Women in Artisanal Mining: Environmental Toxicity, Health Risks, and Informal Labor Rights

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 10, October 2026 | pp. 1–14

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001315

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Women in Artisanal Mining: Environmental Toxicity, Health Risks, and Informal Labor Rights

Names of Author: Abena Osei-Tutu¹, Javier Morales², & Ingrid Solberg³

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Environmental Science, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana; ²Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia; ³Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Abstract:
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining sustains millions of rural livelihoods across sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, with women comprising nearly half of the workforce in ore processing, sluicing, and amalgamating. Despite their indispensable economic contributions, female miners are systematically excluded from lucrative pit ownership and relegated to hazardous, low-paid tasks involving direct exposure to mercury and cyanide. Chronic chemical exposure poses severe reproductive health risks, including miscarriages and congenital complications, yet informal miners lack occupational healthcare and regulatory protection. This paper examines the gendered division of labor and environmental health vulnerabilities among female artisanal miners in Ghana and Colombia. Grounded in feminist political ecology and occupational justice frameworks, the study combines environmental health surveys with narrative interviews involving 64 female miners. We argue that formalizing artisanal mining requires gender-inclusive cooperative licensing, mercury-free processing technologies, and accessible rural maternal clinics.

Keywords: Artisanal mining, environmental toxicity, occupational health, feminist political ecology, informal labor, reproductive health, Ghana, Colombia

Manuscript Timeline: Received: August 02, 2026; Revised: September 05, 2026; Accepted: September 10, 2026; Published: October 15, 2026.

Citation: Osei-Tutu, A., Morales, J., & Solberg, I. (2026). Women in Artisanal Mining: Environmental Toxicity, Health Risks, and Informal Labor Rights. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(10), 1–14. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001315

Subscribe to read the full article: https://www.internationalscholarsjournals.org/subscribe-to-read