Editing Gold rush (section)

==Mining industry today==
There are about 10 to 30 million small-scale miners around the world, according to Communities and Small-Scale Mining (CASM). Approximately 100 million people are directly or indirectly dependent on small-scale mining. For example, there are 800,000 to 1.5 million [[Artisanal mining|artisanal miners]] in [[Democratic Republic of Congo]], 350,000 to 650,000 in [[Sierra Leone]], and 150,000 to 250,000 in [[Ghana]], with millions more across Africa.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/world/africa/14iht-mine.1.14477935.html Soaring prices drive a modern, illegal gold rush], ''New York Times'', July 14, 2008
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In an exclusive report, [[Reuters]] accounted the smuggling of billions of dollars' worth of gold out of [[Africa]] through the [[United Arab Emirates]] in the [[Middle East]], which further acts as a gateway to the markets in the [[United States]], [[Europe]] and more. The news agency evaluated the worth and magnitude of illegal gold trade occurring in African nations like [[Ghana]], [[Tanzania]], and [[Zambia]], by comparing the total gold imports recorded into the UAE with the exports affirmed by the African states. According to Africa's industrial mining firms, they have not exported any amount of gold to the UAE – confirming that the imports come from other, illegal sources. As per customs data, the UAE imported gold worth $15.1 billion from Africa in 2016, with a total weight of 446 tons, in variable degrees of purity. Much of the exports were not recorded in the African states, which means a huge volume of gold imports were carried out with no taxes paid to the states producing it.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/gold-africa-smuggling/|title=Gold worth billions smuggled out of Africa|access-date=24 April 2019|website=Reuters}}</ref>