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Gold and associated precious metals

This standard applies to artisanal and small-scale mining organizations (ASMOs) in the countries in the geographical scope in Annex 3, and to traders buying and selling precious metals produced by ASMOs.

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The overall objective of this standard is to create opportunities for artisanal and small-scale miners and their communities, by promoting the formalization of the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector through establishing membership-based artisanal and small-scale mining organizations (ASMO).

The aims are to improve working conditions for miners and strengthened mining organizations and their capacity to lobby for a range of improvements and benefits.

What is an ASMO?

An ASMO – or artisanal and small-scale mining organization – is constituted according to the legal, social, cultural and organizational reality of the local context. An ASMO promotes formalization and improvement of mining practices within an ASM community, and has direct (held by the ASMO) or indirect (held by miners of the ASMO) legal or contractual rights and environmental permits to mine.

An ASMO is comprised of and/or held by legal owners, landowners, shareholders and/or members. Under the ASMO’s umbrella different artisanal and small-scale miners may be operating with the ASMO’s consent: among them there might be self-employed miners, family units, groups of self-employed miners, other community-based organizations like women mineral selectors, micro-enterprises contributing to the family economy, small enterprises, and similar, as well as various types of workers.

The ASMO is responsible for Fairtrade certification and has either the legal right to grant permission to miners to work under its umbrella or has been appointed by the holders of such rights to jointly represent them in all matters related to Fairtrade certification.

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