Human Mobility Related to the Artisanal Mining Sector: Comparative Case Studies in Angola, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The objective of this project is to undertake studies to provide a comparative perspective of the trends and potential of migrations flows in the informal artisanal sectors in Angola, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The research aims at contributing to responsible mining in these countries and for this purpose, it will cover the following three areas:

International and internal migration: The pilot case studies, one in each participating country, will focus on the impact of artisanal mining on migration flows, both internal and international, and will also analyze the socio-economic impact of migration in the areas where artisanal miners are operating.

New livelihoods and economies of artisanal mining: The studies will analyze the market opportunities created by the international and internal artisanal miners in the host communities. The information collected will provide best practices on how artisanal mining can foster the co-existence between the migrant miners and the host communities, leading to better livelihoods for all.

Governance and formalization of artisanal mining: The studies will focus on how to formally organize artisanal workers and provide a certain degree of acceptance in the local context. The lessons learnt from the case studies will contribute to future programming on the formalization and organization of artisanal mines which, in the long-run, aim to promote economic and social development within the host communities.