A Poisonous Mix - Human Rights Watch
A Poisonous Mix - Human Rights Watch
A Poisonous Mix - Human Rights Watch
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The Responsibility of International Gold Trading Companies<br />
Mali’s official figures put the amount of artisanally mined gold exported per year at around<br />
four tonnes, worth around US$230 million at September 2011 prices. However, the real<br />
amount might be higher, as some of the gold is probably smuggled out the country. A<br />
further set of figures obtained from the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Business of<br />
Mali, states that during the first half of 2011, nine international companies bought<br />
artisanally mined gold worth over US$83 million. 366<br />
Swiss Companies<br />
Export statistics obtained from the Ministry of the Economy and Finances of Mali show that<br />
Switzerland is the most important trading partner in artisanally mined gold for Mali. 367<br />
Between January 2009 and May 2011, US$34 million worth of artisanally mined gold were<br />
exported from Mali to Switzerland. 368<br />
Between January and June 2011, the Swiss company Decafin was the sole recipient of the<br />
exports to Switzerland, according to the data obtained from the Ministry of Industry,<br />
Investment and Business. 369 Decafin is a Geneva-based company, founded in 1977, that<br />
trades in precious metals and also operates as a finance institute. 370 In a letter to Decafin,<br />
<strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong> described the use of child labor in artisanal gold mines, and asked the<br />
company to provide information on its policies and procedures on the prevention of child<br />
rights violations, and how it monitors the situation of children in artisanal mines. Decafin,<br />
through its lawyer said that Decafin “only acts at the end of the supply chain” and that it<br />
“has no contacts whatsoever with the producing companies nor with the Malian<br />
government.” 371 Following a meeting with <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong>, the company sent a second<br />
letter through its lawyer, stating that it acts at the end of a supply chain composed of at least<br />
four intermediaries and is unable to exert any pressure on producers in, or the government of,<br />
Mali. However, the company said that it would question its suppliers and the Mali Mining<br />
366 The total amount of artisanally mined gold exported during that period was 1722,5 kg. This calculation is based on the<br />
gold price of June 30, 2011. For details, see Annex II, Ministère de l’Industrie, de l’Investissement et du Commerce,<br />
“Situation des intentions d’exportation d’or artisanal du 1 er janvier au 30 juin 2011,” Bamako, July 14, 2011.<br />
367 See Annex I, Ministère de l’Economie et des Finances, “Tableaux statistiques des exportations d’or des mines artisanales<br />
au titre des années 2009, 2010 et 2011,” Bamako, July 19, 2011.<br />
368 See Annex I. For the period 2009-2010, <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong> does not have the names of companies in Switzerland that<br />
imported the gold.<br />
369 See Annex II.<br />
370 For more information on Decafin, see http://www.decafin.ch/ (accessed August 15, 2011). In 2008, an article by the Associated<br />
Press also reported that Decafin was buying gold from artisanal mines in Mali. Rukmini Callimachi and Bradley Klapper, “Exploited<br />
Children Stories,” Associated Press, August 11, 2008, http://www.ap.org/media/pdf/calimachi.pdf (accessed August 15, 2011).<br />
371 Letter from Marc Henzelin, Lalive, to <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong>, August 10, 2011 (translated by <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong>). See the<br />
<strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong> letter and the full response in Annex III.<br />
75 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | DECEMBER 2011