Blog
Is recycled gold an ethical choice?
For more than a decade the jewellery industry has been promoting the use of recycled gold when referencing a responsible chains of custody (CoC) and a statement of provenance or traceability. So is this the best practice? If I use exclusively recycled gold for my jewels, am I responsible ? Let’s try to answer these questions.
A world without financial services (2)
The most common reasons that banks deny services to the gold mining sector, are related to the difficulty of carrying out due diligence processes that allow them to perform an accurate risk assessment. Are these reasons really objective when the inability to do proper risk management by the compliance area rests with the evaluated actor?
A world without financial services (1)
The artisanal and small-scale mining sector seems invisible to the financial inclusion policies implemented in Colombia. Due to this, miners face many difficulties trying to connect with formal markets and are left without the financial services needed to channel the earnings.
Jewelry workshops for female gold panner
Our country is rich in minerals and has a great goldsmith tradition, which comes from beginnings of ancient Peru. It was precisely the pre-Inca cultures that defined Peru as one of the five metallurgical cradles of the world.
Gold fever in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique
With the promotion of this alternative method and the discontinuation of mercury, in addition to the environmental and health advantages for the population, other illegal practices, as well as the presence of mercury black market traders, are minimized.
Third Jewelry Industry Summit in Tucson, AZ
As a not for profit, charitable organization The Jewelry Industry Summit strives to bring the jewelry industry together to encourage and facilitate meaningful, solution-driven activities that continue to advance sustainability and responsible sourcing. The summits hosted by our organization are interactive opportunities to come together to develop strategies for more responsible jewelry sourcing.
Gold panning in Colombia, an uncomfortable cultural heritage
In June 2012 an application was filed to the Colombian Ministry of Culture for the traditional barequeo , a panning technique used to obtain gold with manual tools on the riverbed and shores of the Cauca river and its tributaries, to be included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the nation (ICH).
Water management in artisanal and small scale placer mining
Water is the most vital resource for life. Which is why it is important to understand the impact of artisanal and small-scale placer mining (ASM) on water bodies and watercourses and implement the correct water use and management practices.
Transition plan for the elimination of mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining
Public positioning of the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) on mercury.
How do we jointly define priorities to improve the conditions of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)?
In an event for dialogue and regional participation that we organized at the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) to get together with different stakeholders with whom we had been working with in Colombia (Cauca and Nariño regions), we built an agenda aimed at giving more visibility to artisanal and small-scale mining. This agenda was created based on the accomplishments, challenges and learnings that we identified throughout a year through the relationship with multiple stakeholders.
“Sustainable Jewellery. Principles and Processes for Creating an Ethical Brand “
The launch of “Sustainable Jewellery. Principles and Processes for Creating an Ethical Brand” shows us the revolution that is taking place within the jewellery sector today. An opening to the secrecy that characterizes it, if we compare it to more innovative and communicative industries like fashion, in which we find an endless number of publications addressing its harmful impact on the environment, and the question of developing sustainable practices.
The final step to achieving a mercury free dream
The general assistant of Gualconda mine and president of the Asociación Agro Minera de los Andes “Fortaleza”, Rolberto Alvarez, has been on a mission to eliminate mercury from the processes used by the 13 member association to extract gold. In December of 2017 the Colombian association accomplished this goal.
Beyond the tip of certified sustainable production iceberg
In the last decade, we have seen a spectacular increase in sustainability initiatives and Voluntary Sustainability Standards. However, in many agricultural supply chains we still face a tremendous challenge to bring small producers up to the sustainability standards required by market stakeholders and consumers.
Italian jewelry market: no fear to change
Francesco Belloni, 48 years old, handled the jewelry founded by his father in 1955. Married, two lovely daughters, he works hard to achieve his goals, he works with passion and sense of responsability. The claim he chose for his ethical brands is “Dignity is the most precious asset”.
How are miners and the government advancing in the elimination of mercury?
It is a fact that mercury cannot be used in extraction operations in the country. But, how do you get small miners to cast it aside when it gave them good results at a low cost? Article for Revista Semana - Mercury special edition (july 2018) The use of mercury by...
The formalization of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Colombia and its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
In September 2015, the international agenda for Sustainable Development was published. 17 Sustainable Development Goals were defined to guide nations on their path towards eradicating poverty and achieving “sustainable development in its three dimensions — economic,...
Le devoir de diligence pour l’or artisanal
Authors: Louis Maréchal et Luca Maiotti Depuis plusieurs années, la communauté internationale, les organisations de la société civile et de manière générale les consommateurs ont développé des attentes fortes visant à s’assurer que la production et le commerce...
Due diligence for artisanal gold
Authors: Louis Maréchal and Luca Maiotti For several years, the international community, civil society organizations and consumers have developed high expectations to ensure that the production and trade of raw materials, especially gold, are not linked to human...
Water and mining: what does leadership involve?
Water has gained increased importance in communities’ and NGO’s agendas, becoming the most powerful convening issue for territorial based social movements resisting mining. Water is the most sensitive issue for communities as negative impacts on water directly...
ASM and Changing Donor Priorities
Having spent more than 15 years in a large bilateral donor agency (until recently), I know a fair bit about how policy and programming priorities are decided. Don’t get me wrong; in the right circumstances the potential to make a practical and sustained difference can...