Editor’s Note
This article details Côte d’Ivoire’s new partnership with the World Bank and the World Gold Council to formalize its artisanal gold mining sector. The initiative aims to curb illicit trade, improve safety, and promote sustainable practices for the hundreds of thousands who depend on this vital industry.
Faced with the considerable losses caused by the illicit gold trade and driven by the will to regularize a sector that is both crucial and too often dangerous, Côte d’Ivoire is embarking on an ambitious partnership with the World Bank and the World Gold Council to transform its artisanal mining sector. The agreement signed today aims to strengthen security and transparency in a sector that provides a livelihood for half a million people but has long been plagued by a lack of regulation, environmental damage, and widespread smuggling.
The Multi-Stakeholder Partnership for Sustainable and Responsible Small-Scale Mining (or “MSPI”) brings together key sector players such as Endeavor Mining and Perseus Mining companies and the Côte d’Ivoire Chamber of Mines. It is a concerted effort to regulate artisanal and small-scale gold production, ensure its traceability, and turn it into a regulated market.
declares the Ivorian Minister of Mines, Petroleum, and Energy, Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly.
He states that this partnership is a
to make small-scale gold mining
and to make it
In Côte d’Ivoire, artisanal miners and populations living near extraction sites have suffered for many years from the social and environmental damage caused by informal and unregulated gold mining. It is estimated that in 2022, about 40 tons of gold—worth more than $2 billion—left the country illegally against a backdrop of regional instability and limited enforcement capacity.
This new partnership aims to ensure that gold produced by small-scale miners uses legal marketing channels and is traceable throughout the supply chain. It will strengthen cooperation between relevant partners to improve mining sites, processing infrastructure, and market access. It also establishes a framework for stakeholders to strengthen governance and mitigate security risks associated with illicit trade. A key element of this approach is to foster collaboration between industrial mining companies like Endeavor Mining and Perseus Mining and legal small-scale miners. The former will thus focus on training the latter, helping them comply with international environmental and social standards, and facilitating their access to legal markets.
explains Marie-Chantal Uwanyiligira, World Bank Country Director for Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Guinea, and Togo.
The World Bank will support the Ivorian government in implementing international best practices for gold production. Meanwhile, the World Gold Council plans to work with mining companies to create “model” small mines and improve supply chain infrastructure; it will also collaborate with oversight bodies such as the London Bullion Market Association to ensure the full traceability of gold produced in these mines and its marketing on the legal market.
For Terry Heymann, Chief Strategy Officer at the World Gold Council, this agreement represents a
to responsible mining.
As West African countries must manage the risks and opportunities associated with artisanal mining, Côte d’Ivoire’s reform efforts could serve as an example for other countries seeking to formalize this sector while preserving the livelihoods of the populations that depend on it.
Barrick Gold Corporation, which owns the Tongon mine, played a key role in developing this initiative and supports efforts to strengthen regulation and standards in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Côte d’Ivoire. The company is not participating in the initiative due to ongoing negotiations for the sale of the Tongon mine, but it will encourage its new owner to participate.