Wheel of Knowledge

The planetGOLD programme works in partnership with governments, the private sector, and ASGM communities in nine countries to significantly improve the production practices and work environment of artisanal and small-scale miners.

This information sheet provides an overview of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Mercury Partnership for prospective partners.

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The report discusses the challenges and solution encountered by countries developing National Action Plan for artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM).

This paper explores the gendered contexts of artisanal and small-scale mining in sub-Saharan Africa, and traces how women are likely to be excluded from current policy pushes to formally regulate the sector.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury.

The Convention was adopted on 10 October 2013 at Kumamoto (Japan) on the occasion of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Minamata Convention on Mercury held from 7 to 11 October 2013 and entered into force on 16 August 2017. 

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[ Spanish ] El propósito de este documento es servir como una guía para el almacenamiento y el buen manejo del mercurio en posesión de las fuerzas militares colombianas en los casos de incautación en zonas mineras o entregas voluntarias

UGANDA - National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) This video present the extend of ASGM in Uganda and its dangers for the health of the workers as well as the impacts on the environment.  

UN Environment's Toolkit for identification and quantification of mercury releases is intended to assist countries to identify and quantify the sources of mercury releases. With the Toolkit, a comprehensive national mercury releases inventory can be developed.

This document provides a suggested approach for collecting and analyzing socio-economic information about the ASGM sector. The methodology has been designed to be used in conjunction with UN Environment’s Baseline Estimates Toolkit, and can help to obtain a holistic understanding of the ASGM sector that accounts for local socio-economic dynamics.

Presentation given by Yves Bertran during the Global Mercury Partnership's side event during the Second Conference of Parties (COP 2) of the Minamata Convention.

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This guidance document has been developed as part of a WHO technical series on ASGM and health and specifically addresses how and where health considerations should be considered in the context of National Action Planning (NAP) processes related to ASGM, in particular as required under the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

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Development of National Action Plans (NAPs) for Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) is an obligation under Article 7 of the Minamata Convention on Mercury for each country that determines that ASGM in its territory is more than insignificant.

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***Update 2022***

Morgane Fritz, James McQuilken, Nina Collins, Fitsum Weldegiorgis

IIED, IISD, IGF, January 2018

Xiaoxue Weng, Lila Buckley, Emma Blackmore, Bill Vorley, George Schoneveld, Paolo O. Cerutti, Davison Gumbo, Kaala B. Moombe, Stephen Kabwe, Jaqueline Muzenda, Kingstone Mujeyi, Maisory Chacha, Maria Njau, Jesper Jønsson 

IIED, June 2018

Fitsum Weldegiorgis, Lynda Lawson, Hannelore Verbrugge

IIED, IISD, IGF 2018

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Alianza por la Minería Responsable 

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This interactive guide synthesizes and connects existing information on mercury-free practices in the ASGM sector through simple graphs, videos and illustrative success stories.

Collecting field data is often necessary to prepare the national Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sector overview. The United Nations Institute for Training and Research(UNITAR) has developed a mobile data collection tool to accompany the two methodologies developed by the Artisanal Gold Council (baseline estimates) and UNITAR (socio-economic research methodology).

 Dr Maria Laura Barreto, Patrick Schein, Dr Jennifer Hinton, Felix Hruschka, January 2018

Willison Mutagwaba, John Bosco Tindyebwa, Veronica Makanta,, Delphinus Kaballega and Graham Maeda

IIED, January 2018