What is Dirty Gold?

A gift of gold symbolises love, commitment, romance and friendship. But gold mining can be a dirty business – there is a risk of contaminated drinking water, destroyed traditional livelihoods and displaced indigenous communities. Consumers want to know that the gold they are buying does not come from 'dirty mines'.

This has generated an interest in finding alternatives to harmful gold-producing practices. This interest comes not only from environmental, human rights and social justice groups, but also from jewellery retail firms, electronic producers and individual consumers.

Individuals from around the world have signed the "No Dirty Gold" pledge asking retailers to ensure that the gold in their products have not been produced at the expense of local communities, workers and the environment. These consumers don't want their glittering purchases to be tarnished by gold mining that pollutes water, destroys communities, fuels conflicts or threatens wildlife and natural areas.

We’re no different from our customers and we also want to know that the gold we sell is not produced at the expense of communities, workers and the environment. We are therefore very keen to join the campaign to insist that the gold we buy and sell is produced in accordance with the "Golden Rules", which combine social and human rights.

Similar to our leading actions in opposing the mining of "Conflict Diamonds" in 2002, we have been at the cutting edge of the jewellery industry when it comes to Dirty Gold. We are always trying to ensure that the gold products we sell are not be produced at the expense of communities, workers and the environment and we hope to be one of the first jewellery retailers to adopt the "Golden Rules".

But cleaning up dirty gold mining is not just a public relations exercise. It's about making concrete, on-the-ground changes in the way that this metal is produced - changes that make a tangible difference to communities and ecosystems affected by mining operations.

The Golden Rules involve social, human rights and environmental criteria for more responsible mining of gold and other precious metals. They call on mining companies to meet the following basic standards in their operations:

- Respect for basic human rights outlined in international conventions and law
- Free, prior and informed consent of affected communities
- Safe working conditions
- Respect for workers' rights and labour standards (including the 8 core ILO conventions)
- Ensure that operations are not located in areas of armed or militarised conflict
- Ensure that projects do not force communities off their lands
- No dumping of mine wastes into the ocean, 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 generate sulphuric acid in perpetuity
- 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

We don’t mine gold and we can’t change these things ourselves, but we can join with our customers and fellow consumers to insist that the mining companies adopt best practice in all of the above areas.

Our gold buyer, Director and sixth generation family member, Andrew Hinds, signed up to the "Unearth Justice/No Dirty Gold" pledge in the earliest days of the campaign and endorsed the principles of the Golden Rules on behalf of the company at the time.

We support all practical moves to ensure that the mining of gold brings prosperity to local communities but not pollution.

We do not support blanket boycotts of the type suggested in some quarters. These could irreparably damage many people's livelihoods, especially in many poor countries, with a dependence of the income generated by mining. This is why we support the constructive nature of the CAFOD "Unearth Justice" campaign.

We feel that this is a responsible way to proceed. We do not want to help to prolong conflict or environmental damage in any way, but we also do not want to share any responsibility for potentially putting millions of people across the world’s livelihoods at risk.

If you have any further queries, please email us at customerservices@fhinds.co.uk.

Useful links: www.cafod.org.uk www.nodirtygold.org