ABSTRACT
Small scale mining provided employment to many Namibians and has played an important role through throughout the mining history of Namibia (Namibian Mining Report, 2006). When independence dawned on Namibia in 1990, about 5% made up the total mining industry employment from the small-scale mining sector. This study main objective of this study was to determine the Chinese involvement in illegal small scale mining its impact and implications in Namibia. A quantitative case study was employed whereby the data was collected from 200 smallscale miners in Karibib and Usakos communities through a self-administered structured questionnaire. The findings on Exploration Processing Licenses (EPLs) seems to suggest that majority of the EPLs were owned by foreigners. It therefore supports Tsurukawa et al (2011) recommendations that the government of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) should create more EPLs in the small scale mining of cobalt in Katanga District. On effects of Chinese involvement in illegal small scale mining on health the findings seem to support Crawford et al (2015), Bach et al (2014) and Tsurukawa et al (2011) findings that health was identified as the most adverse social impact of gold and cobalt mining in Ghana and DRC. Besides these findings, there were elements of legal impunity, according to Figure 4.10. About 100 respondents, representing 50%, were indifferent whether there are elements of illegality in foreign involvement in small scale mining activities in Karibib and Usakos communities.
