Given the need to reduce the enormous footprint of the gold-mining industry, EARTHWORKS and Oxfam America teamed up to launch the No Dirty Gold campaign in 2004. The campaign seeks to clean up irresponsible mining practices and has called on manufacturers, retailers, and mining companies to respect human rights and environmental standards at gold and metals mining operations.

More than 100,000 individuals have joined the campaign in urging companies to adopt such standards. And thus far, more than 25 jewelry companies have expressed their support for more responsible mining by endorsing the Golden Rules, a set of criteria for more responsible mining. This is significant, given that jewelry accounts for as much as 80 percent of gold consumption worldwide

The Golden Rules

The Golden Rules are a set of criteria for more responsible mining. These criteria are based on broadly accepted international human rights laws and basic principles of sustainable development.

The No Dirty Gold campaign developed the Golden Rules based on extensive reviews of documents and research prepared by the mining industry, civil society organizations, scientific researchers and technical experts, international bodies such as the UN, the World Bank’s Extractive Industries Review, and other multistakeholder processes.

The No Dirty Gold campaign calls on mining companies to meet the following basic standards in their operations:

• Respect basic human rights as outlined in international conventions and laws.
• Obtain the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) of affected communities.
• Respect workers’ rights and labor standards, including safe working conditions.
• Ensure that operations are not located in areas of armed or militarized conflict.
• Ensure that projects do not force communities off their lands.
• Refrain from dumping mine waste into oceans, 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 contaminate water, soil, or air with sulfuric acid drainage or other toxic chemicals.
• 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.

This report makes a case for more responsible mining and for adoption—at a minimum—of the Golden Rules criteria. The case studies that follow look at existing, proposed, or closed mines that violate one or more of the Golden Rules; their dirty practices risk tainting the reputation of mining companies and associated industries such as the jewelry industry. “Golden Rules: Making the case for responsible mining” is not an attempt to single out specific mining companies or imply that operations that have not been included are without problems.

It is simply a snapshot of some of the more problematic practices that must be reformed in order to improve the mining industry’s record, to address consumers’ growing concerns, and to make real differences in the lives of affected communities.

Around the world, large-scale metals mining takes an enormous toll on the health of the environment and communities. Gold mining, in particular, is one of the dirtiest industries in the world. Massive open-pit mines, some measuring as much as two miles (3.2 kilometers) across, generate staggering quantities of waste—an average of 76 tons for every ounce of gold.

In the US, metals mining is the leading contributor of toxic emissions to the environment.2 And in countries such as Ghana, Romania, and the Philippines, mining has also been associated with human rights violations, the displacement of people from their homes, and the disruption of traditional livelihoods.

Visit Golden Rules: Making the Case for Responsible Mining Download Page

Golden Rules: Making the Case for Responsible Mining documents the toll of irresponsible mining on people, water, and wildlife at a time when soaring metals prices are driving new mining development globally. The report describes human rights violations and environmental concerns at metals mines in countries such as the United States, Indonesia, and Peru.

Download Golden Rules: Making the Case for Responsible Mining

PDF format, 3.22MB, 40 Pages.

Contents:
Introduction: The Golden Rules 2
Grasberg Mine, Indonesia 5
Yanacocha Mine, Peru, and Cortez Mine, Nevada 7
BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mines, Australia 9
Hemlo Camp Mines, Canada 10
Mongbwalu Mine, the Democratic Republic of Congo 13
Rosia Montana Mine, Romania 15
Marcopper Mine, the Philippines, and
Minahasa Raya and Batu Hijau Mines, Indonesia 17
Porgera Gold Mine, Papua New Guinea 18
Junín Mine, Ecuador 21
Akyem Mine, Ghana 22
Pebble Mine, Alaska 23
Zortman-Landusky Mine, Montana 25
Bogoso/Prestea Mine, Ghana 26
Jerritt Canyon Mine, Nevada 27
Summitville Mine, Colorado 29
Following the rules: An agenda for action 30
Notes 31

About the No Dirty Gold campaign

In 2004, the environmental and human rights organization EARTHWORKS, the relief and development organization Oxfam America, and their partners launched the No Dirty Gold campaign. The campaign seeks to clean up irresponsible mining practices and has called on manufacturers, retailers, and mining companies to commit verifiably to human rights and environmental standards at gold and metals mining operations.

For more information about the campaign, go to www.nodirtygold.org.

Acknowledgements

This report was prepared by Paul Bugala, Scott Cardiff, Anna Hare, Payal Sampat, Radhika Sarin, Keith Slack, and Alan Septoff with assistance from Michael Alston, Bonnie Gestring, and Lynn Schneider.

We are grateful to the following individuals who reviewed sections of the manuscript and/or provided supporting photos, information and materials:

John Amos, Mike Anane, Eleanor Church, Peter Colley, David Chambers, Catherine Coumans, Luminita Dejeu, Steve D’Esposito, Julie Fishel, John Hadder, Ute Hausmann, Stu Levit, Robert McKechnie, Igor O’Neill, Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, Dan Randolph, Stephanie Roth, Anneke van Woudenberg, and Carlos Zorrilla.

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