pain, cramping, and straining. Despite straining, little stool is passed.
54
Inflammation of the colon
55
Abnormal Sensations: pins and needles, stinging, numbness
56
57
Paul B. Tchounwou, Wellington K. Ayensu, Nanuli Ninashvili, Dwayne Sutton, 2003. Review: Environmental
Exposure to Mercury and Its Toxicopathologic Implications for Public Health.
58
Sager PR, Aschner M, Roder PM. 1984. Persistent differential alterations in developing cerebellar cortex of
male and female mice after methylmercury exposure. Dev Brain Res 12:1–11. WHO World Health
Organization. 1990. Methylmercury. International Program on Chemical Safety. Geneva, Switzerland: World
39
consequences of mercury exposure are severe for the foetus: mental retardation, cerebral
Palsy, seizures, ultimately leading to Death.
7.2 Arsenic and ASM
Another source of ill health related to ASM in Mongolia in particular could be arsenic.
Arsenic is a relatively common element that naturally occurs in air, soil, water and in living
tissues, usually as compounds with other elements such as oxygen, chlorine and sulphur.
Arsenic generally exists in low concentrations in many rock types but is more frequently
associated with metal ore deposits such as gold and silver59. Although arsenic has a
reputation as an extremely toxic substance, chronic low-level exposure to mainly inorganic
arsenic compounds is actually one of the main health problems associated with arsenic.60
Humans can be exposed to arsenic compounds from both natural
61
and anthropogenic
sources and the major routes of arsenic uptake in humans are via

ingestion of food and water

inhalation of polluted air, and

dermal absorption.
Mining activities may result in high levels of arsenic contamination in soil, surface water,
groundwater and vegetation.62 Such exposure occurs through the various processes of gold
mining and processing such as the waste soils and rocks resulting from gold mining, residual
water from ore concentrations, roasting of some types of gold containing ores to remove
sulphur and sulphur oxides, and bacterially enhanced leaching. In the Giant gold mines,
Yellowknife in the Northwestern Territories in Canada, just in the years between 1949 and
Health Organization. Environmental Health Criteria 101: 1–144; Hammond A. 1971. Mercury in the
environment: natural and human factors. Science 171:788–794
59
Eisler, Ronald. 2004. Biogeochemical, Health, and Ecotoxicological Perspectives on Gold and Gold Mining.
CRC Press, Boca Raton.
60
William N. Rom, Steven B. Markowitz. 2006. Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Edition IV.
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006.
61 The principal natural source is volcanic activity, with minor contributions by exudates from vegetation and wind-blown dusts. Global natural emissions have been
estimated to be 7900 tonnes per year, while anthropogenic emissions are about three times higher, i.e. 23 600 tonnes per year.
62
Amasa, SK. 1975. Arsenic pollution at Obuasi goldmine, town and surrounding countryside. Environ Health
Perspect 12:131–5; Smedley, PL, WM Edmunds, KB Pelig-Ba. 1996. Mobility of arsenic in groundwater in the
Obuasi gold-mining area of Ghana: some implications for human health. In Appleton, JD, FugeR , McCallGJH
(Eds.). Environmental geochemistry and health. Geological Society special publicationNew York Chapman and
Hall pp. 163–81; Smedley, PL and DG Kinniburgh. 2002. A review of the source, behaviour and distribution of
arsenic in natural waters. Appl Geochem 17:517–68.
40
1952, it has been estimated that some 7900 tonnes of arsenic were released to the
environment by emissions since roaster off-gases were not treated at that time.63
In certain parts of Mongolia (as well as in Inner Mongolia in the PRC), the levels of
arsenic are naturally quite high in the drinking water. These natural levels would only have
been exacerbated by the boom in ASM in the past few decades, particularly the boom in
gold mining. Arsenic concentrations in samples of sediments, sediment pore waters, water
columns, mine tailings, mine tailing drainage waters, soils, terrestrial (including edible)
plants, aquatic plants, molluscs and insects, fishes, bird tissues and human urine all collected
near gold mining and processing facilities across the world were elevated (Eisler, 225).
Therefore, gold miners across the world, as well as workers employed in other metal ore
mining concerns, are a population at high exposure risk to arsenic and consequently have a
number of arsenic-related health problems.64 Health problems usually associated with
arsenic can vary from the toxicological to the carcinogenic. The common toxicological
effects include:

Changes in the skin and mucous membranes and by neurological, vascular and
haematological lesions.

Involvement of the gastrointestinal tract, increased salivation, irregular dyspepsia,
abdominal cramps and loss of weight may also occur.

Reports of diminished sexual activity in persons with chronic arsenic exposure are
frequent.65

Peripheral neuropathy66 in arsenic smelter workers has been reported.

Chronic exposure to arsenic dust caused a decrease in peripheral nerve conduction
velocities.67
63
P. L. Smedley, W. M. Edmunds & K. B. Pelig-Ba, 1996. Mobility of arsenic in groundwater in the Obuasi goldmining area of Ghana: some implications for human health. Geological Society, London, Special Publications;
1996; v. 113; p. 163-181.
64
WHO, 2000. Air Quality Guidelines Second Edition, WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark.
65
Ishinishi, N. Et Al. Arsenic. In: Friberg, L., Nordberg, G.F. & Vouk, B.V., ed. Handbookof the toxicology of
metals, Vol. II. Amsterdam-New York-Oxford, Elsevier, 1986.
2. Arsenic. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1981 (Environmental Health Criteria, No. 18).
66 Peripheral Neuropathy describes damage to the peripheral nervous system, or the vast communication network that transmits information from the central nervous
system to all other parts of the body. It can encompass a wide range of symptoms, including temporary numbness, tingling and pricking sensations, sensitivity to touch
and muscle weakness.
41

Eczematoid symptoms develop with varying degrees of severity.

Hyperkeratosis,68 warts and melanosis of the skin are the most commonly observed
lesions in chronic exposure.

Increased mortality from cardiovascular diseases has been observed in epidemiological
investigations of smelter workers exposed to high levels of airborne arsenic.

A peripheral vascular disorder leading to gangrene of the extremities, known as
Blackfoot disease, has been observed.69

Anemia is also common in chronic arsenic poisoning.

Other effects include liver damage, portal cirrhosis, hematopoietic depression,
anhydremia, sensory disturbance.

It has been suggested that multiple factors, including genetics and nutrition, affect
susceptibility to arsenic and disease manifestation (Mandal and others 1996 ; Hseuh
and others 1998.70
There is ample evidence that inorganic arsenic compounds are skin and lung carcinogens for
humans. Cancer is a late phenomenon, usually taking more than 10 years to develop. Lung
cancer is considered as the critical effect following exposure via inhalation.

Increased risk of lung cancer in those with increased occupational risk of exposure to
arsenic.71
67
Lagerkvist, B.J. & Zetterlund, B. 1994. Assessment of exposure to arsenic among smelter workers: A five-year
follow-up. American journal of industrial medicine, 25:477–488.
68 pigmentation changes and thickening.
69
WHO, 2000. Air Quality Guidelines Second Edition, WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark.
70
Mandal, BK, TR Chowdhury, G Samanta, GK Basu, PP Chowdhury, CR Chandra, D Losh, NK Karan, RK Dhar, DK
Tamili. 1996. Arsenic in groundwater in seven districts of West Bengal, India–the biggest arsenic calamity in
the world. Curr Sci 70:976–86; Hseuh, YM, WL We, YL Huang, HY Chiou, CH Chiou, CJ Chen. 1998. Low serum
carotene level and increased risk of ischemic heart disease related to long-term arsenic exposure.
Atherosclerosis 141:249–57.
71
JARUP, L. ET AL. Cumulative arsenic exposure and lung cancer in smelter workers: A dose–response study.
American journal of industrial medicine, 15: 31–41 (1989).
LEE-FELDSTEIN, A. Cumulative exposure to arsenic and its relationship to respiratory cancer among copper
smelter employees. Journal of occupational medicine, 28: 296–302 (1986).
BENCKO, V. ET AL. Rate of malignant tumor mortality among coal-burning power plant workers occupationally
exposed to arsenic. Journal of hygiene, epidemiology microbiology and immunology (Prague), 24: 278–284
(1980).
LEE-FELDSTEIN, A. Arsenic and respiratory cancer in man: follow-up of an occupational study. In: Lederer, W.H.
& Fensterheim, R.J., ed. Arsenic: industrial, biomedical and environmental perspectives. Proceedings of the
Arsenic Symposium, Gaithersburg, MD. New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1983, pp. 245–254.
42

Exposure to arsenic is suspected to be the cause of the increased lung cancer mortality in
gold miners in France72 and arsenic one of the suspected causes of the increased incidence
of lung cancer in tin miners in Yunnan Province, China.73An excess of lung cancer also exists
among gold miners in Western Australia with lower than average arsenic concentrations in
the rocks.74

Some investigations of populations living near copper smelters and other point sources of
arsenic emission to the air have revealed moderate increases in lung cancer mortality.75

Significantly elevated standard mortality ratios for cancer of the bladder, lung, liver, kidney,
skin and colon were found in certain populations where the arsenic contamination of the
water supply was endemic.76

High mortality rate has been reported for arsenic-related cancers. Some estimates suggest
that arsenic in drinking water alone will cause the cancer deaths of at least 200,000
PINTO, S.S. ET AL. Mortality experience in relation to a measured arsenic trioxide exposure. Environmental
health perspectives, 19: 127–130 (1977).
AXELSON, O. ET AL. Arsenic exposure and mortality: a case-referent study from a Swedish copper smelter.
British journal of industrial medicine, 35: 8–15 (1978).
RENCHER, A.C. ET AL. A retrospective epidemiological study of mortality at a large western copper smelter.
Journal of occupational medicine, 19: 754–758 (1977).
LEE-FELDSTEIN, A. A comparison of several measures of exposure to arsenic; matched case–control study of
copper smelter employees. American journal of epidemiology, 129: 112–124 (1989)
WELCH, K. ET AL. Arsenic exposure, smoking, and respiratory cancer in copper smelter workers. Archives of
environmental health, 37: 325–335 (1982).
ENTERLINE, P.E. ET AL. Exposure to arsenic and respiratory cancer: a reanalysis. American journal of
epidemiology, 125: 929–938 (1987).
HIGGINS, I. ET AL. Mortality of Anaconda smelter workers in relation to arsenic and other exposures. Ann
Arbor, MI, University of Michigan, undated.
ENTERLINE, P.E. & MARSH, G.M. Cancer among workers exposed to arsenic and other substances in a copper
smelter. American journal of epidemiology, 116: 895–911 (1982).
72
International Agency for Research on Cancer. A Mortality study of miners and factory workers at the 'societe
des mines et produits chimiques de salsigne' Lyon: IARC; World Health Organization, 1989.
73
Taylor PR, Qiao Y-L, Schatzkin A, Yao S-X, Lubin J, Mao B-L, et al. Relation of arsenic exposure to lung cancer
among tin miners in Yunnan Province, China. Br J Ind Med 1989; 46:881-6.
74
Armstrong BK, McNulty JC, Levitt LJ, Williams KA, Hobbs MST. Mortality in gold and coal miners in Western
Australia with special reference to lung cancer. Br J Ind Med 1979; 36:199-205.
75
BLOT, W.J. & FRAUMENI, J.F., Jr. Arsenical air pollution and lung cancer. Lancet, 2: 142–144 (1975);
PERSHAGEN, G. Lung cancer mortality among men living near an arsenic emitting smelter.American journal of
epidemiology, 122: 684–694 (1985); MATANOSKI, G. ET AL. Cancer mortality in an industrial area of Baltimore.
Environmental research, 25: 8–28 (1981
76
BATES, M.N. ET AL. Arsenic ingestion and internal cancers: a review. American journal of
epidemiology, 135: 462–476 (1992); LEE-FELDSTEIN, A. Cumulative exposure to arsenic and its relationship to
respiratory cancer among copper smelter employees. Journal of occupational medicine, 28: 296–302 (1986);
TSENG, W.P. Effects and dose response relationships of skin cancer and blackfoot disease with arsenic.
Environmental health perspectives, 19: 109–119 (1977).
43
individuals in Bangladesh. Ac-cording to some estimates, arsenic in drinking water will cause
200,000-270,000 deaths from cancer in Bangladesh alone (WHO, 2001).77
Although arsenic concentrations are usually low in most living organisms, arsenic is a
teratogen and carcinogen that can cross placental barriers, causing foetal death and
malformations in many mammals. The early developmental stages in mammals appear
particularly susceptible to arsenic poisoning, and humans appear to be among one of the
more vulnerable species.78 The specific effects of arsenic exposure on women include:

An increased rate of spontaneous abortions and lower mean birth weights. There has been
limited evidence of this result among Swedish smelter workers and among subjects living in
the vicinity of the smelter.

Women with a higher occupational exposure to arsenic also experienced a higher rate of
congenital malformations among their children.
7.3 Silicosis and ASM
The inhalation of crystalline silica has always been a serious hazard in mining.79 Although
controlled by the large scale mining concerns in the developed world, it still remains a major
concern in the developing countries. Silicosis is the condition that is caused by inhalation of
crystalline silica, mostly in occupational settings. Silicosis has many possible detrimental
consequences:

Restrictive and constrictive failures of the respiratory system

In the latter stages, ventilator failures may develop

Silicosis also affects the immune system.

Individuals exposed to silica show a higher than average incidence of rheumatic
diseases.

Long continued exposure to silica results in an increased susceptibility to mycobacterial
diseases such as tuberculosis (Derbyshire, 2007).
77
Fei Shi, 2004. Arsenic in groundwater in Huhhot Alluvial Basin in Inner Mongolia, People’s Republic of China:
Studies on the mechanism of arsenic mobilization, A Minor Field Study.
78
Eisler, 2004. 224.
79
Holman T. Historical relationship of mining, silicosis, and rock removal. Br J Ind Med 1947;4:1–29.
44

Pulmonary tuberculosis, once contracted by a few members of the ASM sector, can then
be transmitted to others at work and at home, thus having the potential to develop into
a very serious public health problem in many developing countries

Atypical non-tuberculosis mycobacterial infections (involving intercellular bacterial
parasites) may also occur.

Silicosis can become rapidly fatal in a little as two years, even after the discontinuation
of exposure to silica.
The high prevalence of HIV infections among the mining population increases the risk of
silico-tuberculosis. A pilot study of ASM gemstone mining in Tanzania showed that the
exposure to respirable crystalline silica was high during underground small-scale mining,
such as is undertaken in Mongolia by the ninja miners. The lack of sufficient protective
equipment meant that the miners working in such conditions were at a high risk of
developing chronic silicosis, and its consequences. For developing countries such as
Mongolia and PNG, who are host to a number of communicable diseases, the presence of
chronic silicosis only renders ASM miners, both male and female, even more vulnerable to a
whole host of other infections.80
7.4 Sexually Transmitted Infections and ASM
The temporary nature of many ASM camps and operations are a factor that contributes to
an increased prevalence of sexually transmitted infections. Post-communist Mongolia has
witnessed a considerable rise in cases of syphilis, gonorrhoea and trichomonas across the
country.81 This situation can only be exacerbated by the temporary nature of many ASM
camps and operations, and the
80
Bratveit, Magne, Moen, Bente, Moen.E., Mashalla, Yohana. J.S. and Maalim, Hatua. 2003. Dust Exposure
during Small Scale Mining in Tanzania: A Pilot Study. Annals of Occupational Hygiene. Vol. 47, Iss. 3, pp.235-40.
81
Purevdawa, E., Moon, T.D., Baigalmaa, C., Davaajav, K., Smith, M.L and Vermund, S.H. 1997. Rise in Sexually
Transmitted Diseases during Democratiztion and Economic Crisis in Mongolia. International Journal of STD and
AIDs. Vol. 8, No.6, pp. 398-401.
45
7.5 Malaria and ASM
In Mongolia, malaria is not as prevalent as in PNG. In the latter, however, the regions in
which ASM is important are characterised by factors that increase their risk of malaria:

High mobility of infected individuals between areas with high malaria prevalence
(mining camps and new settlements) and others with low prevalence (urban
areas and older settlements). The effect of this mobility can also be tempered
by acquired immunity to malaria.

Lack of adequate health infrastructure and housing in the mining areas. Poor
housing—lack of durable walls, roofs, doors, windows—can all facilitate vector
entry and encourage infection.

Lack of adequate health infrastructure (e.g., local health clinics) hinders diagnosis
of the disease and isolation and medical treatment of symptomatic individuals.

The occupational characteristics of miners and the mining areas are also a key
factor for high malaria prevalence.

The high exposure of miners to the mosquito vectors in mining areas is linked to
the proximity to the vector’s natural habitat, particularly sources of still, shaded
water and forests

Links between malaria risk and the miners’ occupational profiles are explained by
the extremely long workday (12 to 24 hours, including the time of vector’s most
intense hematophagous activity)

limited protection against mosquitoes.82
In Papua New Guinea, falciparum malaria is one of the leading causes of illness and death.
Areas of perennial and high intensity malaria transmission are found throughout the
country. For instance, Morobe, which has a considerable part of the population involved in
ASM, has in recent years experienced a 20% rise in reported malaria cases—the numbers of
malaria cases that go unreported in remote rural ASM communities is likely to be equally or
82
Alisson Flávio Barbier, Diana Oya Sawyer. 2007. Heterogeneity of malaria prevalence in alluvial gold mining
areas in Northern Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Cad. Saúde Pública, Rio de Janeiro, 23(12):2878-2886.
46
more significant.83 It has already been noticed that economic migration from the highlands
to the malaria-endemic lowlands has the tendency to spark off epidemics.84 Comprehending
the exact malaria risks posed by ASM to populations is an effort that will not only impact
miners, but all vulnerable populations in areas to which ASM miners migrate. It is necessary,
therefore, to assess how much mining and attendant activities contributes to exacerbating
malaria in PNG.
A whole spectrum of mosquito-borne diseases are common in Papua New guinea
and Mongolia: these include Ross River Virus,85 lymphatic filariasis86 to name just two of the
most common.87 ASM alters the environment in ways that can change the ecology of these
diseases—for instance, ASM can leave many small puddles of water standing, which are
ideal for breeding mosquitoes.
7.6 Dermatological conditions and ASM
The nature of mining exposes miners to a variety of environmental hazards that have the
potential to result in dermatological conditions and diseases. Chief among these in
contributing to skin disorders are the frictional damage resulting from dust, as well as the
maceration of the skin by water and sweat. The area of exposure to these physical hazards
is also important—it varies according to the kind of work undertaken by the individual. A
miner whose chief work was panning for gold in cold water would spend some considerable
amount of time with all of the skin from waist below as well as the forearms submerged in
water, and abraded by dust, mud and ore.
83
WHO, 2005. Roll Back Malaria Monitoring and Evaluating, Papua New Guinea. WHO, 2.
http://www.rbm.who.int/wmr2005/profiles/papuang.pdf
84
Radford AJ, Van Leeuwen H, Christian SH, 1976. Social aspects in the changing epidemiology of malaria in the
highlands of New Guinea. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 70: 11–23; Peters W, Christian SH, Jameson JL, 1958. Malaria
in the highlands of Papua and New Guinea. Med J Aust 2: 409–416
85
RRV manifests with a rash, fever, redness, occasional sore throats, general body pain, tenderness and
considerable restriction of movement. Joint pain—particularly in the ankles, fingers, wrists and knees—is a
common feature.
86
After malaria, LF is the second most common vector borne disease in the world and PNG is the country with
the greatest remaining burden of clinical sub-clinical LF in the Western Pacific. LF is endemic in most of the
country, and there is no national programme to control and eliminate this disease as yet.
87
David Harley,Adrian Sleigh and Scott Ritchie. 2001. Ross River Virus Transmission, Infection, and Disease: a
Cross-Disciplinary Review. Clin Microbiol Rev. 14(4): 909–932.
47
Some of the conditions that the ASM miners are likely to be vulnerable to include:

Cercarial Dermatitis, or Swimmers’s Itch. Caused by a variety of pathogens, this
form of dermatitis is common everywhere in the world, and swimmers, as well as
a variety of subjects working with fresh water for irrigation such as agricultural
workers and rice growers are all prone to this condition. In Mongolia, this
dermatitis is likely to be caused by the schistosome parasites orientobilharzia
species, which are found in fresh water. Human cercarial dermatitis is an acute
inflammatory response to the penetration of the skin by these parasites.
Symptoms include itching, eruptions, macules and papules. If the initial itiching is
severe, scratching can cause abrasions and skin infections may develop. The skin
of the legs and forearms , backs of the hands and feet are the commonest areas
of infection.88 The only prevention is protection, or wearing wet suits, which are
not options for the ASM miners, who work with minimal gear. (Lasse Kanerva,
J.E. Handbook of Occupaional Dermatology. 240.).

Another dermatological condition acquired from immersion in water is Larva
migrans cutanea. This ‘creeping eruption’, a dermatitis is caused by the
migration of nematode larvae parasites through the skin. Common in tropical
and subtropical regions, although less so in temperate areas, this condition tends
to affect those skin sites most likely to come into contact with the earth: feet,
hands, etc. Those most commonly affected by this disease are usually bathers,
agricultural workers, gardeners and sewage farm workers. (Kanerva, 243).

Aquagenic urticaria: This is an exceptional form of urticaria from a physical agent,
evoked simply by the skin contact with water at body temperatures. It results in
lesions at the follicles of the skin. Cold urticaria can present at any age, in sites
exposed to the cold water, within a few minutes of contact and it can persist for
several hours. In cases with diffuse manifestations, other symptoms present
themselves: breathlessness headache, tachycardia, vertigo and occasionally
shock.
88
Wang, C.R. et al. 2009. Orientobilharzia species: Neglected parasitic zoonotic agents. Acta Tropica. Vol. 109,
pp. 171-175.
48

Aquagenic pruritis: is characterised by intense stinging, burning and itching due
to contact with water, regardless of its temperature.

Whitlow is a common reaction to continued immersion in water: it is an infection
and inflammation of the base of the cuticle. Excessive immersion in water
softens and weakens the cuticle, leaving it inflamed, hot, swollen, likely to split
and discoloured. While this may not seem serious in itself, such an infection can
leave the skin vulnerable to the entry of other more serious irritants or
pathogens.

Another likely dermatological condition is mycobacteriosis, which is most
common an infection with Mycobacterium marinum. Found in both salt and fresh
water, preferably temperate, this bacterium causes disease in both fish and man.
It usually causes infection after the skin has been abraded or punctured, and
causes granuloma on the hands and feet.89

Erysipelothrix Dermatitis, Micosis, verrucas and Onchocerciasis are other
possibilities.

Many fungi are able to infect humans, resulting in common superficial mycoses
or subcutaneous and systemic infections. Of these the more common are
dermatiphytosis, and tinea.

Excessive friction causes varying changes in the skin. It can cause corns, calluses,
erosions, ulcers and blisters. The continuous contact with sand is also abrasive,
resulting in visible damage to the epidermis.

Abrasions also facilitate the entry of allergens, irritants and pathogens into the
skin. Friction and other microtrauma may contribute to irritant and allergic
contact dermatitis. Abrasive mineral dusts have been known to cause dermatitis
in miners.

The conditions of heat and humidity to which ASM miners are regularlay exposed
to leaves them susceptible to any number of dermatological condtions. One such
89
Lahey T. Invasive Mycobacterium marinum infections. Emerg Infect Dis [serial online] 2003 November [date
cited]. Available from: URL: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no11/03-0192.htm
49
is miliaria rubra, colloquially also known as ‘mucker’s mange’ is problematic in
deep underground mines.90
7.7 Water-borne parasitic infections
ASM miners who spend most of their day working in river water, are at a high risk of
contracting a variety of schistosomiatic and other trematode infections (in Mongolia for
instance the O.turkestanicum schistosomiasis is endemic). Intestinal parasites such as
Giardia lamblia are also found in Mongolia: a parasite that is found in infected humans,
animals and in soil, food and most importantly, water that has been contaminated by feces
from infected humans and animals. Another common parasite is Cryptosporidium parvum ,
which causes cryptosporidiosis in humans.9192
8. Public health and Sanitation Provision in ASM Areas
The MMSD report indicates that the sanitary and health conditions of most of the small
communities where ASM is the primary source of income tends to be lacking. This is partly
due to the ‘temporary’ status of such boom areas, which usually spring up and develop as
shanty towns, with no real infrastructure. The discovery of any viable deposits sets off a
stream of migration to the area, resulting in the unchecked growth of camps. The often
remote location of these camps, in addition to their temporary nature, means that these
settlements often do not qualify for the installation of public health care facilities,
particularly when considered together with the often stretched and usually limited
government budgets for health care. The lack of a public health infrastructure alone is not
the sole issue—allied to this are the various issues linked to the increase in crime and
prostitution in such settlements. When these shantytowns do become permanent, the
nature of the population resident here also changes: the initial boom population often falls,
90
Donoghue AM, Sinclair MJ. 2000. Miliaria rubra of the lower limbs in underground miners. Occup Med,
50:430–433
91 Infection with Cryptosporidium sp. results in a wide range of manifestations, from asymptomatic infections to severe, life-threatening illness; incubation period is an
average of 7 days (but can range from 2 to 10 days). Watery diarrhoea is the most frequent symptom, and can be accompanied by dehydration, weight loss, abdominal
pain, fever, nausea and vomiting. In immunocompetent persons, symptoms are usually short lived (1 to 2 weeks); they can be chronic and more severe in
immunocompromised patients
92
Huh, Sun, et al. 2006. Intestinal Protozoan Infections and Echinococcosis in the inhabitants of Dornod and
Selenge, Mongolia. Korean Journal of Parastiology. Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 171-4.
50
and miners families now begin to comprise the bulk of the residents. Even after this
demographic change, it often takes decades for such townships to get recognised as villages
and to qualify for official public health and sanitation programs and funding—decades
during which a multitude of health problems have emerged and taken root. 93
There is often little or no separation between working and living areas in these
shanty towns, huts are often built almost on top of the mine entrance.
93
MMSD, 2002. Global Report on ASM, 20-1.
51