This paper explores the link between formalization and environmental performance in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, focusing on the case of sub-Saharan Africa.  The impression often conveyed by experts is that a commitment to formalizing ASM – i.e., moves made to bring the sector’s operations into the legal domain, where they can be regulated, monitored and audited more closely by government officials – leads to environmental improvements at sites.  In sub-Saharan Africa, however, the relationship between formalization of ASM and environmental performance of the sector’s operations is more nuanced than is often portrayed. Findings from research carried out in Ghana and Liberia, the locations of two dynamic ASM economies in sub-Saharan Africa, are drawn upon to reinforce this point.