Sustainable Livelihoods in Artisanal Small-Scale Mining Communities: a Case Study of Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality of Ghana

The termination of mining activities resulting from the exhaustion of mineral resources usually kills the local economies of mining communities and ultimately impoverish the inhabitants of the affected communities. Underpinned by this, sustainable livelihoods in artisanal small-scale mining communities have assumed prominence in international and national discourses. This study thus explores ways of sustaining livelihoods in the artisanal small-scale mining communities within the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality of Ghana. Using primary data from a sample of 400 household heads, 19 institutions, six artisanal and small-scale mining firms, and two mineral processing companies, the study finds the mining chain, from extraction through processing to sale, as a major source of livelihood to the labor force of the mining communities. However, the sustainability of small-scale mining is threatened by lack of skills development programs and the creation of opportunities for continued education with the objective of building the human capital base of the artisanal and small-scale mining communities. One way of increasing such opportunities is by introducing diversification through modernized agriculture.