Solidaridad campaigns on responsible gold production

Solidaridad West Africa has pledged to upscale its early success with pilot projects in mining communities and continue to build on links between mining communities and a growing market for responsibly produced gold within the next five years.

The company said its gold programme’s overall target for 2020 is that at least 5% of the global gold market can be qualified as “responsible” with about 125 tonnes annually.  The Solidaridad Gold Programme was started in 2012 with the overall objective of improving the livelihoods of artisanal and small-scale miners and communities around them.

Speaking at a ceremony to celebrate the first traceable gold mined from Ghana organised in collaboration with the Netherlands Embassy, Mr. Isaac Gyamfi, Managing Director, Solidaridad West Africa, explained that in order to achieve this Solidaridad works with both the Artisanal and Small-scale Mines (ASM) and Medium Scale Mines (MSM) with the aim of improving environmental, safety, social and business practices, and building better relationships between MSMs and ASM communities.

He explained that the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) standard is used as a tool in the work with MSMs, while the Fairmined (FM) standard for gold is used for the ASM sector. Both are international standards for gold that promote responsible business practices such as formal and legal mining operations, human rights, labour rights and environmental protection, among others

He said two projects have so far been implemented under the programme, namely: ‘The Face of Ghana’s Gold’, which was implemented in partnership with the National Postcode Lottery (NPL) of the Netherlands; and ‘Partnering for Better Livelihoods in the Gold Supply Chain’, currently being implemented in partnership with the Cartier Charitable Foundation (CCF).

The ‘Face of Ghana’s Gold’ project, implemented from 2012 to 2015, was aimed at improving the lives of ASM gold miners and to address the negative effects of their activities on the environment.

The main objective of the project was to improve the livelihoods of 10,000 people in artisanal gold mines in the Tarkwa area, and targetted at achieving miners’ work safely and responsibly. It also aimed at ensuring that miners obtain a visible place in the value chain; and improving the position of children and women.

The activities undertaken during the project implementation were focused on preparing the five ASMs to fulfil the criteria for Fairmined Certification.

These included a series of training courses including first-aid, safety, mercury, environment, distributing free personal protective gear, appointment of Fairtrade officers, support for school-going children of miners, and support for women’s groups.

An evaluation of the project revealed that it had positively affected the safety behaviour of miners, their health and their children’s education.

Two of the mines, Dakete Small Scale Mining Company in Tarkwa and Golden Resources in Wassa Akropong, have applied for Fairmined certification while awaiting the completion of their auditing.

The Dakete Mine has been given a Gold Award by the 1^st Western Regional Business Excellence Awards, organised under the auspices of the Western Regional Coordinating Council, as the Small Scale Mining Company of the Year, 2015.

The ‘Partnering for Better Livelihoods in the Gold Supply Chain’ project on the other hand is a three-year project started in 2014, with the overall objective of improving the livelihoods of artisanal and small-scale miners and communities around them.

The project seeks to achieve the following: Volume of responsible traceable gold available to buyers increased; ASMs in the country operating legally and being eligible for FM certification; ASMs earning more income from improved management and production; ASM community members having increased awareness of and access to health care; and women having a better position for economic employment.

Good gold design competition

Solidaridad and Steltman Jewellers jointly organised a Good Gold Design Competition in the Netherlands during mid-2015.  

Participants were expected to create a design inspired by winning Good Gold at the Olympics. Through this competition, the organisers raised attention to the problems and solutions in goldmining.

Furthermore, they sought to put the possibility of choosing Good Gold on the map for a large audience.

The design contest was part of the ‘Don’t let miners lose in the race for Good Gold’ campaign. Through the campaign, comparison was made between winning gold in sports and the harsh circumstances that unfortunately still often occur in goldmines. 

Many sportspeople in the Netherlands, such as Maartje Paumen, Nicolien Sauerbreij and Hein Vergeer , participated in the campaign. 

Solidaridad is also advocating for the use of only fair and sustainable gold for medals at the Olympics in Rio 2016. Hence, the design inspired by the Olympics games.

The contest was won by Philippe Disse, a 3D Designer from the Netherlands with his 'Good Goldmine Ring’. 

The judges described the design as "A fascinating piece of art that the story behind gold mining well portrays”.

The design has been turned into a ring, with 20 grammes of gold, by Steltman Jewellers. The ring was produced from the first-ever traceable gold from Ghana. 

As part of his prize, the winner of the contest won a trip to Ghana to visit the Dakete Mine where the traceable gold was produced. 

The objective of the visit is to promote the use of traceable gold and for the winner to see for himself how traceable gold is produced, and also for him to interact with key stakeholders in the mining sector. 

Nico Rienks, an Olympic gold medalist in rowing, is also joining the visit to highlight the campaign to use traceable gold for sports medals.

The Dakete Mine was assisted by Solidaridad to produce gold responsibly in order for it to achieve Fairmined Standard. The standard requires that the mine undertakes formal and legal mining operations, environmental protection, good labour conditions, traceability of Fairmined gold, and socio-economic development through the Fairmined Premium.

The project was implemented in partnership with the National Postcode Lottery of the Netherlands. The mine has also been given a Gold Award as the Small Scale Mining Company of the Year 2015 by the 1^st Western Regional Business Excellence Awards, organised under the auspices of the Western Regional Coordinating Council.

The Dakete Mine is the first small-scale mine in Ghana to produce traceable or responsible gold. A Fairmined Certification audit will be undertaken at the end of this month.