USGS deploys satellite imagery in the global fight against illegal mining

Artisanal miners digging a mining pit using simple tools such as shovels, buckets and water pumps. This was taken in 2013 in Fourona in Côte d’Ivoire, Africa. Credit: Science for a Changing World.

POSTED BY: HENRY LAZENBY JUNE 28, 2022

The USGS has deployed its scientific capabilities and high-tech tools in the global fight against illegal mining.

The organization’s scientists are playing a leading role in a project involving a collaboration between the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, United Nations and other governmental and non-governmental organizations working to address conflict mining.

“USGS science helps determine the extent and value of mineral production in conflict-prone regions,” said Peter Chirico, associate director of the USGS Florence Bascom Geoscience Center and special advisor to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Threat Finance Countermeasures, in a statement to The Northern Miner.

“The USGS conducts field investigations, uses satellite imagery, creates geologic maps and publishes reports to pinpoint resource deposits, estimate mineral quantities and determine production capacity,” he says.

“The ability to use satellite imagery to acquire detailed information on artisanal mining activities is invaluable for researchers and policymakers, as it allows us to evaluate challenging and often difficult-to-access regions that also have associated conflict and safety concerns,” said Chirico.

Minerals are frequently mined by artisanal and small-scale miners, who commonly operate in the informal sector, meaning they are not licensed and don’t own the land on which they mine. They often transport and sell resources outside the legal flow chain in violation of local or national law.

Artisanal and small-scale mining involves individuals or groups of miners using simple tools such as picks and shovels and sometimes larger equipment to dig in river floodplains and sedimentary deposits across large stretches of terrain. Industrial-scale mining occurs at permitted and regulated sites and typically requires heavy infrastructure to extract resources.

The informality and sizeable geographic extent of artisanal and small-scale mining can lead to commodities being mined, sold and purchased through unofficial channels and potentially financing criminal or terrorist organizations. This can increase the risk of conflict, violence, and terrorism within a country and other nations, including the U.S.

Blood diamonds

USGS scientists also do on-the-ground fieldwork to study the deposits and small-scale mining pits to investigate artisanal and small-scale mining processes and determine the extent and quality of the resources.

The researchers also work to understand the miners’ viewpoint and their methods, tools, habits and organization. Scientists conduct interviews with artisanal miners to understand how much can be mined over a certain period, how they are organized and how frequently they move from site to site, according to the organization.

For example, USGS information assists the U.S. Department of State in implementing the Clean Diamond Trade Act, which prohibits the import or export of rough diamonds unless accompanied by a Kimberley Process certificate confirming that it is not a conflict diamond. The Kimberley Process is an international initiative to increase transparency and oversight in the diamond industry to eliminate trade in conflict diamonds.

“The USGS has been instrumental in supporting a fact-based approach to the Kimberley Process work on eliminating conflict stones from the rough diamond supply chain,” said George Cajati, a foreign affairs officer at the U.S. Department of State and the interim U.S. representative to the Kimberley Process.

“USGS has provided unsurpassed scientific analysis and expertise to inform U.S. policy in this high-profile international forum and earned the respect of international partners in the process,” he said.

The USGS has collaborated with several international organizations working to track and monitor illegal mining and armed groups funded by natural resources around the world.

In 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey was asked by the U.S. Department of State to help address illegal diamond mining in Africa.

The USGS regularly provides training to foreign governments, including collaborating with their ministry of mines, geological surveys and civil society organizations, ultimately enhancing their ability to assess and regulate resources. Training has been provided on remote sensing and mapping techniques, artisanal miner community surveys, artisanal mine site evaluation and geologic fieldwork methods to assess deposit potential.

Guyana artisanal mining

The USGS also assists programs that formalize and legalize the artisanal and small-scale mining sector, such as those implemented by USAID.

One example of the USGS has worked with the Guyana government to help improve their regulatory oversight and law enforcement for the artisanal mining sector.

Illegal mining and export of gold are concerns for the country of Guyana. At the government of Guyana’s request, the USGS and the U.S. Embassy began a project in 2021 to help document nationwide artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Work is being done in cooperation with Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources.

The effort includes using satellite imagery to identify mining sites and associated deforestation. Identifying unpermitted mining locations can also help the government address mercury contamination, as mercury is often used in the gold mining process but can pollute the environment and impact human health.