FAIRTRADE AND FAIRMINED GOLD - The Fairtrade Foundation

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standard. Miners’ organisations, buyers, refiners and manufacturers are required to have strict internal controls to ensure that the entire volume of certified gold they sell under Fairtrade and Fairmined terms is traceable. Certified gold is kept separate from non-certified gold during processing, refining and manufacturing. This means that it can be traced from the miner to the shop, creating a fully transparent supply chain. MERCURY USE 46 In many cases mercury amalgamation is the only gold recovery technology available to artisanal miners. This applies to the average artisanal miner, who is poor. Working individually or in small teams as members of an artisanal miners’ organisation the miner lacks the funds needed to invest in advanced technologies such as mechanic gravity methods or cyanide leaching. The miner needs to sell their gold on a daily or weekly basis in order to buy food and clothing and pay for medical treatment and their children’s education. Although elimination of the use of mercury in responsible artisanal and small-scale gold mining is an important goal, the total and immediate elimination of mercury is not a realistic condition for Fairtrade and Fairmined gold. Despite the human health and environmental risks use of such chemicals presents, totally eliminating mercury and cyanide is inefficient from the perspective of mineral recovery, and if it were included as a condition, 95% of all ASM would be excluded from the development opportunity of Fairtrade. Instead the standards set out a process to support ASM organisations to minimise the use of mercury over an agreed period of time, through implementation of responsible practices and technologies to mitigate and reduce impact on the environment and human health. The greatest loss of mercury occurs when whole ore amalgamation is carried out, rather than reducing the ore to a concentrate, and when amalgam is burnt without using a device to recover the mercury (retort or similar equipment). The Fairtrade and Fairmined standards require artisanal miners to use a concentration process (gravity separation, flotation, hand-sorting) prior to amalgamation, and makes the use of retorts or other mercury recovery devices during amalgam decomposition obligatory. Both requirements ensure that mercury emissions are drastically reduced up to 90%. 47 14 Fairtrade and Fairmined gold: Empowering responsible artisanal and small-scale miners In exceptional cases, where the physical traceability requirements impose disproportionate costs, limiting access to Fairtrade markets for certified miners’ organisations, refiners and manufacturers can apply to be exempt from physical traceability requirements. 45 Physical traceability for Fairtrade ecological gold that receives the ecological premium is compulsory at all times. In addition, an ecological premium is offered on top of the Fairtrade premium for mining organisations who eliminate mercury and cyanide altogether using only gravimetric methods for gold recovery, and develop low impact mining. CYANIDE USE Mercury amalgamation is a speedy process that can be carried out by individuals, while cyanidation is a slow process that usually requires substantial investment in the construction of a processing plant. Artisanal miners in many countries have proved that amalgamation can be replaced by cyanidation at their level of production if they organise, obtain the necessary finance to invest and start using small processing plants. As cyanide can be detoxified and is even biodegradable with exposure to UV light and oxygen, cyanidation can be less harmful to the environment than mercury amalgamation when practiced to strict standards. For many miners’ organisations the Fairtrade premium can provide a unique opportunity to obtain the funds needed to invest in more environmentally efficient technologies. 48 Moving the ore to the cyanidation pits Cyanidation pit
6. WHAT DIFFERENCE HAS FAIRTRADE AND FAIRMINED CERTIFICATION ALREADY MADE TO MINERS? ‘Before Fairtrade we sold our product, that is, our gold, to the intermediaries in the district of Chaparra. We sold to them using their little scales. We didn’t know if the scales were correct or not, we didn’t know our legal rights or how pure our product was.’ Victor Juan Hurtado Padella, Deputy Major, Santa Filomena, Peru ‘This project has been of great benefit to us. As long as we work hard and follow the guidelines, we obtain food security.’ Américo Mosquera, Oro Verde miner, Colombia To date, nine miners’ organisations, representing 2,500 miners and their families, are being certified. These miners were heavily involved in developing and testing the Fairtrade and Fairmined standards. The following examples show the difference Fairtrade and Fairmined has already made and the continuous improvements the groups are planning once certified products go on sale. Fairtrade and Fairmined certification is working to improve the lives of some 30,000 people from mining communities. All of the current producer groups are based in Latin America and applications are open to all ASM organisations in that continent. More producer organisations are expected to join in 2011 and beyond. A network of pilots has been established in Africa with plans for expansion into Asia. ‘Before, we used the mercury to amalgamate the material inside the town. We weren’t really aware about the environment and the harm it caused. Now, with the training we’ve had and the prohibitions, we use the mercury in the correct way, and in order to do this we’ve created what we call an industrial zone, dedicated exclusively to the use of mercury.’ Victor Juan Hurtado Padella, Deputy Mayor, Santa Filomena, Peru Oro Verde SOTRAMI COLOMBIA PERU VENEZULA BOLIVIA BRAZIL Cotapata, La Paz 6.1 THE ORO VERDE PROGRAMME, COLOMBIA 49 ‘It is important because you get paid extra and you also have the guarantee that they are providing you with technical assistance. They’re giving you tips so that you can improve your activity day by day.’ Américo Mosquera, Oro Verde miner, Colombia 50 The Oro Verde programme was established in 2000 to support ASM by Afro-Colombian communities in the Chocó region of Colombia. Afro-Colombian communities are amongst the most marginalised in Colombia. The communities are organised and represented by Community Councils that govern collective lands within different municipalities. The programme has worked with over 1,300 artisanal miners since it was established. Currently 112 family units participate in the programme, which achieved Fairtrade and Fairmined status in 2011. The type of mining carried out by the Oro Verde producers is alluvial, involving gold panning in rivers and streams and diving for sediment. No mercury or cyanide is used to process the gold; instead the communities employ a range of traditional mining techniques inherited from their ancestors allowing them to claim the additional ecological premium Fairtrade and Fairmined gold: Empowering responsible artisanal and small-scale miners 15
Page 1 and 2: FAIRTRADE AND FAIRMINED GOLD Empowe
Page 3 and 4: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Gold: symbol of l
Page 5 and 6: 2. ARTISANAL AND SMALL- SCALE GOLD
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Page 9 and 10: 4. BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE:
Page 11 and 12: Artisanal and small-scale miners fi
Page 13: egulations in their country. For mo
Page 17 and 18: There are currently 88 associates w
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FAIRTRADE AND FAIRMINED GOLD - The Fairtrade Foundation

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