Adequacy of the concept of appropriate technologies in small-scale artisanal mining in Angola

Abstract

The exploitation of deposits of construction materials in Uige is carried out by mining companies and artisanal miners (garimpeiros), due to the way in which it is carried out, conflicts arise between both, since generally two types of mining are practiced in the same completely different for their technologies. The artisanal miners develop a mining more focused on the traditional, in ancestral forms of organization, with marginal productions that are barely enough for subsistence. The main conflicts arise from control of the market between garimpeiros who sell the material at low prices and the businessmen who see the possibilities of marketing their productions affected. The objective of this article is to elaborate an action plan that favors the development of small-scale artisanal mining (ASM), based on the appropriate technologies concept, this conception is deciphered by several authors such as: Arana & Valdés ( 2006), Smith & Thomas (2014), Davila & Susan (2017), Clavijo & Cortés (2017) among others. In the empirical study, interviews and surveys were conducted with traditional authorities in the localities, with leaders of garimpo groups and with managers of mining companies in different mining scenarios. The work considered the requirements for the practice of industrial mining and the conditions for the development of artisanal mining activity and finally a set of actions capable of contributing to the development of small-scale artisanal mining of materials for the construction in Angola.