ArticlePloS one2025
Utilization of borax and its impact on the income and the livelihood of miners and other stakeholders: A case of Uganda.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMineral wealth serves as a crucial driver of economic growth and infrastructure development in many countries, including Uganda. Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) plays a significant role in enhancing incomes and livelihoods. However, ASGM remains largely informal in Uganda, not reflected in the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Many methods of gold processing are available around the globe. The borax method has become one of the favorable methods for extracting gold due to its lower operating cost, higher recovery, human and environmental consideration. This study aimed to assessing the impact of borax utilization in gold processing on the income and livelihoods of miners and stakeholders in Buhweju, Busia and Kassanda districts in Uganda where the Free Your Mine project is being implemented.
methodsA cross-sectional study using mixed methods was employed between October 2022 and January 2023 with data collected from 161 miners through semi-structured questionnaires, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and observations. Analysis was conducted using Atlas ti version 7.0 and Stata Version 15.0.
resultsFindings indicate low adoption of borax and limited training coverage on the use of borax. While 80.1% of respondents saved money attained from gold mining activities, only 21.5% had investments. FGDs revealed that miners often resort to mercury use for quick income as using mercury takes little time compared to mercury-free methods, while KIIs emphasized the need for government intervention and need for policies to promote safer gold processing methods for sustainable livelihoods.
conclusionStudy underscores need for awareness, policy to improve safety in Uganda's ASGM sector. In addition, there is need for funding to support scale up the Free Your Mine Project to other gold mining districts in Uganda.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.