Fairmined
Fairmined is an assurance label that certifies gold and associated precious metals.[1][2] from artisanal and small-scale mining organizations embracing ethical practices. It transforms mining into an active force for good, providing everyone with a source of gold to be proud of.
It aims to ensure more environmentally friendly practices and working conditions in the exploitation of gold mines, and to guarantee the development of mining communities. It also aims to provide the market with certified gold from an ethical source, with fair trade logic. As a result, all the actors from the industry buying Fairmined gold support the transformation of the artisanal and small-scale mining sector.
Fairmined is an initiative created in 2004 by the Alliance for Responsible Mining, a non-profit organization globally recognized as a leader and pioneer of responsible artisanal and small-scale mining.[3]
Objective
For centuries, gold has been associated with wealth, triumphs, glamour, and romanticism. Gold mining activity developed strongly from the nineteenth century onwards with so-called ‘gold rushes’ in the gold zones. New techniques have improved the efficiency of the exploitation of gold veins, introducing in particular the use of cyanide, or mercury. But the image of gold mining has also been tarnished by illegal practices surrounding this activity, by pollution with heavy metals, ecological impact on the extraction zones, and unscrupulous social practices affecting men and women in the mining industry.[4]
In the 1980s, one of the most famous reports of the Franco-Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, entitled Serra Pelada's Gold Mine[5], struck people's spirits by showing the daily activity in a gold mine in the Amazon, where workers (men and/or women) dig in mud to extract precious metals. Other surveys and documentaries have highlighted conditions for gold mining, which have changed little since the nineteenth century.[6][7]
Globally, the artisanal and small-scale mining sector is responsible for the extraction of 20% of the gold produced, and there are over 150 million people depending on this activity for their livelihood.[8]
Fairmined works to eliminate these practices and the negative perceptions they create, and to transform mining into an active force for good. It provides sustainable development certification to artisanal and small-scale gold mining organizations, and applies the principles of fair trade to process and market this mineral: fair and profitable prices for producers, long-term commercial partnerships, strengthening the organizational and technical skills of artisanal mining organizations, respect for the International Labor Organization conventions (in particular regarding working conditions, health, safety of workers, or the work of children).[4][9]. Compliance with the certification requirements is regularly verified by audits conducted by third parties.[10][11]
This approach also introduces traceability, from the extraction mine to the finished product, a complex issue for gold, which can be purified, melted, or amalgamated.[12]
History
The Fairmined initiative was created by the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), a non-profit organization created in 2004, which released the first version of the Fairmined standard. Following an association with the Fairtrade Labeling Organizations (FLO), an association networking fair trade initiatives, a common version of certification called Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold was published in 2009, based on environmental and social standards. Then, after the separation of FLO and ARM, in April 2014, the 2.0 version of the Fairmined standard was made public by ARM. In the 2010s, jewelry designers and houses, such as Chopard[13] in Switzerland, or JEM (Jewelery Ethically Minded)[14] in France, chose Fairmined certified gold for part or all of their collections as part of their sourcing model.[15][16][17]
During the same decade, particularly symbolic objects began to be produced with Fairmined certified gold, such as the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, since 2013;[18][19][20] the Nobel Peace Prize medal since 2015[21][22], the Olympic Laurel awarded at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio[23], or part of the production of the Mint of Paris since 2018.[19][11][24]
The limits of the approach
The process is still in its early stages: in 2020, there are nine Fairmined certified artisanal and small-scale mining organizations and approximately 1.4 tonnes of certified gold sold on the international fair market.[9][25]
The Fairmined certification process is a voluntary approach by mining organizations and some industry actors. The global mining industry is increasingly aware of the need to address sustainable development issues[26], but short-term goals often outweigh the logic of social responsibility. The existence of the Fairmined certification is a step forward, providing a profession and an ambitious target. However, a more restrictive international regulatory framework is also considered necessary.[27]
References
- ↑ "Home". Fairmined. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "Fairmined Metals | The Ethical Making Resource". Ethical Making Resource. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ↑ "Inicio". ARM (in español). Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Carter, Kate (14 February 2011). "Fairtrade hallmark sets the gold standard". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "La Mine d'or de Serra Pelada, Etat de Para, Brésil | Centre Pompidou". www.centrepompidou.fr (in français). Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "La fièvre de l'or remonte à Serra Pelada, Brésil" (in français). 30 December 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "L'or et ses esclaves" (in français). 26 January 1985. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "Global Trends in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM): A review of key numbers and issues". International Institute for Sustainable Development. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mondialisation, Mr (11 July 2017). "Extraire de l'or de manière propre ? C'est l'objectif d'un nouveau label éthique". Mr Mondialisation (in français). Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "Au Pérou, Fairmined agit pour "un or dont on peut être fier !"". www.socialter.fr. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Nouvelle, L'Usine (14 May 2018). La Monnaie de Paris lance une pièce en or équitable Fairmined - L'Usine Matières premières (in français). Retrieved 15 November 2019. Search this book on
- ↑ Spinks, Rosie (13 January 2015). "Can consumer power make space for small miners in the jewellery supply chain?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "Responsible Sourcing | Chopard Sustainability". www.chopard.com. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ↑ "Or éthique et équitable certifié Fairmined". jewellery-ethically-minded (in français). Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ↑ "Ethical gold: Chopard wants to start a 'Fairmined' revolution". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ Figaro, Madame (30 May 2018). "Portraits de cinq créateurs qui dynamisent la joaillerie française". Madame Figaro. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "From Sustainable Luxury to Luxurious Sustainability". HuffPost. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "Festival de Cannes 2016: la Palme d'or, 118 grammes d'or éthique". RTBF Info (in français). 6 May 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Matières premières : " l'or éthique, en toc ? "" (in français). 9 June 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ magazine, Le Point (22 May 2014). "La palme d'or, du désert d'Atacama au tapis rouge de Cannes". Le Point (in français). Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "Nobel Peace Prize made out of Fairmined gold". Samlerhuset Group B.V. 2015-12-02. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ↑ Figaro.fr, Le (3 December 2015). "De l'or équitable pour le prix Nobel de la paix". Le Figaro.fr (in français). Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "Nouveaux Lauriers olympiques en or Fairmined | Rubel & Ménasché". www.rubel-menasche.com. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "A la Monnaie de Paris, une première pièce en or équitable "Fairmined"". www.linfodurable.fr (in français). Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ↑ "ARM" (in español). Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ↑ "Mining .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform". sustainabledevelopment.un.org. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ↑ Kennard, Matt (17 February 2010). "How Sustainable Is 'Socially Responsible' Mining?". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
Review
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