Swiss gold refinery turns against artisanal miners

Swiss Gold Refinery Metalor Technologies has announced that it will no longer handle artisbad mining operations. The company cites the increasing cost of guaranteeing that gold is produced by small mines in accordance with human rights and environmental standards.

Metalorexternal link has been repeatedly fired for its commercial relations with gold mines in South America that do not care about their workers or the surrounding habitat. Some of the gold being refined has also been linked by NGOs to money laundering.

The company has refuted many of the charges against them by human rights groups. But he had already already stopped doing business with artisbad mines in Peru last year.external link while declaring self-regulating measures to combat the abuses in the gold trade. Monday's announcement also marks the end of his craft activities in Colombia.

Pressure groups complained that Metalor's due diligence failed to identify the back doors through which "dirty gold" allegedly reached the refinery.

"The increasing complexity of the supply chain in this sector makes it increasingly difficult for Metalor to continue its commercial relationship with artisbad mining operations," said Antoine de Montmollin, CEO of Metalor, in a statement.

"Metalor regrets this thoughtful decision, but we will not compromise on the defense of a more sustainable value chain in the gold sector."

Switzerland, home to four of the largest refineries in the world, has virtually captured the gold processing market. In 2017, the country imported 2,404 tonnes of gold (for a total of 69.6 billion Swiss francs or $ 69.7 billion), while 1,684 tonnes were exported (66.6 billion tonnes). CHF).

Last year, the government released a report on the gold sectorexternal link and stated that he was working with the industry to improve the "sustainability standards".

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