Small-scale mining is a significant contributor to local economies and rural livelihoods in some parts of Africa. For example, in the 2016, the small-scale mining sector produced 1.2 million Oz, representing 31% of the total gold production in Ghana. Unfortunately, small-scale mining operations are characterised by illegality, social conflicts and negative health and safety impacts. Management of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) in many countries in Africa has become a very complex issue as people from other parts of the world, in collaboration with nationals from various African countries , are involved in illegal small-scale mining, thereby causing immense environmental degradation especially pollution of water bodies and land degradation coupled with the indiscriminative use of cyanide and mercury. In addition to the above challenges, the small-scale mining sector is highly unformalized and the regulatory agencies lack both human and logistical resources required for them to work effectively and efficiently. It is also unclear how much revenue is generated from the sector. The situation has become a continental and global concern. The purpose of this special issue is to bring new developments in artisanal small mining and other related engineering disciplines. Discuss environmental challenges, business ethics, stakeholders and sustainable development issues to propose the new concepts of the community mine of the future.