Researcher Teresa Molina-Millán visited NCID to give a seminar entitled "Artisanal mining in Africa". She explained that between 130 and 270 million people subsist on small-scale artisanal mining, a labor-intensive method of extraction. 

According to Molina, "the main problem with artisanal mining is that it leads to tropical deforestation and vegetation degradation." 

"The historical increase in the price of gold accounts for 20% of the total deforestation in gold-prone regions in Africa," explained University of Alicante researcher Teresa Molina-Millán. 

Molina's study concludes that mining can be a way for households in these countries to diversify their livelihoods when agricultural income is insufficient to survive, especially in times of drought. Therefore, the impact of gold mining has a positive impact, according to the researcher from the University of Alicante, on the economic development of Africa. In fact, according to Molina, "the increase in income from gold mining has an even greater impact than that of drought on household wealth".