The Board
ARM’s maximum authority is the Board of Director’s, which is why its deliberations are of mandatory compliance. It guides and manages the organization. It is responsible for defining the direction of the Foundation, in line with the interests of its various allies and actors in the supply chain.
People who serve on ARM’s Board of Directors do so voluntarily and without monetary remuneration. They are committed to dedicating approximately 3 days per month to the Foundation – including meetings, reunions and other activities.
Some key functions of the Board of Directors include the design of high- level policies and strategies, the provision of advice on specific subjects, public representation of ARM and ensuring appropriate financing for the organization.
As of August 2023, Patrick Schein assumes as Chairman of the ARM Board of Directors, succeeding the esteemed leadership of Felix Hruschka, who has served with passion in this role for the past five years.
Patrick Schein
Chair
Patrick is a French entrepreneur graduated in Finance/Marketing. Since 1992, Patrick has been active in the precious metals Industry. Based in Paris, he runs a Precious Metal Trading & Refining Company that brought him to be in contact with Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) networks around Africa and South America.
In 2004, he started working on how to adapt Fair Trade Principles to Gold in order to increase the revenues of the small producers. Patrick is working today towards defining the industry standards for Fair Trade gold refining and processing. His aim is to create a Small-Scale Gold Commodity. Patrick assisted the UNIDO as an expert analyzing how this new Commodity could help alleviate poverty in the Artisanal and Small-scale Mining sector.
Lina Villa, an experienced professional with a Bachelor’s in Business and a Master’s in Governance and Development, boasts two decades of impactful leadership in the sustainable development arena. As former Executive Director at ARM, she orchestrated comprehensive strategies, cultivated governance frameworks, and fostered public-private alliances. With a multifaceted skill set encompassing networking, voluntary standards implementation, responsible supply chain development, fundraising, stakeholder engagement, and transparent reporting, Lina is dedicated to driving positive change. Her passion lies in championing smart, inclusive business models and social enterprises that pave the way for brighter futures. With extensive project experience spanning diverse sectors including mining and jewelry, infrastructure, agriculture and food, fashion, entrepreneurship, and education, Lina resides in Colombia, bringing her wealth of expertise to the forefront of sustainable development initiatives.
Lina Villa
Vice Chair
Daniel Franks
Dr. Daniel Franks holds a Ph.D. in Mineral Policy from the Griffith School of the Environment at Griffith University, Australia, and has been honored with the Chancellor’s Medal. Presently, Professor Franks serves as the Deputy Director (Research) at the Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland (since December 2021) and leads the Development Minerals program (since November 2020). Previously, he held the position of Chief Technical Advisor at the United Nations Development Programme in Brussels, Belgium, from June 2015 to October 2018. Dr. Franks currently resides in Australia.
Felix Hruschka
Felix Hruschka is a mining engineer with a PhD in mineral economics. He is based in Austria and provides consulting services through his company since 1992. Long-term assignments in Ecuador and Peru, as resident project manager of Swiss-funded development projects in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector from 1993 to 2006, provided a sound basis of expertise on a wide range of development issues of the minerals sector. Since 2004 these long-term projects became increasingly accompanied and enriched by short-term consultancies in Asia, Latin America and Africa on behalf of bi- and multilateral development agencies, civil society organizations, and the private sector. In 2005, the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) invited Felix to join its Technical Committee for the development of “Standard ZERO”, the first prototype standard for responsible artisanal gold mining. In 2007 he was appointed advisor to the board and for many years he acted as ARM’s Standards Director, leading the development of the FAIRMINED Standard and the CRAFT Code. In 2015 Felix was elected member of the Board of Directors, and since September 2018 he serves as Chair of the Board.
Anny Jaramillo
Anny Jaramillo is a mining engineer who graduated from the National University of Colombia with a specialization in Management, completed at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. Currently serving as Planning Director of the Chede Mine located in El Tambo, Cauca, Colombia, Anny brings extensive experience in mining and strategic planning to her role. Her commitment to advancing responsible mining practices includes actions focused on closing gender gaps in the Chede mining organization and training plans for women in the mining sector.
Maria Laura Barreto
Maria Laura is a lawyer and Ph.D. in Mineral Engineering with over 25 years of experience in the field of extractive industries and environmental law. Her career involves three major phases in different locations: Mozambique, Brazil, and Canada. In Mozambique, she was a senior legal advisor to the Minister of Mineral Resources. In Brazil, for 17 years, she worked in the Academia, both as researcher and professor, and continued her work as a Senior Legal and Policy Advisor for the Secretary of Mining and Metallurgy, particularly in the area of international environmental negotiations. Arriving in Canada in 2002, she co-founded a consulting company, the Materials Efficiency Research Group, which has been actively engaged with a range of governments, companies, and NGOs in the field of environmental law and extractive industries. She is also a visiting professor at universities in British Columbia, Spain and the USA. During recent years, she has worked primarily with the University of Ottawa at the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law. Maria Laura is also a member of RESPOMIN, the Iberoamerican network for responsible ASM coordinated by ARM, and advisor on regulatory and public policy issues relating to ASM.
Manuel Reinoso
Manuel is a Peruvian artisanal miner since 1993. In 1999 he became a shareholder of the mining Enterprise La Victoria S.A. becoming general manager in 2001. That same year he worked alongside other miners and organizations in the drafting of a law project for the formalization of Artisanal mining in Peru. With the support of international cooperation, he helped to organize the first artisanal miners’ encounter gathered in the city of Arequipa, where he was elected president of the Coordinating Commission of Artisanal Miners of the Mid-south. Manuel, and other leaders from Puno and Madre de Dios regions in Peru, were key actors for passing the law 27651 of Formalization and Promotion of Small Scale and Artisanal Mining. In July of 2002, he assumed the presidency of the Regional Association of Artisanal Miners Producers of the Mid-south and Center of Peru, AMASUC.
Juan Pérez García
Juan Pérez García holds a degree in International Relations from the Complutense University of Madrid and a Master in Governance of International Development Organisations from the University of Grenoble-Alpes. He has worked in the international cooperation sector for the last 4 years on issues related to artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), water and sanitation, human rights and advocacy in different African countries, such as Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali and Niger, and Latin American countries, such as Colombia and Haiti.
He currently holds the position of Project Coordinator Africa at the Alliance for Responsible Mining and has been a member of the Foundation’s board of directors since 2023.
Robin Kolvenbach
Dr. Robin Kolvenbach holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and serves as the Co-CEO of Argor-Heraeus SA in Switzerland, a globally recognized leader in gold refining. Prior to his role at Argor-Heraeus SA, he served as the Director of Research & Development at Alantum Europe. Dr. Kolvenbach brings a wealth of expertise in the field of chemistry and a proven track record in refining operations. Currently residing in Switzerland, he continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the gold industry landscape.
Patience Singo
Patience Singo is an international expert in the mining sector with over 26 years of experience in both ASGM and industrial mining across multiple jurisdictions in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He is the Country Manager for Rwenzori Rare Metals Ltd (RRM), a company conducting explorations and mine development for ionic adsorption clay rare earth elements in Uganda. He leads the company’s in – country operations and oversees ESG performance. He currently lives in Uganda.
Matthew David Chambers
Matthew is an impact investor, social entrepreneur and chair of the Chambers Federation, an award-winning, accredited impact investment firm based in the United States. Recipient the US Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE), the Federation specializes in investments into women empowerment, responsible sourcing and value addition in the artisanal cocoa, coffee and gold sectors. Matthew is the lead investor and co-founder of the brand ‘I Am Origins’, highlighting woman-led value addition and material provenance in conflict-affected and high-risk areas. This brand commercializes premium in-country value-added products to international markets.
Managing the family business for the past 20 years, he has founded a variety of social enterprises in the Philippines, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo including the first chocolate facility and jewelry production line in the DRC, with value chains made up entirely of women, as well as a woman-owned construction company which built Kenya’s first entirely woman built road. Linkedin.
Ana Gabriela Factor
Ana Gabriela is a Social and Environmental Impact specialist and trainer with over 20 years of experience in international environmental and development projects in Latin America, Europe, Greenland, South East Asia and Africa. Her clients include IFU, EKF, IFC, WB, EIB, KfW, Danida, Finida, SIDA, local governments, large retailers, mining and oil & gas companies, private investors and NGOs. Linkedin