The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) has launched an initiative to integrate artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) into the gold bullion supply chain with its new toolkit for accredited refiners.
"The new ASM toolkit addresses a range of issues specific to the sector, such as the presence of formal regulatory oversight and of pre-refinery aggregators, legal titles and mining licences. The toolkit also takes account of a range of environmental issues," said LBMA in a statement.
LBMA expects the new initiative which aims to engage rather than avoid the ASM sector, to increase legal recognition of miners, strengthen local economies and improve peace and security in mining areas.
“While 20% of global gold production comes from artisanal and small-scale mining, less than 2% moves directly into the formal good delivery supply chain. Much of the rest comes into the market via illicit supply-chains and unregulated recycling, practices which diminish confidence in the legitimacy and environmental integrity of the metal bought by investors and end-users,” said LBMA CEO Ruth Crowell.
The new toolkit for LBMA's Good Delivery List (GDL) refiners is set to provide accredited members of the association with the confidence to handle more ASM gold, and will serve as the basis for engagement with prospective suppliers. It will also play a key role in informing LBMA’s planned outreach to governments and industry stakeholders in Ghana, Peru, The Philippines and Tanzania.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
