Environmental, Health, and Safety Compliance Training for Sustainable Mining in Tanzania 

In Tanzania, the ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme worked with the Foundation for ASM Development (FADev) and the Mining Commission to train miners on health, safety, and environmental practices. Trainings took place between May and July 2025 in the mining areas of Singida, Dodoma, Morogoro, and Tanga regions. Over 380 artisanal miners took part, of whom 53% are women.

The aim was to promote safer and more sustainable mining by building local capacity and sharing practical knowledge. The results of the trainings were both immediate and impactful, as participants gained hands-on skills in proper safety procedures, correct use of personal protective equipment, and basic first-aid practices.

In this regard, the importance of the training extended beyond transfer of knowledge by demonstrating the importance of joint efforts between miners, communities, and authorities to improve mining practices by uniting the programme, the Mining Commission and a local NGO (FADev) hence bridging the gap between policy, enforcement and on-the-ground reality fostering trust and shared language around sustainability.

Second, the deliberate inclusion of women – who often bear the highest health risks in ASM while having the least access to training – directly tackles gender inequality and empowers women as agents of change within their mining communities. Finally, by building local capacity, the programme seeds a self-replicating model of best practices, where trained miners become peer educators, enhancing the resilience and productivity of the sector long-term.

This initiative highlights that improving artisanal mining is not merely a technical challenge, but a socio-economic one. It demonstrates that sustained joint efforts between miners, communities, and authorities are essential for transforming mining practices, safeguarding both human dignity and the environment, and ensuring the sector’s viability as a source of livelihood for generations to come.