News & Voices

In a new issue brief, we review past experiences with delivering financial and allied services to the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector and examine the existing barriers to attracting formal finance and investment in the sector. The brief concludes with recommended interventions for governments, donors and other allies to help improve ASGM’s access to formal finance in the future.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is the world's largest employer in the extraction sector, with up to 15 million miners in 70 countries. It is also a big business, supplying up to 20 percent of the world's gold. But widespread use of mercury in the sector means it also comes at a huge cost to public health. This article introduces the work the GEF GOLD programme (now planetGOLD) does to upgrade the practices of small-scale miners.

The planetGOLD project in Colombia, UNDP and the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia, in alliance with six national and international organizations focused on the mining sector, have developed a strategy called #MineríaSinCOVID19 (“Mining Without COVID19”) which includes a comprehensive awareness kit with a biosecurity protocol for workers in small-scale mining and different awareness-raising actions to guide mining communities in different regions of Colombia in the prevention of COVID-19 in mining operations and activities. This initiative had a launch event and a webinar led by the Vice Minister of Mines Carolina Rojas Hayes.

El proyecto planetGOLD, el PNUD y el Ministerio de Minas y Energía de Colombia, en alianza con seis organizaciones nacionales e internacionales enfocadas en el sector minero, desarrollaron un completo módulo de sensibilización que incluye un protocolo unificado de bioseguridad para el autocuidado de los trabajadores en la pequeña minería y minería de subsistencia durante la emergencia sanitaria generada por el COVID-19. La estrategia llamada #MineríaSinCOVID19 integra diferentes acciones de sensibilización para orientar a las comunidades mineras de las diferentes regiones de Colombia en la prevención del Covid-19 en las operaciones y actividades mineras. Esta iniciativa contó con un evento...

On August 16, 2017, the Minamata Convention on Mercury entered into force. It was the first new multilateral environmental agreement in over a decade, and it also made history as the first multilateral environmental agreement to explicitly address an informal sector of the economy. As the Minamata Convention commemorates its 3rd anniversary, Programme Management Officer Marianne Bailey draws attention to ASGM National Action Plans as an important part of global efforts to advance the sector's transition to the formal economy and to sustainable development, as well as the critical role they play in improving global supply chains.

After many of Mongolia's state-owned timber factories closed in the 1990s, people in the village of Tunkhel looking for new employment moved into informal artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Following a lengthy formalization process, the leader of the local mining organization now hopes that a high-recovery mercury-free processing facility, which the planetGOLD Mongolia project is poised to pilot, will offer opportunities to all local ASGM communities and discourage clandestine use of mercury.

1990-ээд оны шилжилтийн үед Монгол Улсад төрийн өмчит мод бэлтгэлийн үйлдвэрүүд хаагдаж, Түнхэл тосгоны иргэд орлогын өөр эх үүсвэрийг эрэлхийлэн алтны бичил уурхайд ажиллаж эхэлжээ. planetGOLD Монгол төслийн туршилтаар байгуулах, алт барилт сайтай, мөнгөн усгүй, баяжуулах цех нь орон нутгийн бусад бичил уурхайчид, бичил уурхайн байгууллагуудад боломж олгож, мөн мөнгөн усны далд хэрэглээг багасгахад хувь нэмрээ оруулна гэдэгт орон нутгийн бичил уурхайн байгууллагын гүйцэтгэх захирал итгэж байна.

For years an association of women artisanal miners in Ecuador has dreamed of generating another economic activity by promoting the use of materials extracted in the area through goldsmithing, which they believe can provide a way to represent their culture and, in the future, promote tourism. Their dream will soon be a reality as new funding has been provided to implement a goldsmithing workshop. Read more in this article from our partner project in Ecuador.

As the COVID-19 health emergency has significantly impacted families in Ecuador, especially artisanal miners who depend on this activity to make ends meet, planetGOLD's partner project there has responded to protect these vulnerable communities using a campaign titled Las Reglas de Oro, or "The Golden Rules" - recommendations to protect artisanal & small-scale miners in the context of COVID-19. Using short videos and print material, it aims to provide miners with practical advice for protecting themselves and others against the spread of COVID-19 as containment measures relax and miners return to work.

In November 2019, the UN Environment Programme's Malgorzata Stylo joined the Minamata National Action Plan (NAP) project team, composed of national consultants, local stakeholders, regional partners from BCRC Caribbean and international experts, for a journey to the interior of Guyana, known as the heart of mining. The journey was an opportunity to learn firsthand about the life and practices employed by thousands of miners and community members from Guyana’s small-scale mining sector.

Con un total de 62,125 especies registradas y 91 ecosistemas acuáticos, costeros, marinos e insulares; Colombia se convierte en el epicentro de las celebraciones globales del 5 de junio, fecha del Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente que para este año gira en torno a la protección de la biodiversidad. La riqueza megadiversa del país no compite con su riqueza en oro. Ambos atributos de Colombia centran la atención en la necesidad de impulsar el desarrollo sostenible con la producción y consumo responsable de los recursos naturales.