ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING AS AN INFORMAL SAFETY NET: EVIDENCE FROM TANZANIA

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is an important means for diversifying economic activities to sustain people's rural livelihood in mineral-rich African countries. To pursue economic benefits, ASM workers often take physical and legal risks in mining activities. However, a question arises as to whether the economic benefits are sufficient for explaining their engagement in risky mining activities. This article examines whether ASM functions as an informal safety net that brings social benefits to ASM workers and motivates their engagement in mining activities. To examine an informal safety net, the article analyses the case of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Geita, Tanzania. The result of the analysis states that social benefits are, in association with economic benefits, motivating factors for continuing the ASM activities. The analysis implies that in the ASM, the more impoverished sites are, the more functional they are in regard to exerting an informal safety net. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.