This study examines the impacts of artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) on livelihood assets using a representative data from individuals in major mining communities as well as non-mining neighbourhood areas in southern Ghana. It has applied Propensity Score Matching to investigate how participating in ASM affects the natural, physical, human, social, and financial livelihood assets of the respondents. The study has found that, participating in ASM exert statistically significant positive impact on the financial assets of the individuals. It however, exerts negative effects on the natural, physical, human and the social livelihood assets of the individuals. Although, participating in ASM exerts positive effect on the financial asset of respondents in the mining communities, it negatively affects their physical, natural, human, and social assets. Also, it tends to lower the social assets of the respondents in the non-mining communities. The study provides an evidence that participating in ASM is a viable economic livelihood option. However, its adverse effects on the natural, physical, human and social livelihood assets in the mining communities are equally huge. The study recommends that effective policies on proper regulation of ASM activities should be put in place to offset the negative effects on the environment. The policies should emphasize strict enforcement and compliance of prescribed regulations and methods of mining by creating sustainable win-win situations for alternate livelihoods in both mining and non-mining communities in Africa in general and Ghana in particular. In addition, government and other stakeholders in the mining sector should promote interventions that make alternative on-farm livelihood strategies attractive to the young people in mineral rich communities, in order to augment the trade-off of financial assets from ASM, and slow down the indiscriminate deterioration of the environment through unorthodox ASM.

这项研究使用来自主要采矿社区以及加纳南部非矿区的个人的代表性数据，研究了手工小规模采矿（ASM）对生计资产的影响。它已应用倾向得分匹配来调查参与ASM的方式如何影响受访者的自然，身体，人类，社会和财务生计资产。研究发现，参加ASM对个人的金融资产具有统计学上显着的积极影响。但是，它对个人的自然，身体，人类和社会生计资产产生负面影响。尽管参加ASM会对采矿社区中受访者的金融资产产生积极影响，但会对他们的自然，自然，人力和社会资产产生负面影响。而且，它往往会降低非采矿社区受访者的社会资产。这项研究提供了证据，证明参加ASM是可行的经济生计选择。但是，它对采矿社区的自然，自然，人类和社会生计资产的不利影响同样巨大。该研究建议应制定适当的ASM活动监管政策，以抵消对环境的负面影响。这些政策应通过在整个非洲尤其是加纳的采矿和非采矿社区创造交替生计的可持续双赢局面，强调严格执行和遵守规定的采矿规则和方法。此外，