Geospatial and Statistical Modeling of Artisanal Mining Populations in Kenieba, Mali

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has been both a formal and an informal part of many developing economies for decades. It is estimated that 13 to 20 million people are involved in artisanal mining globally. While it has been a prevalent part of poverty alleviation strategies worldwide, the people involved in ASM are a largely understudied population. This study uses a combination of remotely sensed data and fieldwork questionnaires, compiled and analyzed in a GIS, to model the spatial demographics of the ASM population in Kenieba, Mali. This paper and map discuss and illustrate the regional population of Kenieba, the number of miners per mine and the spatial-temporal movement patterns and proximity to mine sites. The Kenieba study area is located in western Mali along the Senegalese and Guinean borders. At most sites both gold and diamonds are being mined, as the mining of gold is a more profitable activity in this region than diamond mining. The map features three, 3-D figures representing land cover topography and population with the results of a path-distance analysis that display the time it would take an artisanal miner on foot to traverse the terrain of the study area. Due to the 3-D, oblique orientation of the map the scale varies throughout the figures.