Golden rules for better gold

Franck Bura from DRC campaigns for no dirty gold [Richard Greenwood]

By signing up to 12 Golden Rules, jewellery retailers and other gold users can work with their suppliers to bring an end to dirty gold

The Golden Rules set out basic standards for gold mining:

• Respect for basic human rights outlined in international conventions and law.
• Free, prior and informed consent of affected communities.
• Safe working conditions.
• Respect for workers’ rights and labour standards (including the eight core ILO conventions.
• Ensure that operations are not located in areas of armed or militarised conflict.
• Ensure that projects do not force communities off their lands.
• No dumping of mine wastes into the ocean, rivers, lakes or streams.
• Ensure that projects are not located in protected areas, fragile ecosystems or other areas of high conservation or ecological value.
• Ensure that projects do not generate sulphuric acid in perpetuity.
• Cover all costs of closing down and cleaning up mine sites.
• Fully disclose information about social and environmental effects of projects.
• Allow independent verification of the above.

Thanks to pressure from CAFOD supporters, seven UK jewellers including Goldsmiths Beaverbrooks, F. Hinds and Fraser Hart have signed the Golden Rules.

In the USA, 23 jewellers have also signed up, including Tiffany’s, the Signet Group and Cartier.

CAFOD is still campaigning for UK company Argos to sign up too - and for all the companies to turn their promises into action.