Again, Microsoft shows its trust in the Alliance for Responsible Mining for the implementation of a project which aims to:

1. Extend the Fairmined Certification model in order to respond to the increased  demand of ethical gold from artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM).
2. Strengthen ARM’s capacities by acquiring more collaborative tools and educational material.

During the first phase of the project, the mission focused on exploring and identifying artisanal and small-scale mining organizations (ASMO) with strong potential to comply with Fairmined requirements.

The following results were achieved:

• Identification of 5 ASMO in 4 different departments: Anchash, Arequipa, Ayacucho and Puno.
• Performing 5 gap analysis using a Fairmined checklist.
• Socialization and validation of the results of the diagnosis with the ASMO and creation of a SWOT analysis to identify the reasons for the findings.
• Formulation of 5 improvement plans that include actions to be implemented, required resources, final and intermediate goals and a calendar to reduce identified gaps.

In the second phase of the project, ASMO with great certification potential will implement their improvement plans towards Fairmined Certification while receiving comprehensive assistance (labor, commercial, technical aspects, etc.).