Enhancing socio-technical integration of remediation efforts in artisanal and small-scale gold mining communities

Abstract

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining represents the largest source of anthropogenic mercury contamination in the world, creating long-term exposure risks to miners and communities in which these operations exist. Eliminating these health and environmental risks requires the implementation of remediation projects in coordination with local communities. Yet, current remediation frameworks lack thorough guidance on integrating local knowledge with technical data, and projects therefore emphasize technical forms of knowledge over local knowledge. This research bridges this gap by first analyzing previous remediation projects in developing countries. The review concluded that stakeholder engagement leads to greater project success by enhancing communication and creating project goals that meet the needs of different stakeholders. Yet, stakeholder engagement with a diverse range of individuals and organizations is not pursued by the majority of remediation projects. This critical need for stakeholder engagement led to the redevelopment of a common decision-making tool in remediation: the conceptual site model. During a field visit to an ASGM community in Antioquia, Colombia, three iterations of preliminary conceptual site models were created by integrating ethnographic research methods and existing technical information. The framework for creating community-informed conceptual site models further offers opportunities for engineering students to engage with stakeholder engagement within site remediation course curriculum, thereby equipping students to solve complex engineering problems prior to entering their professional career. The culmination of this research presents a comprehensive reform of the engineering discipline within remediation by exposing opportunities for local knowledge to enhance remedial endeavors and offering methods for incorporating local knowledge directly into remediation projects.