Chapter 6: Supporting ASM Progress

LBMA is supporting the creation of formalised, responsible pathways for Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) to enter professional markets.

EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION TO SUPPORT MARGINALISED SECTORS

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) plays a crucial role in the gold supply chain accounting for as much as 20 percent of annual mined gold production. In gold-rich areas of Africa and Latin America, the ASM sector often provides more employment opportunities for local communities than industrial mining. Yet many ASM miners are excluded from legitimate markets, leading them to work in unsafe and exploitative conditions and excluding them from accessing fair markets.

In March 2022 LBMA launched its ASM Initiative to address these governance gaps and support market access for legitimate suppliers who commit to the responsible sourcing practices. By creating pathways for responsibly sourced ASM gold to enter regulated supply chains, we aim to reduce flows to high-risk trading hubs, improve conditions for miners, strengthen transparency and accountability, and ultimately advance the integrity of the global precious metals industry.

LBMA’s ASM Taskforce, launched in 2022, brings together some of the most knowledgeable practitioners in ASM mining and responsible supply chains. Its aim is to identify solutions to longstanding obstacles to responsibly integrate ASM gold into GDL Refiner sourcing. Membership recently expanded to some 50 experts including companies and individuals involved in logistics, finance and with greater knowledge of key Latin American markets.

LBMA’S ASM TOOLKIT INCORPORATES PROGRESSIVE IMPROVEMENT

Taskforce members played an instrumental role in agreeing the LBMA ASM Toolkit to outline the necessary and desirable criteria to supports GDL Refiners' ASM sourcing.

It is important to note that the majority of the ASM Toolkit requirements are mandatory and applicable to all Refiners operating in the sector and this significantly raises standards from previous years and levels the playing field among Refiners by harmonising the application of due diligence. However, the concept of progressive improvement, embedded in the OECD
Guidance, has also been incorporated into the Toolkit to more realistically reflect the challenges of the ASGM sector.

Following the launch of the Toolkit last year, the ASM Taskforce focused its attention on defining and agreeing the timelines and milestones by which to measure the implementation of the progressive improvement elements of the Toolkit.

Guided by the practices of Swiss Better Gold Association (SBGA) and the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) CRAFT Code, the Taskforce agreed that the progressive improvement criteria should not be defined by a strict timetable, but that instead implementing bodies (i.e. GDL Refiners and their suppliers) would be required to demonstrate that efforts and progress have been made during the year.