Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM)
Empowering Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners
Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is the source of 20% of the gold produced worldwide, providing livelihoods for over 150 million people. However, ASM miners, often working with limited resources and informal structures, face numerous challenges including health and safety risks, environmental degradation, and social vulnerabilities. Their informal status often leaves ASM miners without the support and resources needed to improve their conditions and to develop their activity in a responsible way.
The Alliance for Responsible Mining, a global non-profit organisation with more than 15 years of experience and based in Colombia, recognizes the significance of ASM in the mining sector and is committed to addressing their unique challenges. ARM’s initiatives are tailored to empower ASM miners and drive positive change that promotes inclusive and sustainable development.
The work of the Alliance for Responsible Mining focuses on four main pillars:
- Supporting ASM miners on the ground, as sustainable and profitable small businesses
- Implementing ASM Standards and certification systems (such as Fairmined, and CRAFT code)
- Promoting responsible supply chains and market development sourcing from ASM minerals
- Promoting governance for sustainable ASM
As the mining sector is transitioning to respond to the mineral needs for the energy transition, climate and nature agendas, and global industry sustainability agendas, the ASM sector is seeing new actors and approaches emerge, and a growing interest to equitable supply chains.
Trafigura Foundation is partnering with the Alliance for Responsible Mining to support it in its institutional development so that it can harness these trends and be better equipped to scale up positive impact with artisanal and small-scale mining communities, working together with a wide variety of stakeholders in the minerals supply chains.
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Two-year grant (2023-2024)
