Some of the poorest people in the world's poorest countries eke out a living in artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM). Equipped with primitive tools like picks, shovels, buckets, and gold pans, they work mining valuable resources, like gold, diamonds, tin, lithium, rare earth elements, tantalum, and cobalt, and any other usable commodity, for example, sand, coal, or mica. The mining and refining processes are labor intensive and associated with a variety of health problems due to accidents, overheating, overexertion, dust inhalation, exposure to toxic chemicals and gases, violence, and illicit and prescription drug and alcohol addiction. Evident disadvantages with ASM are counterbalanced by the immense economic benefits. For many, the true scope and scale of ASM activities are unappreciated, along with the unknown health and societal impacts. Here, we set out to elucidate the scope of ASM beyond the recovery of familiar commodities, such as gold and diamonds. We adopt a holistic perspective toward health impacts of ASM, which includes unique occupational, environmental, and human/social drivers. A particular focus is poverty as a health risk with artisanal miners. They are commonly poverty‐stricken people in poor countries, ensnared by a variety of poverty traps, which take a toll on the health and well‐being of individuals and communities. ASM sometimes provides an opportunity to diversify income in the face of a decline in subsistence agriculture. However, ASM often trades one kind of generational poverty for another, coming along with serious health risks and turmoil associated with work in an informal “cash‐rich” business.

中文翻译：

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全球手工和小规模采矿范围、贫困及相关健康影响回顾


世界上最贫困国家的一些最贫困人口靠手工和小规模采矿 (ASM) 勉强维持生计。他们配备了镐、铲子、水桶和金盘等原始工具，负责开采宝贵的资源，如金、钻石、锡、锂、稀土元素、钽和钴，以及任何其他可用的商品，例如沙子、煤或云母。采矿和精炼过程是劳动密集型的，并且由于事故、过热、过度劳累、吸入灰尘、接触有毒化学品和气体、暴力以及非法和处方药和酒精成瘾而导致各种健康问题。 ASM 的明显缺点被巨大的经济效益所抵消。对于许多人来说，ASM 活动的真实范围和规模以及未知的健康和社会影响并未得到重视。在这里，我们着手阐明 ASM 的范围，超出了黄金和钻石等熟悉商品的回收范围。我们对 ASM 的健康影响采取整体视角，其中包括独特的职业、环境和人类/社会驱动因素。特别关注的是贫困作为手工采矿者的健康风险。他们通常是贫穷国家的贫困人口，陷入各种贫困陷阱，对个人和社区的健康和福祉造成损害。面对自给农业的衰退，手工和小规模农业有时提供了实现收入多样化的机会。然而，ASM 经常将一种代际贫困换成另一种代际贫困，并伴随着严重的健康风险以及与在非正规“现金充裕”企业工作相关的混乱。