How does mercury infiltrate Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) locations, polluting the ecosystem and jeopardising human well-being, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, the most impoverished region where ASGM is widespread? Existing research, primarily in environmental sciences, illustrates the multidisciplinary complexity of fully grasping artisanal mining practices and their implications for mercury contamination.

Through an interdisciplinary approach based on Mixed Method Grounded Theory and integrating environmental and social science perspectives, this thesis examines mercury contamination in ASGM, focusing on its supply, entrepreneurship, and informal gold mining in rural Sub-Saharan Africa, using Côte d'Ivoire as a case study. Utilising a biogeochemical mercury model (GEOS-Chem) to simulate mercury emissions and atmospheric concentrations in West Africa, the significance of focusing on ASGM was established. Environmental assessments quantified mercury contamination in soil, tailings, sediments, and air. The Global Production Network framework delineated mercury supply flows and entrepreneurial relationships driving the mercury trade. Finally, the regulatory environment and policy initiatives such as the Minamata Convention were analysed, highlighting their limitations in addressing the ASGM mercury problem in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The model results showed northern Côte d'Ivoire to be a hotspot for mercury contamination in West Africa. Environmental matrices analysis revealed mercury contamination in Côte d'Ivoire's ASGM sector, with elevated mercury concentrations in soils, processed tailings, sediments from adjacent rivers, and air, due to open burning of mercury-gold amalgams. Interviews showed that despite efforts to formalise ASGM and eliminate mercury use, informality persists due to bias towards large-scale mining, bureaucracy, corruption leading to high costs of obtaining licences, and the market for informal ASGM mercury use. This informality facilitates mercury proliferation in ASGM, fuelled by finance suppliers and their networks within informal mining sites. The regulations and policies analysis indicated that the failure of ASGM anti-mercury legislation is driven by: (i) administrative gaps associated with lack of understanding of the ASM ecosystem and environmental classifications applicable to artisanal and semi-industrial authorisations; (ii) sub regional definitional context miscomprehension, particularly regarding the principle of free movement of people and goods; and (iii) challenges in domesticating multilateral environmental agreements due to border porosity and lack of proven efficiency of mercury-free technologies related to income generation necessity.

This thesis enhances the understanding of transboundary networks managing mercury supply in ASGM and related environmental contamination. By elucidating these dynamics, it informs more effective strategies for reducing mercury pollution while considering the socio-economic realities of ASGM communities. These efforts are part of an ongoing process to achieve sustainable and inclusive ASGM practices in Sub-Saharan Africa.