Donors and investors are looking into the role of the ASM sector in the context of critical minerals. They are scoping how they might support mitigating the challenges and advancing the development of ASM. Here is our advice to support the professionalisation and development of a responsible ASM sector.
Jérémie Safari shares the most effective ways to protect LGBTQIA+ individuals in ASM mining in the DRC.
Exploring how we can integrate LGBTQIA+ rights into the responsible sourcing discourse, creating an environment that embraces inclusivity and safeguards the well-being of people irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Shared insight from miners from Latin America, Africa and South-east Asia con challenges such as gender-based violence, lack of access to finance, land and markets, guaranteeing health and safety for miners, and combating prevalent narratives about the sector.
Discover how the MAGTAP Project integrated capacity-building efforts throughout the implementation phase to deliver on its dual mission of implementing a roadmap focused on formalising ASM pilot areas and developing recommendations for an extension services system.
From organisational development to environment management: explore three targeted approaches to formalisation implemented in cooperatives in Mozambique.
Discover how the government of Guyana used the ASMSpotter to support its observation of the local ASM sector.
Explore how a Mozambique government project is helping ensure ASM miners can make the most out of the minerals and metals they extract.
The Forest-Smart Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (FS-ASM) Bolt-on Standard (the Bolt-on Standard) is now available for use by artisanal and small-scale miners, their state regulators, and their customers.
USAID’s Zahabu Safi (Clean Gold) Project challenges negative assumptions about how DRC gold is extracted, associated risks, and how responsible mid-and downstream actors can tackle them.
Gold refiners Heimerle + Meule, IGR, Italpreziosi, L’Orfebre, MKS PAMP, PX Precinox, and Rand Refinery have joined a group of refiners interested in learning and sharing the realities of ASM gold from the DRC.
Women in mining-affected communities feel the impact of unsustainable and environmentally harmful practices disproportionately. We explore their crucial role in tackling the environmental challenges in mineral production and trading.
Explore how large companies can further their sustainability efforts by partnering with and supporting improvements in SMEs along the entirety of their supply chain.
Nos experts montrent comment la diligence raisonnable peut contribuer au changement "sur le terrain" et être bénéfique pour les entreprises mais aussi pour les communautés affectées par leur activité.
Our experts explore how due diligence can drive change “on the ground” and work not only for companies but also for communities affected by corporate activity.
Apply for the USAID’s Zahabu Safi Responsible Gold Innovation Facility to incentivize investment in new supply chain investment models for responsible gold originating from the DRC.
Read our analysis of what is needed to drive impact in mineral supply chains and support development in producer communities and countries.
Looking into what Digital4Development means for the mining sector, and how we are investing in it at Levin Sources, from award-winning AI solutions to due diligence digital solutions.
What a year it's been! Here our Founder and CEO Estelle Levin-Nally looks back at 2020 and what the pandemic has meant for Levin Sources and the mining and minerals sector at large.
Read our top line summary of next steps for contributing to the formalization of logistics solutions in the ASM gold supply chain in eastern DRC.
Explore the main challenges to ASM sector support and regulation in the context of the global pandemic and how governments could move forward with effective ASM sector management in the coming months.
Explore the consequences of COVID-19 on ASM communities in Mozambique including reduction in activity and impact on livelihoods.
Our research shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing challenges associated with a recent period of economic, social and political fragility for ASM communities.
Une analyse des impacts de la Covid-19 dans le secteur de l’EMAPE en RDC.
Learn more about the ASMSpotter solution from dida and Levin Sources, an AI-based technology to automatically identify artisanal and small-scale mine sites.
Based on our experience working in ASM, we suggest ways to further gender inclusion and equality in the sector.
Explore different options for concrete, practical ASM engagement, which can help LSM companies include ASM stakeholders in their comprehensive stakeholder engagement plans.
Understanding how COVID-19 is affecting emerald miners in Ethiopia with insight from our local associate Zinaye Tesfaye.
Understand the impact of COVID-19 on ASM miners' livelihoods, mineral trade, health and safety and food insecurity in Uganda as well as our experts' suggestions to address them.
Explore how we designed an end-to-end capacity building programme to better support the DRC ASM sector.
Discover how we facilitated the Kenyan government to develop a national artisanal mining strategy (KAMS) to formalise the sector.
As the COVID-19 ASM Delve data collection draws to a close, we share a preliminary overview of our findings and conclusions.
Understand how to effectively engaging the powers and interests behind all ASM situations and at all levels by thinking and operating politically.
Levin Sources was contracted by a large downstream supply chain actor to provide expert support to their supply chain research and risk assessments for mineral supply chains originating in the DRC.
Standards provide a useful pointer for ASM-LSM relationships. Read a summary of these expectations, what they mean in practice, and key emerging trends.
A guide and webinar featuring an overview for civil society organisations on how to engage with the ASM sector to address some its social and environmental impacts.
Exploring practical programming options address ways the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting ASM and ASM communities.
A recent report shows that ASM tin miners in the DRC don’t earn enough to cover basic expenses and offers suggestions to improve their revenues.
Discover eight key learnings from our market analysis of ASM gold from Eastern Congo carried out as part of the USAID Commercially Viable Conflict-Free Gold (CVCFG) Project.
Discover eight key learnings from our market analysis of ASM gold from Eastern Congo carried out as part of the USAID Commercially Viable Conflict-Free Gold (CVCFG) Project.
Understanding the many legal frameworks under which ASM operates is key to a successful ASM-LSM relationship.
Our experts detail six reasons why Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) communities need to be at the heart of the minerals sector's COVID-19 response.
Read sector Insights into how LSM and ASM relationships could move beyond risk management towards positive impact and how donor-funded programmes could provide avenues for reduced-risk engagement with ASM by LSM companies.
Covid-19: what impact for ASM and responsible sourcing? Our experts analyse the situation so far.
Learn about the Women’s Rights and Mining (WRM)-OECD Gender Statement, why Levin Sources decided to become a signatory and our commitment to gender equality in the minerals sector.
Levin Sources carried out an in-depth field analysis and market assessment that resulted in the publication of a baseline and market assessment on Development Minerals in Uganda. It informed the government's draft minerals policy.
How we worked with Mongolia's ASMNF to evaluate its impact on its membership and ASM communities and to develop a high-level strategic plan that would position the organisation to achieve sustainability and impact in the medium to long term.
Insights from the Nairobi forum, including the latest coloured gemstone jewellery trends, the challenges and success of value addition, and the status of efforts to improve gender equality and environmental management in the sector.
How should a large mine best manage risks arising from Artisanal and Small-scale Mining? Here is how we approach it at Levin Sources.
Levin Sources has been working to identify and analyse good and bad practices of artisanal and small-scale mining in forest landscapes in order to find opportunities for positive intervention.
We undertook a series of case studies to identify and analyse good and bad practices of ASM in forest landscapes for The Program on Forests (PROFOR), hosted by the World Bank Group.
How can a fairer mineral system empower women and create more opportunities for us all? Global and Local Policy Dimension Briefing Documents for the European Commission and GIZ/BMZ available for consultation and feedback now
Levin Sources was contracted by GIZ to conduct in-country stakeholder engagement to establish a guidance document that informs KP stakeholders in programming and implementation of the KPCS in host countries.
As part of the European Development Days in June 2018, Levin Sources' Victoria Gronwald joined a European Commission and GIZ-organised panel to discuss how multi-stakeholder partnerships like the Kimberley Process can further mainstream gender into their work and governance structures.
On International Women's Day, members of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) and Levin Sources explore challenges and opportunities for women's economic independence in ASM.
Levin Sources prepared the environment management measures linked to ASM and provided advice on LSM – ASM relations, including LSM operations and relationships with illegal stone pickers.
This report details a case study of historical and contemporary artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in and around Sapo National Park (SNP), assesses the ecological, social, and economic impacts of ASM, the key motivations of diggers/miners, the responses of affected stakeholders, including the sustainability of the 2010 SNP eviction and makes recommendations for future action.
ASM-PACE addressed the impacts of Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) occurring in protected areas and critical ecosystems (PACE).
Our case study of international best practices in ASM rehabilitation draws upon examples from arid and semi-arid ecosystems in Africa, Latin America, and Asia that have demonstrated success and are relevant to the Mongolian context.
An overview of two Levin Sources-hosted ASM-PACE roundtables in Washington D.C. and London, in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF).
Levin Sources conducted a specialist ASM study for a client who was in the process of developing a historic gold mine in the conflict-affected district of Ituri in the DRC.
Part two of Anna Barker's conversation with bespoke jewellery Harriet Kelsall
Climate change and the failure of traditional livelihoods, economic transition and collapse, conflict, and high mineral prices have led to a doubling of the ASM population in fifteen years to a total of around 30 million worldwide.
Artisanal mining, which supports millions but poses environmental and legal challenges, has a concerning link to wildlife poaching, highlighting the importance of formalisation for sustainability.
ASM research in Chocó rainforest reveals environmental threats. Solutions include responsible mining practices, formalization, and community engagement for sustainability.
Madagascar workshop discusses ASM's impact, governance. Recommendations aim to improve environmental, social factors, guide future ASM policies and programmes
In July, our latest ASM-PACE report was released, focusing on the ASM of gold and tin – two 'conflict minerals' under the Dodd-Frank Act, Section 1502 – in the Itombwe Reserve in South Kivu, DRC.
Madre de Dios, Peru, faces challenges in gold mining sustainability. Proposed archipelago model aims for responsible mining, balancing environment and development
Discover how artisanal mining impacts Ratanakiri, Cambodia's gem-rich province, highlighting environmental challenges and the need for sustainable solutions.
Exploring the intersection of mining and sustainability, emphasising CSR impacts on communities and challenges faced by artisanal miners.
Differentiating between "illegal," "informal," and "artisanal" mining clarifies misconceptions and highlights implications for ASM formalisation efforts.
Embedding sustainability in a Sustainable Human Development Index offers insights into ASM conservation with tailored standards for ecosystems.
Addressing ASM complexities in PACE demands local insight, incentivised formalisation, secure land tenure, and trust-building to protect critical ecosystems sustainably.
Bref aperçu sur l'expérience vécu au cours de l'accomplissement des enquêtes dans la Reserve Naturelle d'Itombwe au Sud Kivu en juillet 2012
Explore how the Minamata Convention recognizes ASGM's mercury impact, emphasizing transition strategies over bans to safeguard the environment and support miners.
Since its inception, Levin Sources has worked in Sierra Leone in the artisanal and small-scale mining diamond sector thanks to its network of in-country associates.