News & Voices

Mongolia, a vast country characterized by rugged landscapes, a nomadic culture, and an active artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector has not been untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic. With a robust testing system and restrictions in place, Mongolia has been able to curb extensive spread of the virus, which has plateaued at roughly 1,000 cases per day, but that has not left the ASGM sector untouched from economic impacts.

Voces por una Colombia libre de mercurio es un programa bimensual que llegará a las comunidades con invitados y contenido relevante para todas las personas, organizaciones e instituciones de los territorios donde se desarrolla el proyecto planetGOLD Colombia.

In support of World Day for Safety and Health at Work, our partner the Artisanal Gold Council as the executing agency of the planetGOLD projects in Mongolia and the Philippines highlights initiatives in these countries and three other related country projects in the Asia-Pacific region actively addressing occupational health and safety hazards in the ASGM sector.

The planetGOLD Mongolia project published the article ‘ARTISANAL GOLD: Opportunities For Responsible Investment’ in the March 2021 issue of the Mongolian Mining Journal in English and in the ‘Daily News’ newspaper in Mongolian on March 30th. It touched on some of the key points summarized below. To read the full article in English and Mongolian, please access them via the resource library or directly through the Mongolian Mining Journal’s website.

En Perú, Bolivia, Colombia y Ecuador, las mujeres trabajan día a día por una minería de oro artesanal y de pequeña escala más responsable con sus derechos y el cuidado del ambiente

Los eventos en Puno y Arequipa fueron realizados vía zoom el 09 y 23 de marzo de 2021, dando cierre al ciclo de talleres regionales iniciado en Piura en febrero de 2020.

As we transition out of the pandemic, gender imbalances in ASM are now more evident than ever. Longstanding problems in the sector still exist in their former state or have been exacerbated. But the present moment offers the opportunity to "build back better" for African women in ASM and their communities.

planetGOLD Colombia oficializó la entrega de los equipos para la detección de mercurio otorgados a las Corporaciones Autónomas Regionales del Cauca y Sur de Bolívar, con los cuales fortalecen sus capacidades institucionales para evaluar, planear y realizar intervenciones sostenibles, así como para hacer monitoreo ambiental en las zonas mineras de estas regiones.

Women make up 10-30% of the workforce at ASGM sites in the Philippines, according to mining association leaders and other local stakeholders. The planetGOLD Philippines project looks at the roles women play, their income opportunities, exposure to mercury, and initiatives to promote gender equality in the sector.

As the planetGOLD Mongolia project works towards formalizing the sector, and reducing the clandestine use of toxic chemicals in ASGM, focus has been placed on strengthening local government’s comprehension of the implications and benefits of the Minamata Convention and thus incentivizing its implementation using the NAP as a guide. To begin this, two training sessions on the ‘Minamata Convention on Mercury and ASGM’ were organized in two provinces.

For women mineral selectors in Ecuador known as jancheras, a new gardening initiative allows families to generate additional income and provides a source of food security in times of emergency such as those currently being experienced around the world.

The theme of this year's International Women's Day is #ChooseToChallenge — a call to recognize and call out gender bias and inequality. In solidarity with people all over the world taking up this call, planetGOLD project staff, miners, and partner government officials raised their hands to share why they choose to challenge gender inequalities in artisanal and small-scale gold mining.