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Systems thinking approaches to artisanal and small-scale gold mining supply chains in Peru
Aranoglu, Fatih
Aranoglu, Fatih
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2023
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2024-12-24
Abstract
Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) is a socio-technical complex system that includes social
aspects of gold mining as well as many supply chain components with intertwined relationships. It is also a
data-scarce system that needs to be further examined. This dissertation investigates the ASGM supply
chain systems using systems thinking approaches. First, in Chapter 2, we analyze the spatial distribution
of gold production in Peru per region per mining scale to identify the areas with significant gold production
from the ASGM. In Chapter 3, we propose a system dynamics (SD) model to examine the dynamics of an
informal ASGM supply chain that has interactions with the informal gold supply chain in the Amazon
rainforest region, Madre de Dios (MdD), Peru. Our findings suggest that the dynamics of informal mines
are highly affected by the mercury supply, fuel supply, and availability of workers. The system is highly
resilient and can recover quickly after releasing external stressors. In Chapter 4, we address the surface
ASGM in Ananea, Peru, by developing an SD model to examine the current operations of the gold supply
chain and its interplay with mercury and gas suppliers. The high mercury usage of the current mining
operations causes potential health and environmental issues. As a potential solution to overcome such
problems, we introduce a cyanidation processing facility into the SD model and examine the willingness of
miners to adopt this solution. Using this analysis, we formulate a mixed-integer programming model that
prescribes the optimal transition plan of a miner from producing gold locally to selling their ore to the
facility within a time horizon in a way that maximizes the miner’s profit. In Chapter 5, we model the
alluvial, surface sedimentary, and underground hard rock ASGM systems in MdD, Puno, and Arequipa,
respectively, and examine the CO2 and mercury emissions for each system. We model the energy system of
each ASGM, and discuss potential alternative systems that would decrease the CO2 emission rates.
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