Resource Area

This report provides guidance for planetGOLD ASGM entities to conform with the planetGOLD Criteria for Environmentally and Socially Responsible Operations, specifically one criterion that requires ASGM entities to consult with and seek free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) from any Indigenous or tribal community whose rights or lands may be impacted.

The report examines the relationship between national fiscal regimes and the formality of the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector. Specifically, the study attempts to determine whether and to what extent a country’s fiscal regime – the total of taxes, fees, and royalties – acts as significant factor pushing ASGM producers and exporters into informality. The report addresses the production segment of the gold supply chain from the commercialisation segment and focusses specifically on nine planetGOLD countries: Burkina Faso, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Peru.

This issue brief originally published in 2020 and updated in 2024 reviews past experiences with delivering financial and allied services to the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector and examines existing barriers to attracting formal finance and investment in the sector. It concludes with recommended interventions for governments, donors and other allies to help improve ASGM’s access to formal finance in the future.
 

This document provides an overview of the interventions that have been carried out across the planetGOLD programme as of June 2023 to advance responsible mining and eliminate mercury from the ASGM gold supply chain, through technology transfer, technical support, training, and sharing knowledge on best practices in mercury-free gold processing.