REVISTA CONNESSIONE VI EDIÇÃO - MAIO

WHAT PROBLEMS DO YOU CREATE WITHOUT THE RIGHT CRITERIA
AND EXERCISE WITHOUT THE DUE CHECKS ?
In unauthorized and uncontrolled mining sites it can happen that there are leaks of toxins resulting in pollution
of water systems. Informal mines often collapse causing injuries to operators. Children often work on
construction sites, sometimes forced by unscrupulous bosses to slip into narrow wells. This mining also fuels
an underground economy that deprives states of taxes: every year gold worth billions of dollars is smuggled
from Africa, and unscrupulous people and warlords use gold to launder profits or buy weapons.
WHO BUY GOLD FROM ARTISANAL SMALL MINING ?
Consumers in the West are increasingly craving ethically sourced products, so many large banks, jewelers and
gold refineries are wary of artisanal gold. They typically only buy from carefully monitored schemes that ensure
that miners are treated fairly and that the source of the gold is traceable.
But the quantities produced in this way are small. Much of the rest goes to less scrupulous buyers in places like
the Middle East and India, according to trade data and industry people. Gold can enter the global system from
there. (Reported by Peter Hobson; edited by Sara).
However, one of the main areas of the OECD’s work in responsible sourcing of minerals is to ensure that international
standards do not lead to further marginalization of workers in the informal sector. This involves
working on the formalization of artisanal and small-scale mines (ASM).
ASM is a major source of mineral resource production in the world. It is largely informal and is associated with
low levels of safety, health care or environmental protection measures. In this context, the OECD Due Diligence
Guide for Responsible Mining Supply Chains includes an appendix that invites interested parties to engage
in the legalization and formalization of artisanal mining communities.
The goal is twofold:
-Build safe, transparent and verifiable supply chains.
-Ensure that legitimate artisanal mining communities can benefit from ongoing trade in conflict-affected and
high-risk areas and support their development.
The OECD also seeks to cooperate with initiatives such as the Global Mercury Partnership to work on reducing
the use of mercury for gold production.
Tools that help advance this agenda include:
The ASM Hub which convenes host and donor governments from OECD and non-OECD countries, the private
sector, civil society and other stakeholders, to learn about ASM issues and explore ways to support formalization
efforts, enable responsible sourcing of hand-mined gold, implement the Gold Supplement to the OECD
Due Diligence Guide.
THE MINERS OF PRECIOUS STONES, SMALL-SCALE ARTISANS.
Expert Consultant and Estimator Zorza Gian Mario, passionate about gemology and technologies related to
mining methods, explains that in the same way that artisanal and small-scale miners extract gold, there are
their close relatives who also operate often “freelance”, sometimes, even for this sector, by paying landowners
to access a site or delivering a part of their work, they also extract precious stones that feed the market without
control and protection for workers and respect of the rules.
MARKET PRICES INCREASE AND DECREASE, WHAT DO ANALYSTS IN THE “PRE-
CIOUS METALS” SECTOR THINK ABOUT THE YEAR 2021 FOR EXAMPLE ?
Let’s take a current example, the price of silver is unlikely to reach $ 50.00 in 2021, but analysts still see the potential
to eclipse gold. With gold expected to retest its all-time highs in 2020, some extremely bullish estimates
have also crept into the silver market. As silver was able to double in value from its March lows, some analysts
said the firm could be hit again in 2021. “Uniquely valuable and increasingly industrial, the odds tend towards
2 8