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Fairmined Gold – Building Community

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.”

FairMined Gold Earrings
Sun, Moon & Turquoise Circle Earrings, 18-karat Fairmined Gold, Sleeping Beauty Turquoise and Diamonds by Dana Bronfman.

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.”

FairMined Gold, Miners
Miners inside the tunnel at Mina Chedé.

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.”

FairMined Gold, Salt
Salts made from Fairmined gold for gold plating at Fair Alloy refinery in Bogotá, a fairmined licensee refinery that uses only responsibly-mined small scale artisanal gold.

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.

FairMined Gold, Gravimetric Table
Free gold particles running off the gravimetric (shaking) table, it’s a clean process that allows the free gold to move to the next step of processing. Image courtesy Fairever.

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. 

FairMined Gold, Crucible
Gold dust heated in a crucible to smelt and then turn into a gold bar that can be sold.

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…

FairMined Gold, Miners
Gold miner moving gold in rock and dirt from tunnel to be processed.

“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.”

Mina Chedé
The view from Mina Chedé.

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