REFINING CUSTOMERS - Due to the current influx of precious metal pricing, our standard lead time has increased by 3 business days. Please allow 6 business days for refining clean scrap and 13 business days for stone removal and/or sweeps.
You can MAKE A DIFFERENCE when you choose Harmony Fairmined Mill Products OR casting services that utilize Fairmined metals, from Hoover & Strong!
An alternative to purchasing our responsible Harmony recycled metal products, the purchase of any of our Harmony Fairmined Mill Products helps hundreds of artisanal miners, families and communities that are in need.
We currently carry casting grain, sheet, wire and ring blanks made from certified Fairmined 14KW, 14KY, 18K Royal Yellow and 24K Yellow Gold from artisanal mines in Peru and Colombia.
We also offer casting services that utilize 14KW, 14KY and 18K Royal Yellow Fairmined metals.
Look for the Harmony Fairmined option when placing your next order.
About Fairmined
Fairmined is an assurance label that certifies gold from responsible Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM). It is backed by a rigorous 3rd party certification and audit system that ensures that small entrepreneurial mining communities meet world leading Standards for responsible practices. Fairmined transforms mining into an active force for good, delivering social development and environmental protection, providing everyone with a source of gold they can be proud of. The supply chain is traceable through Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) and SCS Global Services.
How Your Fairmined Purchases Help: Our Fairmined sources receive fair prices and a premiums from Hoover & Strong for their precious metal. These premiums go directly to the mining organizations for transparent investment in the social, economic and environmentally sustainable development of miners, their families, workers and the community. The community, as a group, decides how to spend the premium, whether it be on improved working conditions or on an improved quality of life.
How Licensees can use Fairmined gold or silver: Jewelers can use Fairmined gold or silver to make an entire piece or part of a piece. As a licensee, you can mark pieces containing Fairmined gold with the Fairmined mark. You will be required to pay Fairmined for every dwt of gold or oz of silver sold. If you are not a licensee, this cost is added to the purchase price and Hoover & Strong will pay it for you.
While we encourage all Fairmined users to be Fairmined licensed, you do not have to be a licensee to purchase and use Fairmined gold in your jewelry. However, if you are not a licensee, you cannot mark or reference the name Fairmined. You can, however, create your own brand name or just state it is made from gold from certified ASM sources.
Jewelers interested in using the FAIRMINED label should contact the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) to become a FAIRMINED Licensee. Learn more about Fairmined gold and silver at www.fairmined.org.
Case Study: Iquira Mine in Colombia
COMMUNITY PROFILE: From Coffee Beans to Gold Nuggets The Iquira Municipality Agro-Mineral Cooperative (Cooperativa Multiactiva Agrominera del Municipio de Iquira) are a model example of how coffee, plantain, livestock farming and gold mining can coexist sustainably. Gold mining has provided the community with diversified economic alternatives where community members alternate between artisanal mining and farming.
Iquira Mine, Lovingly Protecting their Community Their close relationship with local agriculture has instilled a respect for their environment and the co-operative members have been eager to implement the responsible social and environmental practices learned through their pursuit of Fairmined certification.
“No one is born knowing everything,” said the cooperative’s General Manager, Jose Ignacio. “We are eager to participate in as much training as we can.” Characterized by a strong sense of unity and loving spirit, the Iquira cooperative has become very conscious of mining’s potential impacts on their community through the Fairmined workshops and training. “We don’t want our families, our neighbors and their children to be harmed by contamination,” said the General Manager. “We are seeking 100% decontamination.”
History of Responsibility This desire to mine responsibly has long characterized the cooperative. Thanks to early community organizing efforts, the local miners/coffee cultivators organized to form the Cooperative in 2004 and received their official licenses and registration through the Colombian government.
Numerous Beneficiaries Small-scale mining plays an important role in the local community. The 76 miners support approximately 450 people through their work. With increased income thanks to mining, the community has greater opportunities and an amplified long-term business vision.
COMMERCIAL PROFILE: The Cooperative currently employs 76 people (5 women), 31 of which are cooperative members with another 45 contracted workers. The number of workers can fluctuate between 40-60. All the workers have formal contracts including social security and health care insurance and are all from neighboring farming communities, providing important local employment opportunities.
Monthly production averages 2,6kg/month but can vary depending on various factors from 1,2kg - 4,6kg/month. They are currently investing in improving their processing plants and opening new shafts, with expected production to eventually double.
Gold is processed using local in-house smelting methods to produce gold doré ingots. They use two distinct processes, one which yields a higher grade doré of 996-998 purity while the other process yields a lower grade concentrate of 680 purity.
They are divided into 9-11 working groups, with each group accumulating their monthly production for sale at the end of every month, generally between the 25th-30th.
The Alliance for Responsible Mining is able to support this community thanks to our projects with the Inter-American Development Bank and its Multilateral Investment Fund.
To learn more about how about you can support organizations like IQUIRA and make a real difference to the lives of miners and their communities, CLICK HERE.
Above information provided by www.fairmined.org.
