Large-Scale Mining Faces Structural Slowdown, ASM Sector Emerges as Critical Alternative, Says UGAASM CEO
Industry leader argues that traditional mega-mining model is struggling to meet accelerating global mineral demand
By MiningOpinion Staff
As global demand for critical minerals surges amid the energy transition, a fundamental shift is reshaping the mining industry—one that industry leaders say can no longer be ignored. Large-scale mining projects are facing unprecedented delays, escalating costs, and mounting community resistance, while artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is quietly emerging as a vital component of the responsible sourcing landscape.
Kenneth Asiimwe, Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Association of Artisanal and Small Scale Miners (UGAASM), argues in a new analysis that the structural constraints facing mega-mining operations are not temporary but represent a permanent realignment of how minerals will be sourced in the coming decade.
“The world needs copper, lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other inputs at scale, and it needs them sooner than many new mega-mines can realistically deliver,” Asiimwe writes. “The pipeline is not empty, but it is slower than the demand curve.”
The Squeeze on Large-Scale Mining
According to Asiimwe, three converging factors are throttling the traditional large-scale mining model:
Economic constraints are tightening as easily accessible deposits become exhausted. New discoveries are increasingly deeper, lower grade, and farther from existing infrastructure—factors that drive up capital costs, elevate operating risks, and extend payback periods. In an era of heightened ESG scrutiny and cautious capital markets, fewer investors are willing to commit to prolonged, uncertain timelines.
The social license environment has fundamentally shifted. Communities in many jurisdictions have become more informed, organized, and willing to resist projects they perceive as unfair or environmentally destructive. Regardless of the merits of specific opposition, Asiimwe notes that “the cost of conflict—and the reputational damage—can become prohibitive.”
Permitting and compliance timelines have expanded dramatically. Environmental assessments, legal processes, and regulatory approvals now routinely take years longer than historically typical, particularly for greenfield mega-projects.
The ASM Alternative
In contrast to the capital-intensive, slow-to-deploy large-scale model, artisanal and small-scale mining operates on fundamentally different principles. ASM operations work smaller, scattered deposits that are uneconomic for massive machinery, relying on local knowledge and collective effort rather than billion-dollar balance sheets.
“Our sector, long dismissed as ‘informal,’ is not just persisting,” Asiimwe states. “It is expanding, organizing, and increasingly becoming part of the supply conversation for critical minerals.”
While acknowledging that ASM faces significant challenges—including safety risks, environmental concerns, and in some contexts, child labor and smuggling—Asiimwe emphasizes that organization is the critical variable.
“When ASM is structured through cooperatives, enforced standards, training, and transparent market access, it becomes a legitimate and scalable partner in responsible sourcing,” he writes.
A Paradigm Shift in Sourcing
Asiimwe argues that the traditional framing of how to integrate artisanal miners into systems designed for large-scale operations has become obsolete.
“The better question is how capital, technology, and market access can integrate into a grounded, community-rooted supply model while raising standards and accountability,” he writes.
Early signals of this realignment are already visible. Battery and manufacturing supply chains are exploring direct engagement with organized producer groups. Traceability tools are being piloted. Logistics corridors are being developed with mineral aggregation in mind.
Recommendations for Uganda
For Uganda to benefit from this shifting landscape, Asiimwe outlines several practical priorities:
· Simplifying licensing and cooperative formation to make them faster and enforceable
· Investing in training, safety, and environmental compliance as core production infrastructure
· Supporting modular processing and value addition to reduce raw exports and smuggling
· Building credible traceability and buying systems that reward compliant producers with better prices
· Creating financing pathways for equipment that improves recovery and reduces environmental harm
A Call for Strategic Collaboration
Asiimwe extends an invitation to mining companies, investors, and consuming industries, framing engagement with the ASM sector not as corporate social responsibility but as strategic necessity.
“The risk is no longer simply in engaging with ASM,” he writes. “The risk is in pretending ASM does not exist, and then acting surprised when supply chains face legitimacy, traceability and community backlash.”
He calls for direct investment in capacity building, co-designed traceability systems, financing for modular processing, and direct purchasing from certified cooperatives and compliant producer networks.
The Future of Mining
Asiimwe concludes that while large-scale mining is not disappearing, its status as the only serious model is ending.
“The minerals the world needs are beneath our feet,” he writes. “They can be extracted through conflict and short-term exploitation or through partnership, fairness and shared value. The credibility of the energy transition will depend on which path supply chains choose.”
“The future of mining will be more distributed, more accountable, and more connected to the people and places where minerals come from.”
Kenneth Asiimwe is CEO of the Uganda Association of Artisanal and Small Scale Miners (UGAASM).
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