When jewelry designer Dana Bronfman first started her eponymous business she was interested in learning more about ethics and sustainability. Bronfman attended many conferences focusing on recycled gold eventually leading her to Fairmined, run by the Alliance for Responsible Mining in Colombia. “I thought that mining was so destructive that I wondered if I should change careers,” says Bronfman. “Then I realized that the way I spend my dollars can make a change.”

What is Fairmined Gold?
Fairmined, according to its website is “an initiative whose label certifies gold of responsible origin.” It explains that “Fairmined certified gold comes from artisanal and small-scale mining organizations certified to the Fairmined standard. This certification guarantees that the gold has been extracted in harmony with nature, human dignity and sustainable development, contributing to the transformation of lives in these mining communities.”

Community Connection
“You have to be licensed to publicly claim that you are using Fairmined gold and its traceable origin. I have to go through a licensed seller, who then reports how much gold was sold to me. Mines receive a premium to maintain their license. The higher gold price is an incentive to adhere to the standards and processes to maintain their license,” says Bronfman, who traveled to the mines in Colombia in late 2023. “The mines are held to strict standards of work conditions, social and organizational development and environmental protections.”

New Gold Processing Solution
Gold mining, in part, is toxic because of how it is processed. Mercury was used to separate gold from its host; that is now illegal in Colombia. Cyanide was also used to separate the gold from the rest of the material. Cyanide leaks into the water system and also wreaks havoc with the miners health. With Fairmined gold the solution used to process it has very little cyanide, which is then recycled numerous time to neutralize it and is then disposed of in a specified way for biohazard materials so that it doesn’t harm the environment. About 50 percent of gold is processed using cyanide; the other 50 percent uses the gravimetric table – a chemical free solution.

Giving Back
The mines are located on top of a mountain in a jungle that is accessed through windy dirt roads that aren’t great if you’re prone to car sickness. “The Fairmined premiums are used to build roads, a center for kids with disabilities, to organize community clean-ups, and various other initiatives depending upon what each mining community needs,” says Bronfman, who uses Fairmined gold for most of her collection.

Invest in Solutions
Fairmined gold goes much further than recycled gold, which does nothing to improve illegal or otherwise harmful mining practices and requires no claim as to where the gold comes from. Says Bronfman, “I think it’s important to invest in mining so that it can be done in a positive way, otherwise it continues in a negative way…

“By doing that, it shows that the movement is growing and that positive change is being made socially and environmentally. I want extracting to benefit the community. The only way to make changes is to invest in the solutions.”
