Several social and environmental issues are linked to the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. Formalizing the sector is one way to address these issues and all the ills and challenges. Still, this is not always so easy, and on many occasions, formalization efforts have failed. The factors accounting for the limited success of formalization have been widely described in the literature and include weak institutional capacity, costly and cumbersome bureaucratic processes, and delays that render the entire formalization process unappealing and alienating for many prospective artisanal miners. There is increasing recognition within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) of the need to formalize the ASM sector. In response, the South African government released the draft ASM policy in 2021 and made the policy available for implementation in March 2022. However, the ASM policy can potentially exacerbate policing rather than effectively address and develop the artisanal mining sector. Also, without effectively coupling the formalization process with developmental initiatives, the process will have little to no effect. This chapter looks at what formalization is, in general, and what formalization entails when we talk about formalizing the ASM sector. A closer look at the formalization processes of two other African countries, namely Ghana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is provided. Following this, an overview of the South African government's approach to artisanal mining to date is presented.