News
Participatory agenda for the mining sector
On December 5th and 6th of 2019, the Colombia Regional Workshop (Antioquia) was carried out, which reflected on the main challenges, barriers and lessons learned from the artisanal and small-scale mining sector (ASM). We discussed access to mining resources, mining formalization, the elimination of mercury, the commercialization of gold and the role of public institutions and civil society in promoting the sector. How can we make small-scale mining more responsible?
Golden Roots, a project for the governance and empowerment of women in the mining sector.
Artisanal mining in Chocó, Colombia is an ancestral way of life for the local population. Historically, this activity has been marginalized and often the miners have not had access to effective tools and resources to formalize and improve their working conditions, finding barriers that prevent them from complying with market requirements.
HAPPY 2020! We love challenges
The Alliance for Responsible Mining team would like to thank you for your support in 2019. We hope that in 2020 there will be more social justice for the improvement of the quality of life for mining communities living in vulnerable situations. Here you will find 3 proposals to contribute to the improvement of artisanal mining territories.
We participated in the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP3)
We attended the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP3) in order to bring several decisions and orientations that are fundamental to the objectives of the convention to the table.
Handmade jewelry launch created by CECOMIP members in Peru
The association Divinas en Brillo de Oro, made up of some members of La Central de Cooperativas Minero Metalúrgicas de Puno (CECOMIP), exhibited more than 50 silver jewels, including earrings, rings, and necklaces, designed and made by themselves.
Workshop about the application of the CRAFT Code in Tarkwa, Ghana
Within the framework of the partnership with Solidarity-Ghana, the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) developed a workshop from Wednesday the 16th to Thursday the 17th of October in Tarkwa, the Western Region of Ghana.
Project launch in the beneficiary regions of Burkina Faso!
After a launch at national level in May, the municipality of Réo, in the Centre-ouest region, hosted its first regional workshop launch of the EU-funded “Project to Support the Creation of a Legal and Responsible Artisanal and Small-scale Mining in Burkina Faso”.
Formalization and Marketing Workshop in Chala, Peru
ARM hosted the regional workshop in the city of Chala, Peru, where the formalization requirements were discussed; The different members of the supply chain collaborated in order to expedite the marketing and exporting processes, and access loans. Miners also exchanged stories about their experiences during the internship at the MACDESA mining organization.
We attended the International Conference and Exposition of Mining and Energy of Zambia
ARM, represented by Patrick Schein, member of the Board of Directors of ARM, participated in different sessions where he had the opportunity to highlight the potential of artisanal and small-scale mining (MAPE) and highlight its role as a low carbon emitter, a great generator of rural employment, a foreign exchange contributor, and a contributor to indirect taxes.
CRAFT Code´s revision
The three main purposes for initiating CRAFT Version 2 are to 1) follow standards setting best practice in support of CRAFT’s credibility and legitimacy as a tool, 2) expand the scope of CRAFT to maximize its utility to the artisanal minerals sector and its constituencies, and 3) enable progressive improvement and integrate lessons learned from implementing version 1.
Workshop for the development of skills for the OECD’s Due Diligence Guide in Popayan
On June 14 2019, we organized a workshop on the OECD’s Due Diligence Guide in Popayan, Cauca, Colombia, with the aim of helping the department’s public entities, as well as the mining organizations that take part in the extraction of gold to become familiar with the concept of Due Diligence.
The Alliance for Responsible Mining will expand its board of directors
The process for the expansion of the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) board meeting was approved in the face-to-face meeting from November 07 to 10, 2018, with a first cycle starting in December 2018 and ending in 2019.
We took part in the OECD’s Forum on responsible supply chains for minerals
The Alliance for Responsible Mining’s team (ARM) attended the 13th Forum on responsible supply chains for minerals of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which took place in Paris, France, on April 23-26.
We participated in the Forum on responsible mineral supply chains and its supporting measures
The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the impact of the new regulation on the responsible sourcing of the 3T and gold minerals and its supporting measures from the outlook of the European civil society and representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Colombia.
Generating a productive empowerment
Since November 2017, the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), along with the funding from the Ensemble Foundation, the Colorado School of Mines and the Ford Foundation, have been developing a global project to promote good mining practices in the Puno region.
We attended the NEOMIN Fair in Peru
The goal of the event was to assist small mining producers in employing clean technologies to eradicate the use of mercury in mining, as well as for miners to know and approach the various state agencies involved in mining.
We started the activities of the new stage of the project Somos Tesoro in Boyacá, Colombia!
From the 13th to the 15th of March various activities took place as the starting point of the new stage of the project Somos Tesoro.
Training workshop on the OECD Due Diligence Guidance
On February 27, the skills workshop on the OECD Diligence Due Diligence Guide was held in Medellin, Colombia, in order to understand the context, objectives and recommendations, as well as to analyze in depth the necessary steps for its implementation.
Inauguration of Minas y Cuevas’ gravimetric plant, Honduras
On the 8th of February we inaugurated the gravimetric plant for the recovery of gold and other metals of the artisanal and small-scale mining organization (ASMO) Minas y Cuevas in Macuelizo, Honduras. One of the main benefits of the plant will be the ability to obtain gold without the use of mercury, thus reducing environmental impact.
How we are facing 2019
For the Alliance for Responsible Mining, 2018 ended with some encouraging news, such as the increase from 8 to 11 artisanal and small-scale mining organizations certified under the Fairmined Standard (in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Mongolia), and the growth in the volume of Fairmined certified gold in relation to the previous year.