Our programme aims at developing a sustainable and safe working environment for artisanal and small-scale miners.
Mongolia suffers from an unequal distribution of employment opportunities. These are essentially concentrated in urban areas, while the vast majority of rural communities has few options of income generating activities. One of them is artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). In the last 20 years, ASM has become an important economic sector with over 100.000 independent workers registered in peak periods – a figure that corresponds to nearly 20% of Mongolia’s rural workforce.
Many of them work in the informal economy and take part in activities where violation of human rights, health and safety risks, child labour, gender-based violence, and environmental degradation are rife.
The Artisanal Small-Scale Mining National Federation (ASM-NF) was created in 2013 to address all the major political, social and environmental issues associated with ASM in Mongolia. The Trafigura Foundation partners with the Federation to respond to the emerging needs of artisanal miners and improve the sector’s socioeconomic capacity.
Through this programme, our common ambition is to reach out to over 2,000 miners involved in illicit ASM and help them engage in the formal economy, reduce health and safety risks, embrace human rights’ values and promote environmental stewardship.
ASM-NF focuses on providing professional training to ASM workers to build up their technical skills in the mining sector, while also offering the opportunity to diversify their income through vocational training.
The programme also leads awareness-raising campaigns to inform about ASM rights and empowers the wider mining community by engaging with the local government around the sustainable development of the sector.
Additionally, our partnership will help ASM-NF steer the long-term strategy and sustainability of the organisation at a crucial stage of its growth, strengthening its capacity to attract new partners and engage with local stakeholders.
