Occupational safety and health hazards among artisanal and small-scale gold miners at Mazowe Jumbo Mine, Zimbabwe: A mixed-methods cross-sectional study
Downloads
Background: Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is associated with multiple occupational hazards that artisans are often unaware of.
Objectives: To identify the occupational hazards and risk factors among artisanal gold miners at Mazowe Jumbo mine, Zimbabwe.
Methods: The cross-sectional study employed Mixed-methods(Sep- Nov 2023). Purposive sampling of 34 miners from two sites (response rate was 100%). The interview was administered using questionnaires, structured interviews, field observations, and document review. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively (frequencies and proportions), and qualitative data underwent thematic analysis.
Results: Heavy lifting was reported by 100% (34/34), manual handling by 91.2% (31/34), silica dust exposure by 91.2% (31/34), and contaminated water by 85.3% (29/34). Key risk factors included lack of PPE, financial pressure, and low OSH awareness. Field observations noted unsecured shafts, poor sanitation, and evidence of substance use on site.
Conclusions: ASG miners at Mazowe Jumbo Mine face multi-domain OSH hazards. We recommend targeted OSH training programmes, provision of PPE, improved sanitation, and monitoring/ formalization of ASGM activities.
Adu-Baffour, F., Daum, T., & Birner, R. (2021). Governance challenges of small-scale gold mining in Ghana: Insights from a process net-map study. Land use policy, 102, 105271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105271
Ahmad, A. R., & Murad, H. R. (2020). The impact of social media on panic during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraqi Kurdistan: online questionnaire study. Journal of medical Internet research, 22(5), e19556. https://doi.org/10.2196/19556
Alyafei, A., & Easton-Carr, R. (2024). The health belief model of behavior change. StatPearls. https://www.statpearls.com/point-of-care/161679
Baddianaah, I., Baatuuwie, B. N., & Adongo, R. (2022). Socio-demographic factors affecting artisanal and small-scale mining (galamsey) operations in Ghana. Heliyon, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09039
Becker, J., Furu, P., Singo, J., Shoko, D., Elbel, J., Bose-O’Reilly, S., & Steckling-Muschack, N. (2021). Determinants of health and health needs assessment of artisanal and small-scale gold miners in Kadoma, Zimbabwe: A mixed method approach. Environmental Research, 197, 111081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.111081
Campbell, S., Greenwood, M., Prior, S., Shearer, T., Walkem, K., Young, S., ... & Walker, K. (2020). Purposive sampling: complex or simple? Research case examples. Journal of research in Nursing, 25(8), 652-661. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120927206
Donkor, P., Siabi, E. K., Frimpong, K., Mensah, S. K., Siabi, E. S., & Vuu, C. (2023). Socio-demographic effects on role assignment and associated occupational health and safety issues in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Amansie Central District, Ghana. Heliyon, 9(3), e13741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13741
Esitikot, E. L., Ekong, A. E., Okeke, G. N., Umoh, M. U., Obadimu, C. O., & Ogunbanwo, B. M. (2024). Exploring the Impact of Work-related Stress in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry. Asian Journal of Advanced Research and Reports, 18(7), 193-205. https://doi.org/10.9734/AJARR/2024/V18I7694
Hedayatnia, M., Asadi, Z., Zare-Feyzabadi, R., Yaghooti-Khorasani, M., Ghazizadeh, H., Ghaffarian-Zirak, R., ... & Ghayour-Mobarhan, M. (2020). Dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease risk among the MASHAD study population. Lipids in health and disease, 19(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12944-020-01204-y
Hilson, G., & Maconachie, R. (2020). Artisanal and small-scale mining and the Sustainable Development Goals: Opportunities and new directions for sub-Saharan Africa. Geoforum, 111, 125-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.09.006
Ijabadeniyi, O. A., & Fasae, J. K. (2023). Prevalence of low back pain among nurses and the effects on job performance in tertiary health institutions in Ondo State, Nigeria. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 18, 100560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2023.100560
Jayaratne, M., & Jayatilleke, B. (2020). Predicting personality using answers to open-ended interview questions. IEEE Access, 8, 115345-115355. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3004002
Jerie, S., & Matunhira, K. (2022). Occupational safety and health hazards associated with the slaughtering and meat processing industry in urban areas of Zimbabwe: a case study of the Gweru city Municipal Abattoir. Ghana Journal of Geography, 14(1), 22-40. https://doi.org/10.4314/gjg.v14i1.2
Joe-Asare, T., & Stemn, E. (2024). Improving remedial measures from incident investigations: a study across Ghanaian mines. Safety and Health at Work, 15(1), 24-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2023.11.009
Kumah, C., Hilson, G., & Quaicoe, I. (2020). Poverty, adaptation and vulnerability: An assessment of women's work in Ghana's artisanal gold mining sector. Area, 52(3), 617-625. https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12639
Maconachie, R. (2022). Artisanal mining and livelihoods in the Global South. In The Routledge Handbook on Livelihoods in the Global South (pp. 345-356). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003014041-35
Mannan, S., & Afni, M. (2020). Best practices of semi-structured interview method. Chittagong Port Authority, 1-12.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341232398
Matambo, R. (2024). Artisanal mining in Zimbabwe: A complex narrative of balancing economic gains and social strife. Conflict Trends, 2024(3), 3-10. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-accordc_v2024_n3_a2
Matsa, M. M., Mazire, F., Musasa, T., & Defe, R. (2022). Health and safety issues within artisanal and small-scale gold mining: A case for Penhalonga, Ward 21 Mutasa District, Zimbabwe. African Geographical Review, 41(1), 93-107. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376812.2020.1850300
Maweja, L. E., Mbonane, T., Bidassey-Manilal, S., Mokoatle, C., Siyamayambo, C., Magunga, B., & Chadyiwa, M. (2024). Occupational Health and Safety of Artisanal Miners in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo: A Problem for Goals 3 and 8 of Sustainable Development. In Climate Change and Socio-political Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Anthropocene: Perspectives from Peace Ecology and Sustainable Development (pp. 381-415). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48375-2_18
Moyo, D., Zishiri, C., Ncube, R., Madziva, G., Sandy, C., Mhene, R., ... & Timire, C. (2021). Tuberculosis and silicosis burden in artisanal and small-scale gold miners in a large occupational health outreach programme in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(21), 11031. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111031
Musasa, T., & Jerie, S. (2020). Challenges of near miss incidents reporting at a mine in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, 36(2), 95-114. https://doi.org/10.1353/eas.2020.0007
Nigg, C. R., Fuchs, R., Gerber, M., Jekauc, D., Koch, T., Krell-Roesch, J., ... & Woll, A. (2020). Assessing physical activity through questionnaires–A consensus of best practices and future directions. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 50, 101715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101715
Olasupo, J., Taiwo, F., Aje, A., & Fakeye, T. O. (2023). Knowledge and dispensing practice of community pharmacists towards antipsychotic medicines in a Nigerian metropolitan city–a cross-sectional study. BMC Health Services Research, 23(1), 1450. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-10480-0
Podewils, L. J., Long, E. F., Fuller, T. J., Mwakazanga, D., Kapungu, K., Tembo, M., ... & Kasongo, W. (2022). Zambia Assessment of Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV in the Mines (ZATHIM): implications for programs and policies. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 791. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13053-8
Rahmawati, D., Adiansyah, J. S., Matrani, B. F. A., & Johari, H. I. (2023, May). Mercury reduction on gold extraction in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. A case study in Pelangan Village, West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 1175, No. 1, p. 012020). IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1175/1/012020
Roberts, R. E. (2020). Qualitative Interview Questions: Guidance for Novice Researchers. Qualitative report, 25(9).
Sapulete, M. R., Effendi, H., Riani, E., & Machfud, M. (2023). Risk analysis of gold processing in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Bolaang Mongondow Regency, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management, 10(2), 4093–4106. https://doi.org/10.15243/jdmlm.2023.102.4093
Shabani, T., Jerie, S., & Shabani, T. (2023). The impact of occupational safety and health programs on employee productivity and organisational performance in Zimbabwe. Safety in Extreme Environments, 5(4), 293-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42797-023-00083-7
Singo, J., Isunju, J. B., Moyo, D., Bose-O’Reilly, S., Steckling-Muschack, N., & Mamuse, A. (2022). Accidents, injuries, and safety among artisanal and small-scale gold miners in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14), 8663. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148663
Singo, J., Moyo, D., Isunju, J. B., Bose-O’Reilly, S., Steckling-Muschack, N., Becker, J., & Mamuse, A. (2023). Health and safety risk mitigation among artisanal and small-scale gold miners in Zimbabwe. International Journal f Environmental Research nd Public Health, 19(21), 14352. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14352
Wanyana, M. W., Agaba, F. E., Sekimpi, D. K., Mukasa, V. N., Kamese, G. N., Douglas, N., & Ssempebwa, J. C. (2020). Mercury exposure among artisanal and small-scale gold miners in four regions in Uganda. Journal of Health and Pollution, 10(26), 200613. https://doi.org/10.5696/2156-9614-10.26.200613
Wireko-Gyebi, R. S., King, R. S., Braimah, I., & Lykke, A. M. (2022). Local knowledge of risks associated with artisanal small-scale mining in Ghana. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 28(1), 528-535. https://doi.org/10.1080/10803548.2020.1795374
Younas, A., Shahzad, S., & Inayat, S. (2022). Data analysis and presentation in integrative reviews: A narrative review. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 44(12), 1124-1133. https://doi.org/10.1177/01939459211030344
Copyright (c) 2025 Bridget Nyamombe, Vincent Itai Tanyanyiwa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
