Around 30,000 people, who live on artisanal and small-scale mining, inhabit Madre de Dios, a department located in the Peruvian jungle, which ranks on the fifth place of the national gold production (MINEM).
Early in November, in Puerto Maldonado, capital of this department, took place an event aiming to raise awareness on good due diligence practices within the framework of the OECD guidelines, and to identify and mitigate risks associated with the mineral supply chain from this region of the country.
This space is part of the project implemented by Alliance for Responsible Mining, along with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and funded by the European Commission, which started in 2022 and extends until 2026.
About 25 small-scale miners in the region participated, along with members of civil society organizations such as USAID’s Proyecto PREVENIR, CINCIA, Pure Earth, and the representative of the Ministry of Environment in Madre de Dios.
“Our need is mining formalization, but we know it is bound to the supply chain. We have been in the mining sector for years, and the information they provide really helps us”
Armando Carpio, small-scale miner from the Asociación de Productores Agrarios y Lavadores Artesanales de Oro de Malinowski (Association of Agricultural Producers and Artisanal Gold Washers of Malinowski – APAYLOM).
“No workshops on Due Diligence within the framework of the OECD Guidelines had been developed in Peru, which gives great importance to this space for the development of ASM in the country. The topic has been widely embraced among miners, the Peruvian Government, and the civil society,”
Víctor Hugo Pachas, ARM Manager for Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador.
CHALLENGES IN THE REGION
Likewise, it was an opportunity to identify the main challenges that the ASM has to face in the region to work in tandem to find solutions. Some challenges highlighted in Madre de Dios were:
- Barriers and conditions for mining formalization.
- Creation of formal and responsible supply chains considering the logistic challenges on territorial connectivity.
- Protection of vulnerable ecosystems in the Amazon and mitigation of illegal mining in the region.
The Alliance for Responsible Mining, with the support of the OECD, and the funding of the European Commission, will continue to facilitate dialog spaces among miners, civil society, and the Government in Peru to foster ASM formalization and promote the right incentives for its development. Just the same, it will develop training sessions on these issues in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Ivory Coast in Africa, to strengthen the ASM in this region.