Small-scale gold miners in DRC challenge the view that they can't cut it

Bisimwa Hardy, 22, emerges from a shaft at Luhihi in South Kivu with a bag full of stones destined to the crusher to separate the stone from the gold. Photo by Guerchom Ndebo/AFP via Getty Images

Artisanal and small-scale mining in Africa has grown significantly in recent decades. Between 1999 and 2019, the estimated number of African miners engaged in this sector increased from two million to 10 million. Typically, it is much more labour intensive than large-scale mining, and the work more physically demanding.

Globally, between one-quarter and one-fifth of gold, diamond, tantulum, and tin is produced by this form of mining.