Since November 2017, we have been implementing a comprehensive, multi-donor program for the development of a model of responsible artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The program, based on the guidelines of the Fairmined Standard, is being executed in Ananea, Puno (Peru) and scheduled to run until the end of February 2020.

The goal of the program is to improve the quality of life of artisanal and small-scale miners by reducing the negative impacts of ASM on the natural environment and human population. It also seeks to encourage the mining community’s involvement in designing public policies, as well as to support the process of adopting better social, business, and environmental practices, based on the Fairmined Standard.

The intervention aims to implement the following points:

• The program will put into place a transparent and inclusive model for mining governance in Ananea, following a differential and participatory approach. It will also lay the groundwork for fostering an environment that is conducive to sustainable mining development and for promoting the continuous improvement of mining practices. After completing a diagnostic of the current situation, opportunities, and challenges for mining in the area, the community will be encouraged to form a Local Management Committee, comprised of public, private, and community stakeholders, to draft, agree upon, and implement an Action Plan. This plan will address the main needs of artisanal and small-scale miners that were previously identified in the community diagnostic. The plan will also include a medium-term strategy for achieving concrete objectives for sustainable mining development in the region.
• At the same time, the program will promote the adoption of good mining practices among the most vulnerable mining groups and artisanal and small-scale mining organizations (ASMOs).

Around 300 women informally practice gold panning in Ananea, being affected by using mercury indiscriminately while suffering severe gender discrimination. Up until now, the only support they have received has been from the Peruvian government program Vaso de Leche, which combats child malnutrition by providing a daily ration of milk to vulnerable children and nursing or expecting mothers. The intervention by the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) will seek to support women miners in improving their environmental, organizational, and occupational health and safety practices, with the goal of forming collaborative models of entrepreneurship for women in mining. In addition, three ASMOs, made up of 263 artisanal miners (including 75 women), will receive full-scale assistance in implementing responsible mining practices in order to achieve their expressed goal of obtaining Fairmined Certification.

• Additionally, the program will apply an efficient system for monitoring and disseminating the achievements of the different projects, as well as the lessons learned from a case study. Advocacy work, done both regionally and nationally, will bring attention to the lessons learned from the Fairmined program in Ananea at the state level, soliciting feedback from the competent national authorities. Finally, the program will gauge interest and assess the feasibility of disseminating in the area the model of responsible ASM that ARM promotes in other areas to respond to rising demands for ethical gold from this sector.