1) CASM-China has established partnerships with mining organizations in China and participated in workshops and conferences to promote awareness of artisanal and small-scale mining issues since 2007. 2) Artisanal and small-scale mining in China employs over 5 million people but faces economic, environmental, and social challenges including a lack of resources, investment, and national policy support. 3) A case study of two tailings dam failures in Shanxi Province found that one resulted in no deaths due to safer practices, while the other caused 268 deaths due to illegal operations and lack of regulation and oversight.