About

The Alliance for Responsible Mining is an independent, global-scale, pioneering initiative established in 2004 to enhance equity and wellbeing in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) communities. ARM works to transform ASM into a socially and environmentally responsible activity that improves the quality of life of artisanal miners, their families and communities.

Through the Fairmined Standard for Gold and ARM´s support, artisanal miners are able to produce Fairmined certified metals and gain access to responsible supply chains. ARM supports miners in making a real change in the way they run their businesses and support their local communities.

Transforming artisanal and small-scale mining is a complex challenges that requires holistic solutions. Our work is not about charity, but about empowering these entrepreneurs in reaching their goal of becoming a responsible, sustainable and included part of the industry. We give technical support to miners on the ground to reach that goal through projects in Latin America and Africa. Creating local capacity and support for responsible miners is fundamental if we want to multiply the effect of our work and best practices in ASM. Through our capacity building center, we develop toolkits and train professionals working with ASM.

We also work for the recognition and understanding of ASM and its main challenges promoting inclusive legal frameworks on the national and global level. We believe that the voice of the miners should be heard, and we work to enable their participation in discussions and legislative processes that affect them and their activity.

The Fairmined Standard and Certification System is in the center of ARM´s efforts, to which everything else is related and supported. It is a rigorous, third party certification system that ensures that ASM miners formalize while meeting world-leading standards for responsible practices. The Fairmined Standard includes a set of requirements to guarantee legality of operations, environmental protection, fair labor conditions, social development and to assure the gold is traceable and conflict free.