Resources

Note by the secretariat of the Minamata Convention on Mercury

This report series analyzes the forces behind illegal mining in Ghana, its geographic expansion, and the networks that benefit from it. Drawing on three years of fieldwork, remote sensing, interviews, and desk research, Part 1 focuses on the Western and Savannah regions, showing how unlicensed artisanal and small-scale gold mining has increased in scale, sophistication, and environmental and social impact. Part 2 will delve further into the illicit gold supply chains and financial systems that sustain the trade.

As part of their Lake Victoria Gold Programme, they developed a handbook guiding the continuous improvement of ASMO’s along what they refer to as an Impact Escalator.

This assessment report examines Mexico's mining laws and policies and makes recommendations for policy reform and improvement.

This report attempts to illustrate ASM and its opportunities, challenges and to explain the issues and the development opportunities that it offers if well managed.

Formalization—the process of integrating ASGM into the formal economy, society, and regulatory system—is a critical step toward helping address environmental and social challenges in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector and and toward achieving the sector’s development potential. This report assesses the formalization-related interventions of the planetGOLD Burkina Faso project. 

It is estimated that up to 19 million miners are exposed to mercury alone in ASM operations, giving an indication of the scale of the problem. Occupational exposure to these hazardous chemicals can severely impact body systems and organs, leading to disability, lifelong illness and even death. This report provides an overview of chemicals found in the ASM sector, summaries of different key chemicals present in those settings and policy actions. 

Formalization—the process of integrating ASGM into the formal economy, society, and regulatory system—is a critical step toward helping address environmental and social challenges in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector and and toward achieving the sector’s development potential. This report assesses the formalization-related interventions of the planetGOLD Peru project. 

This toolkit engages cooperatives and their members in conversations around six fundamental cooperative values: self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.