Barksanem™ has signed a Master License in Peru aimed at improving the livelihoods of mining micro-communities through sustainable, people-centric, responsible mining. Houston, Texas (May11th 2020) Barksanem™, Inc. located in Houston, Texas, and its sister company Barksanem™ Sarl, an R&D and training arm for Barksanem™, based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and engaged in responsible mining and semi-industrial /
When a mining site “dies”, after being mined, whether it was industrial, semi-industrial or artisanal, the area where it is located does not die. In these abandoned areas, communities remain, sometimes even a few animal species that try to reclaim their living space. However, more rarely, plant species remain stunted because their soil has been so
Mining can transform environments, economies, and collectivities in real and significant ways. A range of stakeholders have a role to play in analyzing and managing the risks and impacts associated with mining. These stakeholders include companies, the state legislature, government service agencies, lenders and insurers, civil society and advocacy groups, and collectivities and their representative
Since the 2000s, I[1]have worked in the mining space, I’ve been exclusively focused on the world of artisanal gold miners (ASM) and semi-industrial mining . During that time, I have often been offered significant investments to develop industrial operations instead. The world of ASM is too often considered difficult to manage and particularly unprofitable. And as
Some mining companies analyze impacts and consider issues of vulnerability. Each person’s unique circumstances and cultural values lead to varying experiences and points of view regarding mining. Researchers have observed different views being expressed, through constructive dialogue, complaints, or through peaceful protest. In some cases, violent conflicts arise often stemming from social unrest, which can
Typical environmental impacts of artisanal and small-scale mining are as follows: deforestation, topsoil removal, use of chemicals such as mercury for gold processing as well as for silver, unmanaged runoff and drainage issues, siltation of rivers – which can affect river ecosystems, disruption of naturally occurring chemicals in the soil. For example, in Nigeria artisanal
When I (Etienne) started working in artisanal mining in West Africa, artisanal gold mining was seen, by international and government agencies, as a problem that had to be eradicated at all costs. As a result, the world of artisanal gold mining had to remain anonymous and informal, they didn’t fit current frameworks… Today things have
One of the emerging topics that’s come out is the mercury agenda. Artisanal and small-scale miners and the processing centers where they take their ore, are the number one emitter of human-released mercury in the world. As a result of this, there is a treaty that was signed in 2013 called the Minamata Convention. This
After a long hour of chaotic and dusty off-road driving, we arrive in the village where we are expected. Looking for some shade, we park the vehicle under a huge ancestral Kapok tree. The “land chief”, we called a little earlier, is waiting for us there. He holds in his hand an old bike
The Barksanem™ (BSM™) System is marketed under license specifically to mining industry professionals. It has three main components: our proprietary diagnostic system called the “Territorial Approach”, the implementation of small-scale mining engineering (ASM) and the digitalization of the entire supply chain which is associated with a virtual currency (for more info, see our article on
