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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
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Results for gold mining
12 results foundAuthor: Veening, Wouter J. Title: Mining gold and mercury pollution in the Guiana Shield: A case study on the role of the EU in fighting environmental crime Summary: This brief report first identifies mercury pollution as a serious and growing threat to global environmental security and the health of the community of life. It then details this threat in the biologically important Guiana Shield ecoregion located in the North East Amazon, bordering the Caribbean, where it is caused by wide-spread informal gold mining. Therefore, the European Union's relevent legal arrangements, lacunae and dilemmas are summarised, also from a criminal law perspective and, finally, conclusions and policy implications for the EU are suggested. Details: The Hague: Institute for Environmental Security, 2015. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: A study compiled as part of the EFFACE project. Accessed August 21, 2015 at: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE%20Mining%20gold%20and%20mercury%20pollution%20in%20the%20Guiana%20Shield_0.pdf Year: 2015 Country: South America URL: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE%20Mining%20gold%20and%20mercury%20pollution%20in%20the%20Guiana%20Shield_0.pdf Shelf Number: 136518 Keywords: Environmental CrimeGold MiningOffenses Against the EnvironmentPollution |
Author: Rettberg, Angelika Title: Golden Opportunity, or a New Twist on the Resource-Conflict Relationship: Links between the Drug Trade and Illegal Gold Mining in Colombia Summary: Resource wars face greater difficulties to end conflict, as well as greater probabilities of relapse. In part, this is due to the persistence of resource-fueled criminal networks developed under the auspices of armed conflict. In this paper we focus on the Colombian armed conflict, one of the longest-lasting conflicts in the world. Recent evidence suggests that gold mining in Colombia has been permeated by illegal organizations linked to the drug trade, driving armed conflict and criminality. This reveals that attention to drugs alone as a conflict resource in this particular case has overshadowed the degree to which legal resources and economic activities have been permeated by illegal organizations and interests. This paper provides a framework of the gold-drugs relationship, which reveals the existence of resource portfolios, or the parallel participation and exchangeability of resources in the provision of funding for illegal organizations. We argue that, in addition to the impact of each resource on armed conflict and criminality, illegal organizations develop abilities to extract benefits of different resources at once or interchangeably (a resource portfolio), which should be taken into account when analyzing the consequences of war on countries' social and economic institutions. In addition, political or reputational factors have been insufficiently considered in analyzing groups' decisions to engage in or abandon specific economic activities. We show that, along with expectations of revenue, resource portfolios may also respond to political conditions, as illegal organizations accustomed to deriving income from coercive practices such as kidnappings - until recently a widespread phenomenon in Colombia - have caused increasing international and domestic outrage followed by pressure to stop this brutal violation of Human Rights. Based on field research in gold mining Colombian regions - combining more than seventy semi-structured interviews with first-hand observation during field trips - and a careful review of press, non-governmental organizations' and official reports in local, regional and national media, the paper provides a general framework of this complex relationship, paying specific attention to the evolution of the links and interchangeable nature of gold and drugs as conflict resources throughout the production phases of the gold extraction process. At a time when Colombia's ongoing peace process is likely to put an end to the armed confrontation between guerrilla groups and the Colombian state, our paper raises a warning sign for scholars and policymakers to consider the potential transformations of illicit markets and their role in shaping the prospects of durable peace. Details: World Development, 2016. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2719686 Year: 2016 Country: Colombia URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2719686 Shelf Number: 139891 Keywords: ColombiaGold MiningIllicit DrugsNatural Resources |
Author: Verite Title: The Nexus of Illegal Gold Mining and Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains: Lessons from Latin America Summary: Research carried out by Verite has found that Latin American countries export staggering amounts of illegally mined gold tied to human trafficking. This presents legal and reputational risks for major companies with gold in their supply chains. The paper, The Nexus of Illegal Gold Mining and Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains, provides analysis of the risk of labor trafficking linked to illegal gold mining in Latin America, drawing upon in-depth field research carried out by Verite in Peru in 2012-2013 and in Colombia in 2015, and desk research carried out across the Latin American region. The diminishing supply and increasing demand for gold, combined with criminal and armed groups' quest for new sources of illicit revenue, have contributed to a surge in illegal extraction of gold from increasingly remote and lawless regions. Latin America is a vitally important player in the global gold trade, contributing 20 percent of the world's gold production in 2013. Latin American countries, along with Canada (which is a major conduit for Latin American gold), constitute all top ten exporters of gold to the United States. In several Latin American countries, unregulated illegal and informal mines account for over 75 percent of gold produced. In Peru and Colombia-the two largest cocaine producers in the world-the value of illegal gold exports has in recent years surpassed the value of cocaine exports, becoming the largest illicit export from these two countries. In Latin America, and elsewhere in the world, illegally mined gold is strongly linked to human trafficking and other labor abuses as these mines are usually located in areas with a weak presence of government authorities and a strong presence of armed and criminal groups. Verite's in-depth research in Peru found many other indicators of forced labor in illegal gold mining, all of which increase the risk of human trafficking. In Colombia, both men and women were found to be vulnerable to labor trafficking in mines controlled by armed and criminal groups. Small-scale artisanal miners, who should in no way be confused with the groups that control illegal mines, are also increasingly vulnerable to becoming victims of debt bondage, both because they are extorted by these groups and because some governments treat them as criminals rather than as potential victims. In addition, illegal gold mining is closely associated with child labor, severe threats to workers' health and safety, and sex trafficking. Child labor - including forced child labor-is common in illegal gold mining. While children are generally employed in peripheral services such as tire and motorcycle repair and stores, teenagers are employed in many of the most dangerous jobs in illegal gold mines, such as swimming in mercury-filled pools of water to suck up gold-laced sand with powerful hoses, risking drowning and being disemboweled by the powerful hoses. Workers also face mine collapses and explosions, repetitive tasks, heavy work, and exposure to extreme heat, dust, noise, tropical illnesses, and mercury and cyanide. Verite field research found that sex trafficking, including of girls as young as 12, is extremely pervasive in illegal mining areas. Illegally mined gold is "laundered" and exported, with the help of corrupt government officials, to prominent refineries, which supply some of the biggest central banks, jewelry companies, and electronics producers in the world. In contrast to other goods produced by organized criminal groups such as cocaine or heroin, illegally mined gold can easily be laundered, after which it becomes a legitimate consumer commodity that moves easily and legally across international borders. The ubiquity of illegally-mined gold and the lack of transparency upstream of most gold refineries means that companies buying gold from major refineries are often at risk of illegally mined gold entering their supply chains. A Verite analysis of Dodd-Frank Act compliance records found that 72 of the Fortune 500 companies filed conflict mineral reports during 2015 listing the smelters and refineries from which they obtained their gold the previous year. Verite found that approximately 90 percent of these companies purchased gold from refineries that have demonstrated a pattern of purchasing illegally mined gold from Latin America. Companies that source illegally produced gold from Latin America face severe reputational and legal risks, including potential liability under a number of statutes covering company complicity in trafficking in persons, forced and child labor, organized crime, corruption, and conflict minerals. Some of these statutes stipulating steep fines for companies and even long jail sentences for their executives. Combatting illegal gold mining and the human and labor rights abuses that accompany it requires a coordinated, multi-pronged approach by the governments of gold producing countries, as well as the countries and companies that import gold. While some Latin American governments have recently stepped up efforts to prosecute individuals and companies that illegally extract and export gold, the governments of gold importing countries have thus far done relatively little to hold accountable the companies that import this gold, although they have the tools and mandate to do so. Companies must also take steps to ensure that they are not responsible for perpetuating organized crime, violence, corruption, and human trafficking by purchasing, directly or indirectly, illegally mined gold from Latin America. Details: Amherst, MA: Verite, 2016. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 30, 2016 at: http://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/Verite-Report-Illegal_Gold_Mining.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Latin America URL: http://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/Verite-Report-Illegal_Gold_Mining.pdf Shelf Number: 140083 Keywords: Child LaborConflict MineralsForced LaborGold Mining Human TraffickingNatural ResourcesOrganized CrimeSupply Chains |
Author: ten Kate, Albert Title: Beauty and a Beast: Child labour in India for sparkling cars and cosmetics Summary: This report focuses on child labour in Jharkhand/Bihar for mica mining and processing, and the role of Dutch companies and main manufacturers of pearlescent pigments globally. Recent documented cases substantiate the significant use of child labour: - During field research by SOMO in October 2015, a dozen children under ten were seen working in places where locally mined crude mica is gathered. This was in the subdistricts Tisri and Domchance, and outside school hours. - During the field research, a local representative of BBA for the mica mining village Dhab (around 4,500 inhabitants) stated that about 10% of the children presently don't go to school and likely work in the mines. - BBA's district coordinator for Jharkhand/Bihar told SOMO in October 2015 that Giridih district is a very difficult area to effectively ban child labour. BBA's work in twenty villages in the district is ongoing, but they constantly observe that groups of children in the district still go to the mines. - In late January 2016, Kalpana Pradhan, a journalist accompanying SOMO during its field investigation, went back to the rural area of subdistrict Tisri. She saw a mine within the forest where at least nine young girls (aged between nine and thirteen) were working. - In January 2016 a team from television broadcaster France 2 went to a mica mine in the area, and estimated that a third of the miners were under twelve years old. "They start at five or six years old, when they are able to recognize mica. They harvest it with us," said one mother. - In March 2015, a ten-year-old girl was crushed to death when the roof of a mica mine collapsed on her. In March 2014, the same happened to two other children. - In August 2015 Agence France-Presse (AFP) interviewed an eight-year-old girl who was mining and not attending school. Additionally, a father-of four acknowledged that his children spent their days mining mica to keep the family's heads above water. Details: Amsterdam: Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Ondernemingen (SOMO), Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, 2016. 86p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 19, 2016 at: https://www.somo.nl/beauty-and-a-beast/ Year: 2016 Country: India URL: https://www.somo.nl/beauty-and-a-beast/ Shelf Number: 147956 Keywords: Child LaborChild ProtectionGold MiningIllegal Mining |
Author: de Koning, Ruben Title: Striking Gold: How M23 and its Allies are Infiltrating Congo's Gold Trade Summary: The M23 rebel group has taken over a profitable part of the conflict gold trade in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC. It is using revenues from the illicit trade to benefit its leaders and supporters and fund its military campaign by building military alliances and networks with other armed groups that control territory around gold mines and by smuggling gold through Uganda and Burundi. M23 commander Sultani Makenga, who is also allegedly one of the rebels' main recruiters of child soldiers according to the U.N. Group of Experts on Congo, is at the center of the conflict gold efforts. This report documents how Makenga and his former co-commander Bosco Ntaganda have led the M23 rebels to work with local armed groups in gold-rich territories to smuggle gold to Uganda via an M23-controlled border crossing, as well as to Burundi, where it is sold internationally. Much of this conflict gold then reaches markets in the United Arab Emirates, or UAE, before going on to banks and jewelers, which together make up 80 percent of global gold demand. Gold is now the most important conflict mineral in eastern Congo, with at least 12 tons worth roughly $500 million smuggled out of the east every year. The other main sources of revenue for armed groups - the "3T minerals" of tin, tungsten, and tantalum - have been steadily reduced due to global conflict-minerals reforms spurred by the U.S. Dodd-Frank financial regulation law, but it is still relatively easy to smuggle gold. Limiting gold smuggling from eastern Congo must therefore become a priority for the international community. M23 commander Makenga is taking over a gold-smuggling network that former cocommander Bosco Ntaganda built over several years. As military leader of the rebel National Congress for the Defense of the People, or CNDP, a forerunner of M23, Ntaganda in 2011 reportedly brokered several multimillion-dollar gold deals in Goma, DRC; Kampala, Uganda; and Nairobi, Kenya, between Congolese traders and overseas buyers. In 2012, Ntaganda led the newly created M23 as it broke away from the Congolese army, in which its troops had been integrated as part of a peace deal. During his time with M23 and in the shadow of the peace talks in Kampala between Congo's government and the M23, Ntaganda facilitated the transfer of an estimated 325 kilos of gold worth $15 million to Kampala for sale, according to the U.N. experts. Ntaganda admitted to the U.N. experts that he played a role in one deal in 2011 in Goma, but he never commented on his role in other deals he allegedly brokered. In March 2013, Ntaganda surrendered to the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda, where he requested to transfer to the International Criminal Court, or ICC, to face charges of war crimes. Since then, Enough Project's investigations with gold-trade insiders, Congolese civil and military authorities, and members of the Congolese diaspora communities in Kampala and Bujumbura show that Makenga is taking over Ntaganda's relationships with smugglers in Uganda. Makenga has also mobilized several other military and business players loyal to former CNDP leader Laurent Nkunda to create a business network entirely separate from Ntaganda, according to Enough Project investigations. To capture a greater share of the gold trade, M23 has built alliances with individuals and armed groups that control large mines in eastern Congo. These include Sheka Ntabo Ntaberi of the Nduma Defence of Congo, or NDC, armed group in Walikale territory of eastern Congo - the alleged mastermind of the mass rape of more than 300 women, children, and men at Luvungi in 2010. M23 has built ties with Justin Banaloki - whose alias is "Cobra Matata" - the armed leader who is based in Ituri District and was highlighted in the October 2013 National Geographic. M23 is also associated with Congolese army defector and militia leader Maj. Hilaire Kombi in Beni and Lubero territories, according to U.N. experts and Enough Project research. Traversing otherwise hostile ethnic and political divisions, these alliances are based partially on economic gain. Many of those who reap the greatest profits are also those most directly implicated in atrocities and crimes against humanity. On the basis of recent Enough Project investigations and past research by the U.N. Group of Experts, this report identifies three main gold exporters that the Enough Project believes are enabling M23 and associated armed groups to profit from the gold trade by either running or using official gold export companies in Uganda and Burund - all of which is in violation of the U.N. arms embargo: - Rajendra "Raju" Kumar, who currently trades through Mineral Impex Uganda and formerly ran Machanga, Ltd. - Mutoka Ruganyira, who currently operates through Ntahangwa Mining in Burundi and formerly ran Berkenrode - Madadali Sultanali Pirani, who currently runs Silver Minerals in Uganda Additionally, a major Congolese exporter has reportedly been trading gold from mines controlled by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, and other armed groups for several years, according to several U.N. Groups of Experts: - Evariste Shamamba, who currently runs Etablissement Namukaya and New CongoCom Airlines16 The international community has done very little to combat the sale of conflict gold effectively. None of the above-mentioned individuals, or the companies they currently run, face U.N., U.S., or E.U. sanctions. The only international sanctions against conflict gold companies were enacted in 2007, but the owners of the sanctioned companies immediately set up new gold-exporting businesses under different corporate names. Sanctions against the four exporters would make an important dent in the conflict gold trade, since they control a significant portion of the illicit trade. Gold exporters generally claim to purchase their gold either domestically or in countries that are not under a U.N. arms embargo. The fact that a significant part of conflict gold trade enters the formal worldwide gold trade shows an urgent need to levy targeted international sanctions on the individual exporters - the beneficial owners of these businesses - who are complicit. In order to conduct and facilitate due diligence following guidelines established by the United Nations and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, the international community should intensify pressure on companies, company owners, and their host governments that are importing and refining gold from the region. While such sanctions are important to bring the illicit gold trade under control and further reduce sources of revenue for armed groups, the agony of eastern Congo will ultimately end when the key parties - Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda - reach a just, comprehensive peace agreement. The best hope for that is the process led by U.N. Special Envoy Mary Robinson, following the Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework signed earlier this year. Details: Enough Project, 2013. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 19, 2016 at: http://www.enoughproject.org/files/StrikingGold-M23-and-Allies-Infiltrating-Congo-Gold-Trade.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Congo, Democratic Republic URL: http://www.enoughproject.org/files/StrikingGold-M23-and-Allies-Infiltrating-Congo-Gold-Trade.pdf Shelf Number: 140353 Keywords: Conflict MineralsGold MiningGold SmugglingIllegal TradeIllicit TradeNatural ResourcesSmuggling |
Author: Southern Africa Resource Watch Title: Congo's Golden Web: The People, Companies and Countries that Profit from the Illegal Trade in Congolese Gold Summary: In 2011, the Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) launched a regional monitoring and research project to assess the physical, social and economic security risks - as well as the socio-economic, humanitarian and commercial conditions - faced by gold mining communities in the provinces of North and South Kivu, Maniema and Orientale in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Two previous reports - From Conflict Gold to Criminal Gold (2012) and The High Cost of Congo's Gold (2013) - included detailed research and analysis on the changing nature of the gold industry in eastern Congo and its negative impact on miners, their families and communities. This report completes the ground breaking series by describing all aspects of the commercialization of Congolese gold - including gold that is produced by industrial, semi-industrial and artisanal mining operations, and gold that is traded and refined by small merchants, well-capitalised trading groups and powerful refineries. SARW initiated this research project at a time when Congo's mining environment was improving, propelled by a number of exceptional conditions, including a gold super cycle, which saw prices on world markets rise to over US$1950 per ounce in 2011 and 2012; the establishment of peace in most major gold mining regions in eastern Congo; and the restructuring of government agencies mandated to support gold mining and trading. However, in April 2013, while this report was being drafted, the gold price declined precipitously, eroding profit margins for all gold mining activities and disrupting the global gold production industry. The challenge faced by the DRC government to maximize benefits from the nation's gold resources has now become harder. Nevertheless, progress is visible with the inauguration of industrial gold production at Banro's Twangiza mine and at the Kibali project managed by Randgold Resources. Despite these positive developments, international investors in gold projects in Congo remain cautious due to its problematic political risk profile. This SARW report highlights issues that are most detrimental to the Congo's reputation and to the ability of the Congolese to benefit from their significant gold endowments, including: Widespread corruption at all levels of the Congolese government, which is a major enabler of activities that are either outrightly criminal or in violation of existing regulations governing industrial, small scale and artisanal gold extraction and trade; The illegal trade and exportation of gold, which accounts for most of the gold extracted by Congo's hundreds of semi industrial and hundred of thousands of artisanal miners - with traders not paying the appropriate fees and taxes, exporting gold without the required certification and payment of export duties, or only paying duties on a small portion of their total turn over by significantly underreporting the true scale of their gold trading; Routine contravention of their licences by semi industrial and industrial permit holders, which delay significant investments that they are contractually obliged to make so as to boost their stock market performance by inflating their gold reserve portfolio, which can be divested whenever the need arises; Aiding and abetting the smuggling and illegal trading of Congo's gold by neighbouring countries, specifically Burundi and Uganda, which continue to pretend that their actions have no impact on DRC's illegal gold trade, while their economies benefit; and The inadequacy of existing international and multilateral instruments, including UN sanctions, ICGLR protocols, OECD guidelines and other multi stakeholder initiatives, which have failed to encourage the necessary international collabouration to stop the criminal networks that are trading Congo's gold. Even where compelling evidence exists that trading and refining companies are implicated in the illegal trade of Congo's gold, no meaningful interventions or investigations occur - a grievous betrayal of various states' commitments under current UN sanctions and other international treaties. Details: Rosebank, South Africa: Southern Africa Resource Watch, 2014. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 19, 2016 at: http://www.sarwatch.org/sites/sarwatch.org/files/Publications_docs/congogold3web.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Congo, Democratic Republic URL: http://www.sarwatch.org/sites/sarwatch.org/files/Publications_docs/congogold3web.pdf Shelf Number: 140359 Keywords: Gold MiningIllegal TradeIllicit TradeNatural ResourcesPolitical Corruption |
Author: Southern Africa Resource Watch Title: Conflict Gold to Criminal Gold: The New Face of Artisanal Gold mining in Congo Summary: Gold miners in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) no longer fear homicidal warlords and militias but they are still being ruthlessly exploited - by a plague of corrupt government officials, bureaucrats and security personnel, who all demand illegal taxes, fees and levies from the miners without delivering any meaningful services in return, according to a major research report released today. Produced by the Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW), the report - Conflict Gold to Criminal Gold: The new face of artisanal gold mining in Congo - highlights the poor governance of the mining sector, which could be the driving force behind genuine socio-economic development in the region, and the daily battle for survival by thousands of artisanal and small scale gold miners, who produce nearly all of eastern DRC's gold. Details: Rosebank, South Africa: Southern Africa Resource Watch, 2012. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 19, 2016 at: http://www.osisa.org/sites/default/files/from_conflict_gold_to_criminal_gold.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Congo, Democratic Republic URL: http://www.osisa.org/sites/default/files/from_conflict_gold_to_criminal_gold.pdf Shelf Number: 140360 Keywords: Conflict MineralsGold MiningPolitical Corruption |
Author: Southern Africa Resource Watch Title: The High Cost of Congolese Gold: Poverty, Abuse and the Collapse of Family and Community Structures Summary: In its first ground breaking research report into artisanal gold mining in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) demonstrated how the industry had been transformed in recent years - moving from Conflict Gold to Criminal Gold. Based on unprecedented research in communities in the four main gold producing provinces (North-Kivu, South-Kivu, Maniema and Oriental), the report concluded that artisanal miners were now being preyed upon by a host of state bureaucrats, officials and security officers rather than warlords and militias - and that they were, in many cases, even worse off than before. In this second report, The High Cost of Congolese Gold: Poverty, Abuse and the Collapse of Family and Community Structures, SARW focuses on the lives of the miners and their families - highlighting how hundreds of thousands of people live in grinding poverty in the midst of the richest mineral resources in the DRC, as corrupt political, military, commercial and traditional elites syphon off most of the funds that should be fuelling socio-economic growth and development. With an estimated 30 million ounces of gold reserves in eastern DRC, mining communities should be thriving but instead they are being torn apart by poverty, abuse, alcoholism and violence, which are destroying community and family structures and leaving many people in a perpetual state of near-starvation. In this environment, the most vulnerable - particularly women and girls - suffer daily violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse. From the hundreds of interviews with women, girls and boys that SARW researchers conducted during ten months in the field, some key facts emerged: Most women, including married mothers, have to struggle on their own for survival. Many are forced to fend for themselves from far too early in life and often end up married and pregnant long before reaching full maturity. Large numbers are victims of sexual, physical and mental abuse. Many are abandoned by their husbands or forced to accept bigamous relationships. Few girls complete their education; When boys reach the age of 10-12, they are usually expected to fend for themselves, especially as their parents are often too poor to continue caring for them. This forces them to start working on gold mining sites rather than staying in school. Many boys assist in the washing of gold ore, while stronger boys can find work as carriers or even as diggers. However, the majority just scrounge for gold dust in tailings, or in abandoned or inactive mining sites; and The traditional and tribal governance and mediation mechanisms have broken down. Traditional leaders, known as Bwami are now often merely another elite that preys on the artisanal community. Women and girls very rarely seek help or redress from them since they expect that they will not receive assistance but merely become the victims of more corrupt demands - the same reason why they seldom seek redress through the formal judicial system. If women do seek non-family interventions, it is usually from the councils of wise men that still appear to function in most communities. The SARW researchers also discovered devastating levels of tension and friction between gold mining husbands and their wives. The key disagreement concerns the question of whether gold mining is a valid livelihood. Most men are not interested in considering this question, preferring to enjoy the financial windfalls they receive on the rare occasions that they manage to find some gold. However, the overwhelming majority of women offer well-founded social, economic, health and security reasons why their husbands should abandon gold mining altogether. And the situation is only likely to get worse. Many artisanal miners are hoping to obtain employment with one of the international mining communities that are now gearing up to start industrial gold production in eastern DRC. However, industrial mining requires less manpower. In addition, most artisanal miners lack marketable skills and exhibit very poor work habits. For these reasons, a very large percentage of the artisanal gold miners, who currently operate on territories that are licensed to international mining companies, are unlikely to gain permanent employment once industrial mining begins. In fact, artisanal miners and their families will increasingly be viewed as illegal squatters. Companies that are planning (and are legally obliged) to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into their mining operations will insist on unencumbered access to the gold deposits on their concessions. Consequently, artisanal miners will be pushed towards areas with deposits of lesser and lesser value - until they are eventually made to leave the concession areas altogether. Currently, the inevitability of this outcome is as certain as the lack of any preparations to mitigate it. Details: Rosebank, South Africa: SARW, 2013. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 19, 2016 at: http://www.osisa.org/sites/default/files/high_cost_of_congolese_gold.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Congo, Democratic Republic URL: http://www.osisa.org/sites/default/files/high_cost_of_congolese_gold.pdf Shelf Number: 140361 Keywords: Conflict MineralsGold MiningNatural ResourcesSocio-Economic Conditions |
Author: Partnership Africa Canada Title: Contraband Gold in the Great Lakes Region: In-region Cross-border Gold Flows versus Out-region Smuggling Summary: This study examines the ASM gold sector in the ICGLR Region, analysing both its size and the extent to which ASM gold produced in the region is smuggled either across local borders or out the region completely. The study notes the extent to which cross-border movement of gold within the ICGLR region now pales in comparison to the volume of ASM gold that is smuggled out of the region and exported illegally, principally to the United Arab Emirates. This result should be of particular interest to governments of ICGLR nations, who have traditionally looked on the problem of contraband gold as a primarily DRC related issue. With its linkages to conflict financing, gold smuggling from the DRC remains perhaps the most acute problem. However, for the governments of all other producer nations in the IGCLR region the vast scale of ASM gold smuggling from the region represents a clear and pressing problem. At its most basic level, the smuggling of ASM gold deprives governments of the region of tax revenue - up to $22 million per year - desperately needed for development. Beyond the financial loss, the inability of IGGLR governments to control, tax and financially benefit from their ASM gold sectors has served to distort governance of the mineral sector in the ICGLR region. While the LSM sector provides relatively little employment in comparison to the ASM sector, governments in the ICGLR region give priority to LSM gold projects, in large measure because LSM projects provide actual tax revenue to state coffers. Regaining control of ASM gold exports would not only serve to curtail conflict in the DRC, but could also serve to rebalance government priorities in the gold mining sector. Alongside the LSM sector, the ASM sector could take its proper role as a significant generator of employment, and a moderate generator of tax revenue for African governments. At the other end of the chain, the study examined the role played of the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) in the commercialisation of illegally exported ASM gold from the ICGLR region. The study found that responsibility for the failure to effectively control ASM gold flows from the ICGLR region rested not only with the producing countries, but also with the actors in the major destination for ASM gold from the ICGLR Region, the United Arab Emirates. The study found few if any effective controls being implemented by the UAE at the purchasing level of the chain: customs and import controls are lax, buyers in the souk pay little attention to origin or legal provenance, refiners and banks do not have systems in place to assure the legal provenance of the gold they trade in. This collective failure at the purchasing level is all the more extraordinary, given that due diligence as defined by the OECD (and accepted by the UAE), is the responsibility not only of producer-state governments but of actors all along the supply chain; producers, intermediaries, traders, refiners, financers/bankers and end-users. If they truly want to remain compliant with due diligence as defined by the OECD, bankers, traders and governments at the purchasing level will have to begin being much more stringent in their KYC and documentation requirements for ASM gold and gold-related transactions. Finally, the study provides suggestions and potential solutions, both for producer states and for purchasing nations such as the UAE: technical measures that, if implemented, would significantly strengthen due diligence and reduce the volumes of ASM gold being smuggled out of the ICGLR region. Details: Ottawa: Partnership Africa Canada, 2015. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 19, 2016 at: http://cosoc-gl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015_05_Great_Lakes_Contraband_Gold.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Africa URL: http://cosoc-gl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015_05_Great_Lakes_Contraband_Gold.pdf Shelf Number: 140362 Keywords: Gold MiningGold SmugglingIllegal TradeNatural Resources |
Author: Matthysen, Ken Title: Review of the Burundian Artisanal Gold Mining Sector Summary: BGR commissioned PAC in partnership with IPIS to implement the assignment 'Outreach & Research on Responsible Engagement in the Burundian Gold Sector'. The assignment's overarching objective was to constructively engage relevant stakeholders associated with the Burundian mining sector including, in particular, the gold sector, as well as the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) on the subject of due diligence and responsible mining and sourcing practices in support of the implementation of the Regional Initiative against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources (RINR) and the recommendations of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance. To meet the overall project objectives, three sets of services were rendered from July 2014 to April 2015: The facilitation and organization of training and discussion workshops on supply chain due diligence as applicable in the Burundian context and including a national stakeholder analysis1; research and analysis of the Burundian gold sector; and, research on contraband gold (in-region cross-border and out-region); this report has been developed as the second deliverable listed above. It aims to review the context of the gold sector (mines and supply chains) in Burundi with a special focus on the artisanal nature of the sector. While it is known to host significant undeveloped Nickel resources possibly amenable to industrial mining, Burundi does not hold a deeply rooted tradition of mining, as opposed to its neighbours. Nevertheless, already during colonial times artisanal mining was practised in the country, supported by small Belgian mining enterprises. Gold, cassiterite, coltan and rare earths were the main products of these mining activities. The magnitude of Burundi's mining sector is minor compared to that of neighbouring countries. Just a simple comparison of the estimated number of artisanal miners illustrates the difference: While Burundi holds an estimated 10,000 artisanal miners working in gold and the 3T sector, there are an estimated 35,000 Rwandan 3T miners, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Tanzania hundreds of thousands of people are digging for various minerals, in particular gold, 3Ts and diamonds. Nevertheless, Burundi's geographical position does allocate it an important role with regards to regional gold trade and smuggling, and it is located in a geologically favourable metallogenic zone. In 2013, the country officially exported 2.8 tons of gold, which are believed to originate to a large extent from eastern DRC, but include a subordinate national production component of ca. 0.5 tons. Corresponding gold export values at USD 106 million in 2012 and USD 120 million in 2013 make gold the most significant Burundian export for these years. However, the relevance of the mining sector to the national economy is still rather limited. Mining accounted for less than 1% of Burundi’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012, while subsistence agriculture accounts for more than 40% of the country's GDP and employs more than 90% of its population. On top of that, despite the considerable export values, fiscal revenues from the mining sector represent a mere 0.3% of the country's fiscal revenues. Nevertheless, over the last decade, Burundi's government has recognised that the artisanal mining sector is an important employer to many people and offers alternative livelihood options. It therefore considers the sector as a potentially important instrument for economic growth, poverty reduction and local development. As such, Burundi's artisanal mining and trading sector, dominated by gold, represents both a national development opportunity as well as a regionally relevant area to employ adequate supply chain due diligence in order to mitigate conflict risks through artisanal gold supply chains originating in the eastern DRC. This report represents a baseline review of the sector and its governance, largely based on literature research, including reports from international organisations, Burundian government sources, national and international civil society actors, and academics. A detailed list of all the sources used for the development of this report can be found in the bibliography at the end of this paper. Furthermore, a range of interviews were carried out in September 2014 in Bujumbura. To contextualize this review, the report draws on the experience of IPIS in neighbouring countries of the region, notably its multi-year efforts in mapping the eastern DRC's artisanal mining sector. Following on the introduction, Chapter 2 analyses the regulatory framework that is currently in place to manage Burundi' (gold) mining sector. Next, Chapter 3 analyses artisanal mining governance in the country. Several aspects will be discussed, including the institutional framework, the issue of decentralisation, formalisation efforts, taxation and mineral traceability efforts, and these are put into the regional perspective as well. Chapter 4 discusses the private actors that are involved in Burundi's gold mining sector. Subsequently, Chapter 5 deals with Burundi's artisanal gold supply chain in more detail. It will discuss, in turn, artisanal gold exploitation, selected environmental and socio-economic issues, and the gold trade. Finally, Chapter 6 provides concluding remarks based on the findings of the previous four chapters. Details: Antwerpen: International Peace Information Services (IPIS), 2015. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 14, 2016 at: http://ipisresearch.be/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015_04_Review-of-the-Burundian-Artisanal-Gold-Mining-Sector.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Burundi URL: http://ipisresearch.be/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015_04_Review-of-the-Burundian-Artisanal-Gold-Mining-Sector.pdf Shelf Number: 144804 Keywords: Gold MiningIllegal MiningMiningNational Resources |
Author: Ewing, Jonathan Title: A Lot of Gold, A Lot of Trouble: A study of humanitarian impacts of the gold industry in DR Congo Summary: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa or DR Congo) is a country still recovering from a ruinous eight-year civil war that killed more than 5.4 million people. The value of untapped deposits of raw minerals is equivalent to the combined gross domestic product of Europe and the United States. Cobalt, diamonds, copper and, of course, gold is on the list along with highly sought after casserite, wolframite and coltan, which are used in consumer electronic products. Much of the extraction, or mining, is done in small operations known as artisanal, or small-scale mining, where the regulations that govern the activities are rarely enforced. Recently, more money is being invested into the extraction and refining of some of the ores found in the DR Congo, primarily copper, cobalt, and very recently, gold in Orientale Province. Mineral Invest International MII AB is a Swedish junior gold mining company surrounded by some of the largest international players in the extractive sector. Despite its diminutive size and its limited financial resources, the local community is waiting for Mineral Invest to increase its operation. The artisanal miners hope for jobs and the local community is waiting for development in the form of schools, hospitals and improved roads. According to Mineral Invest's website, the company has laudable plans for development projects in the area where it operates. Swedwatchs' and Diakonia's study shows that investment in post-conflict countries like DR Congo should require proper due diligence and a social licence to operate. So far, this has not been carried out. The DR Congo's Cadastre Minier has issued the licenses to SOKIMO, which is a partner in the joint venture with Mineral Invest. This joint venture features significant payments to the Democratic Republic of the Congo without specifying the recipient authority or entity within the state, which is a problem of transparency. The contractual agreement between Mineral Invest and the Congolese state-run mining company, SOKIMO, implies conflicts of interest and a lack of clarity. SOKIMO being both provider of mining licenses and at the same time having a financial interest implies a concentration of power that can create conflicts of interest and invite corruption. The allocation of payments to the state raises concerns as well as the agreements regarding development projects or, for example, accountability for environmental destruction. Finansinspektionen, the Swedish financial regulator, and Aktietorget, the Swedish market where Mineral Invest is publicly traded, have insufficient regulation and guidance for companies operating in difficult or post-conflict countries. Mineral Invest has not worked out an agreement, often called a social license to operate, with members of the local community where it operates. The company has contracted a unit of the Congolese military to provide security. This unit has been implicated in the ethnic slaughter of pygmies and cannibalism. The soldiers have also been accused of extorting gold from miners. Details: Stockholm: Diakonia; SwedWatch, 2012. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 17, 2016 at: http://www.diakonia.se/globalassets/documents/diakonia/publications/reports/2012-a-lot-of-gold-a-lot-of-trouble.pdf?_t_id=1B2M2Y8AsgTpgAmY7PhCfg%3d%3d&_t_q=a+lot+of+gold&_t_tags=language%3aen%2csiteid%3adfed4c1a-bbd8-450f-954a-02cff1abcc09&_t_ip=165.230.70.227&_t_hit.id=Diakonia_Web_Models_Media_GenericMedia/_4baca66d-47cc-4b18-83eb-3ca74a73271b&_t_hit.pos=1 Year: 2012 Country: Congo, Democratic Republic URL: http://www.diakonia.se/globalassets/documents/diakonia/publications/reports/2012-a-lot-of-gold-a-lot-of-trouble.pdf?_t_id=1B2M2Y8AsgTpgAmY7PhCfg%3d%3d&_t_q=a+lot+of+gold&_t_tags=language%3aen%2csiteid%3adfed4c1a-bbd8-450f-954 Shelf Number: 145097 Keywords: Conflict MineralsConflict MiningGold MiningIllegal MiningMining IndustryNatural Resources |
Author: Hunter, Marcena Title: Follow the Money: Financial Flows Linked to Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Sierra Leone: A Case Study Summary: Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has largely been dismissed as an economically insignificant, subsistence based activity in Sierra Leone. This is in sharp contrast to the artisanal diamond sector, which has historically been seen as a much more significant livelihood option. As one Mining Ministry agent stated: it's different with diamonds, you understand. If you are in diamonds, you want the license, because it's worth so much. But with gold, not so much: it's small and quick and just for survival. However, an investigation into the sector reveals that Sierra Leone's ASGM sector is not only active and vibrant, but also generating significant economic value. Despite government and civil society efforts at formalisation, Sierra Leone's ASGM remains largely in the informal sector. Investigations reveal most of Sierra Leone's gold never enters the formal supply chains within its borders. Rather, gold is mined, bought, sold and exported through informal networks that only occasionally and selectively intersect with formal supply and value chains prior to crossing the border. Consequently, the country records minimal gold exports and the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) reaps little benefit from the gold sector through formal channels of taxation. This is not to say the sector is not benefitting the people of Sierra Leone. ASGM is providing rural communities a critical livelihood option across Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone registers some of the most challenging development and poverty statistics in the entire world, ranking 181 out of 188 countries on the Human Development Index. The Ebola crisis (2014 - 2016) seriously exacerbated these challenges, extracting a massive socio-economic toll on the country. ASGM has evolved in this context as a strong economic magnet, drawing in old stakeholders and new entrants alike. In addition, ASGM plays a vital economic function in many communities, providing investment opportunities, an economic social safety net, an avenue to social mobility, and contributing to local economic growth. While a number of positive attributes can be linked to ASGM in Sierra Leone, the informality of the sector also results in undesirable outputs and impacts including: value from the ASGM sector is not equitably distributed; evidence of bribery and corruption of traditional and government officials; negligible protections against environmental degradation; and opportunity for money laundering and criminal exploitation. In turn, while there are a number of short-term benefits to informality, persistent informality has the potential to undermine long-term development and governance aims. The informality of Sierra Leone's gold sector is perpetuated and exacerbated by downstream illicit financial flows (IFFs). Defined as 'money illegally earned, transferred or used', IFFs are paradoxically dualistic. On the one hand, IFFs linked to ASGM serve a critical economic function, fuelling an informal sector which plays an important role in poverty alleviation and economic development in Sierra Leone. On the other hand, IFFs are facilitating complicated layers of exploitation and victimisation by opportunistic actors along the value chain. In the Sierra Leonean context, many upstream financial transactions (i.e. those which take place at the mine site) are better characterised as informal transactions, while those that take place further downstream (i.e. the buying and selling of smuggled gold) are IFFs. Upstream actors who engage in IFFs tend to reinvest profits back into the ASGM sector, thus perpetuating supply chains and financial relationships reliant on informal and illicit activity at all levels. In turn, IFFs are a bulwark against ASGM sector formalisation efforts in Sierra Leone. Any attempt must acknowledge the complex nature and impacts of IFFs if they are to hope to be successful without further marginalizing vulnerable populations. Without appreciating the extent and efficiency of ASGM and related IFFs to meet local economic needs, formalisation efforts will fail to replace them, and at worst could have devastating consequences. As a government agent stated, gold mining is a livelihood activity, so it is difficult to strongly enforce laws that are perceived to be harmful to local people (GOV080716c). Details: Geneva: Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, 2017. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 8, 2017 at: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sierra-leone_06.03.17.compressed.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Sierra Leone URL: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sierra-leone_06.03.17.compressed.pdf Shelf Number: 146411 Keywords: Financial CrimesGold MiningIllicit GoldMoney LaunderingOrganized CrimePovertySmugglingSocioeconomic Conditions and Crime |