artisanal gold mining

Gold Digger legalized
From the wild for sustainable mining

In the small-scale mining in Mongolia is mined for gold. Using a machine draws a worker from gold ...
Many Mongolians are looking on their own make a living in gold mining. With the help of this Swiss trade is legalized, safer and greener.

Jürgen Kahl, Ulaanbaatar
The name Robin Hood heard the young Mongolian not like. It Nyambadarch Undrakhbileg has just begun when he twelve years ago after studying agriculture, with no prospect of a permanent position, the civic life turned his back on his brother's side for gold mining has been on his own, with primitive means, against the law, but utterly convinced that he and the men at his side only the outdated what they deserve.



Legally - and without mercury
Instead of with picks and pneumatic drill, the 31-year-old father makes for some years now in other ways for the "equitable concerns" useful, with which it is. From the wild bunch of adventurers in search of treasure under his leadership has become an organized collective, whose 200 members pay taxes and social security, and have undertaken to adhere to the safety standards of their dangerous job and to protect the environment. If Undrakhbileg has a concern, he can count on him to the authorities of his nearly one hundred kilometers north of Ulaanbaatar, in the middle of the steppe lying circle Bornuur find support.

But he will also come to the close connection to speak, the talk he founded in 2008, and the local association of small miners to the office of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in the capital. The partnership has not only helped the miners repeatedly in Bornuur. First, in dealing with the government, when it came time to legalize the small-scale privately-operated commercial mining under certain conditions. And then build the first, tailored to local needs pilot plant that processes the precious metal-bearing rock largely mechanically and without the health and environmental use mercury.

Beginning after the turn
As the SDC has been active in Mongolia eleven years ago, the country had, on the surface of the four and a half times the size of Germany, less than three million people settle, three extremely hard winter with disastrous consequences for the living of the nomadic cattle behind. From emergency relief to developing a long-term commitment, for which Switzerland applies now 13 million francs a year in Mongolia and around 50 employees. How the programs to secure and develop the pasture and agriculture is also the project was launched in 2005 for sustainable commercial mining of poverty in the country. But with the difference that the SDC thus venturing into a field that in the twenty years since democratic and market-oriented Mongolia carries enormous social and political dynamite.

What it was about, describes Matthias Meier, who until recently coordinated the project in Mongolia. The economic collapse that followed the political change had, since the early 1990s, driven thousands of Mongols in search of a new life in the mountains in order to mine coal, but mainly to gold. A wildly proliferating mass phenomenon, the government made in view of the serious consequences with a difficult decision. The state should criminalize the private small-scale mining by banning? Or, according to Meier, "he should not try better to direct this born of necessity industry on track to thousands of families so that at least temporarily secure the livelihood", and thus to let you participate in the extremely unequal distribution of wealth, on the Mongolia has one of the ten richest countries in the world commodity?

The rules, which the Parliament legalized the end of 2010 the small-scale mining was finally, the pragmatic solution. Thus, the SDC project was to secure feet. Enforced had above all the local governments in the fight against high unemployment in the country did not want to be left alone.

Exploration project in the company of Ichinkhorloo Byambabaatar, the SDC team is the liaison to the grassroots organizations and local authorities. Finding the furrowed turned into grasslands car tracks, is up to the sense of direction of the driver. They lead to an area beyond a ridge camp, pursue in the few dozen miners from lying north of Bornuur circle Mandal in shifts her tough job: deeply driven into the rock holes are out of which pulled winches bucket with rocks, diesel compressors "made in China 'to operate the pneumatic drill and in the middle an open fire, to prepare the women for the next meal.

Here Damdinjamts Tuya leads as head of the miners' collective Director. With the dissolution of the socialist state farms her husband had lost his job as a tractor driver. Without the prospect of a new left only the self-help, from which the idea was born to join forces to make political pressure and professionalise the small business industry with the help offered by the SDC. This performance also pays the deputy chair in Mandal recognition. The small-scale mining secure the livelihood of some 200 families and have moreover contributed to the district have been struggling today with a lot less crime and alcoholism.

Even the precious metal-bearing rock that promotes collective Tuya is managed on minivans across the steppe to the gold recovery plant in Bornuur whose structure enabled a government loan and the amount awarded by the SDC equipment help. Of two dozen employees are here daily 12 tons of rock processed, yields a golden return worth the equivalent of 10 000 francs. As required by law, will all recovered precious metal sold to the Mongolian central bank, affirmed in Bornuur. With the thriving gold smuggling to China here nobody wants to have to do something.

A young gold-digger, whose team has settled just a tradition reports that he deserves a month on average to the 500 000 Tugrik. These are about 350 Swiss francs and is the concentration of a Mongolian teacher. All his life he wanted to do the job is not. So he put back money later to open his own business in the cultivation of vegetables.

"Ninjas" with Plastic Trays
Ninjas the treasure hunters are commonly referred to, because with the green plastic tubs that they had previous on the back, allegedly looked like the cartoon characters of "Ninja Turtels". Trivialized a name for such an extremely hard and strenuous activity. The number of Mongolians who do this for a living, is estimated at 60 000 to 100 000. In an SDC report says that by the spring of this year, around 3000 of these things craftswomen have formed professional organizations. The model thus makes school. The balance sheet also shows that even matter how well intentioned projects replace a targeted government structural policies to improve the living conditions can.