Pakistan

Total: Given that ASM population already was 400,000 in 2013, and IGF-18 indicated up to 500,000 in 2018, it appears reasonable to estimate the ASM population according to UBC-14 with at least 515,000
Min/max: As no recent data is available, uncertainty (mainly upwards) is high. It appears reasonable to estimate 450,000 - 650,000
Female participation: Given the predominant islamic population in the ASM regions, female participation is estimated as not exceeding 5% → 25,000
Gold: no data. Predominant ASM commodities appear to be coal and gemstones. ASGM reportedly in Pamir and Hindus valley. Conservative gold miner estimation possibly 30,000 (?)

2018: 450,000

(IGF-18): 400,000 - 500,000

2014: 515,000

(UBC-14): Gold-only data produced by statistic modelling:

Expected ASM population: 515,000 
Estimated ASM gold production: 8.9 t/a

2013: 400,000

(IIED-13): 400,000

1999: 230,000

(ILO-99): Employment: 90,000 - 370,000
Number of mines: 2,400 - 3,250
Illegal mines: 5% - 20%

ReferenceYearCitationArchived CopyLink
UBC-142014Seccatore, J., Veiga, M., et al. (Univ. of British Columbia - UBC) (2014): An estimation of the artisanal small-scale production of gold in the world. Scitotenv. 496.ubc-14.pdfdoi.org/…
ILO-991999Jennings, N. (1999): Social and labour issues in small-scale mines. Report for discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on Social and Labour Issues in Small-scale Mines. ILO, Geneva.ilo-99.pdfilo.org/…
IIED-132013Buxton, A. (2013): Responding to the challenge of artisanal and small-scale mining. How can knowledge networks help? IIED, London.iied-13.pdfpubs.iied.org/…
IGF-182018IGF (2018): Global Trends in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM): A review of key numbers and issues. IIED/IISD, London, Winnipeg.igf-18.pdfiisd.org/…
ARM-182018Barreto, M.L.,Schein, P., Hinton, J., Hruschka, F. (2018): The Impact of Small-Scale Mining Operations on Economies and Livelihoods in Low- to Middle-Income Countries. ARM, Envigado, PACT, Westcombe.arm-18.pdfresponsiblemines.org/…
ASM DATA - Country Database Record
Country CodePAK
CountryPakistan
ASM StatusExisting (data assessed)
Country Count1
Data year2014
Publ. year2018
ASM Miners515,000
- gold30 ,000
Data curation as reported
Inc. DevMinsome
- min.450,000
- max.650,000
- female25 ,000
ASM Commoditiescoal, gemstone, gold
  • country/pakistan.txt
  • Last modified: 2022/11/11
  • by Felix Hruschka