Working with miners’ organisations and support organisations in the different host countries ARM has been carrying out a series of pilot projects designed to test the practical performance of the standards that have been set for ASM.

Cooperativa Minera Cotapata Ltda, Bolivia
In the Pacallo district of Nor Yungas Province in the Department of La Paz, the Cotapata Mining Cooperative processes approximately 432 tons per month, yielding 2.5kg to 3kg of gold (93.84% purity). 88 mining families are working in conformity with standards for responsible mining.  Men and women have equal rights and obligations, are paid a fortnightly wage and follow cooperativist principles.

The mine formally operates since June 15th, 1991. In 1993, the area was declared a National Park through the supreme decree no N° 23547. The Cotapata Mining Cooperative is authorized by the government and it holds its respective environmental license given its preexistence to the declaration of the national park.

Cotapata is a highly-organised model cooperative; it is one of the few gold cooperatives implementing labour safety principles and  using a closed mercury circuit.

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The Green Gold programme in the Chocó region of Colombia, which started in the year 2000 and inspired the creation of ARM, has brought together 194 certified producer family units, 2 community-based organisations, 2 support organisations and more than 1,300 individual men and women miners using environmentally and socially responsible methods. It operates a quality management system that conforms to ISO standards and produces 24.4 kg of raw gold (85% purity) and 6.7 kg of raw platinum (84% purity) annually.

Through the marketing of Green Gold® certified metals the program has succeeded in creating a demand from green and fair trade markets for jewellery that uses metals extracted in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, and has established a strong market position with jewellers in Colombia, Europe and the United States prepared to pay an additional premium on top of the international market price.

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The municipalities of La Llanada and Cumbitara in the Department of Nariño are home to two organisations, a cooperative and an association of small-scale miners, which operate in accordance with cooperativist principles and are working towards the formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining activity in the region.

The Cooperativa del Distrito minero de La Llanada (COMIDLLA) processes 200 tons of ore and produces around 4kg of 22K-purity gold per month.  The cooperative currently has 167 members with 372 family units involved in the cooperative’s activities. The cooperative deals with the administrative formalities required to obtain mineral rights, environmental licences and legal documentation, sells explosives at reasonable prices, markets gold directly without the need for intermediaries, makes construction materials available at low cost and provides vocational and other training to members.
Asociación de Pequeños Mineros de Cumbitara processes around 100 tons of ore yielding approximately 1.5kg per month of 18K-purity gold.  There are 25 members and 126 family units involved in the association’s activities. The association is responsible for purchasing explosives, provides training and operates projects of general community interest.

Gold is extracted from the two mines by families working on an artisanal and small-scale level, in an area that is trying hard to resist the pressure to grow illegal crops such as the coca leaf and the opium poppy.

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Located in Azuay Province, in the vicinity of Ponce Enríquez District, the Bella Rica Mining Cooperative has 141 members, grouped into 56 miners' associations.  These include the Bella Rica Miner Group Association with 15 members.  This Association's main concern is to obtain mining rights and legally recognised status. Their mine processes approximately 450 tons of ore per month. producing nearly 5.5kg of gold per year (75% purity).

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MACDESA, located in Caravelí Province in the Department of Arequipa, processes 240 tons of ore per month yielding a monthly total of 11Kg of 18-carat gold. The company has 372 partners organized in 4 work teams, each made up of 90 to 100 members.

MACDESA provides many benefits for mining communities: a 24-hour supply of subsidised electricity at very low cost, support for community medical services and a school, and sports and entertainment facilities including sports pitches.

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In Parinacochas Province in the Department of Ayacucho, Comunidad Aurífera Relave - the Relave Gold-mining Community - processes 180 tons of ore per month, producing 4.5kg of refined gold. The Community is made up of 86 men and women members who enjoy equal rights.  Workers receive a salary that is dependent on the type of work they do, irrespective of gender.

Work teams are free to sell to whoever they choose but because of better prices they tend to sell all they produce to AURELSA.

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SOTRAMI, located in Lucanas Province in the Department of Ayacucho, currently has 160 members, all male. It produces approximately 4.6kg of gold per month of 18K purity.
This venture has brought many benefits to its community of artisanal miners, including very low cost access to electricity and water and ore transportation.

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