VIRGIN MINING VALUE CHAIN
Transparency from Mine to Market
Systemic issues
- Highly complex value chains (intermediaries)
- No access to value chain information (B2B and especially B2C)
- Certification labels lack transparency, scalability, and delivery reliability
- Industrial mining does not equal sustainable mining (even in OECD countries)
Environmental, Social & Governance issues (ESG)
- Pollution and final storage of chemicals (e.g., Mercury, Cyanide, Carbon, 20k
abandoned tailings also from LSM) - Child labor (5 Mio kids in mines)
- Financial exclusion (untransparent value distribution; 20 Mio people in ASM)
- No traceability and no accountability
Unique: Assarée has a unique impact approach together with its impact partners, focusing on transparency rather than standards and a step-by-step impact road map rather than certification.
The virgin mining value chains Assarée engages with are unique in only using the three value chain steps artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), processing plant, and refinery, from mine to market, which is transparently displayed. An industry game-changer in the Assarée ASM value chains is that the processing plant buys the ORE (gold-stone) in exchange for fair and rapid pay, and the gold is then extracted through a closed process without the need to use mercury.
Transparent: being transparent provides knowledge through access and visibility to current supply chain practices. It further allows impact programs to be co-created and measured along the whole value chain. #KnowYourSource (KYS)
All partners along the value chain have committed to integrating transparency as the baseline of their activities, following Assarée’s claim that “without transparency, there is no sustainability.” As we advance, Assarée, in partnership with its Bridgebuilders, will organize impact trips for Assarée Gold investors and Assarée material clients to visit the value chains and get first-hand insight into the local realities and contexts.
Impactful: social and environmental impacts are inherently interlinked and, in combination, lead to sustainable, long-lasting impact programs for resilient, thriving communities and an attraction towards clean production processes.
MATERIAL IMPACT ICONS
In partnership with Transparence S.A., Assarée has created an impact iconography to transparently outline the social and environmental impact factors, together striving towards climate positive operations and thriving local communities.
Sustainable impact creation is a journey shared with clients through foremost transparent impact reporting and impact trips along the value chains.
Environmental impact factors & corresponding SDG’s
Land use
Mining only happens in government permitted or privately licensed areas (SDG 15)
Low-impact machinery
Artisanal miners (ASM) extract higher grade ore with less aggressive methods than the more environmentally damaging large-scale mines (LSM) with economies of scale (SDG 12/13/15)
Mercury-free
Mercury-free processing (SDG 12/3/14/15)
CO2 reduction
Minimizing carbon emissions deriving from mining and all subsequent value chain steps (SDG 13)
Water use
Minimize water usage in mine and processing and no water pollution (SDG 6)
Reforestation & tree nurseries
Replanting trees or planting new trees for land restoration creates job opportunities, and develops alternative livelihoods for local communities (SDG 13/15)
Soil restoration and Regenerative Agriculture
Soil is restored post-mining, focusing on the restoration of the land for future productive use (SDG 6/13/15)
Biodiversity and Primary Forest protection
Sensitive ecosystems are protected from being negatively affected by mining operations, ensuring biodiversity and the agroforestry concession site’s primary forest conservation. (SDG 13/15)
Social & Governance impact factors & corresponding SDG’s
Fair pay
Excluding intermediaries leads to a fair value distribution to the level of the artisanal miner, attracting more artisanal miners to clean (mercury-free) processes. (SDG 1/8/10/11)
Formalized buying process
The miners are working on a concession and have a formal agreement of purchase. (SDG 1/8/11/12)
Community Empowerment
The impact approach is co-created with the locals, striving for community empowerment, focusing on health and safety, better business practices and vocational training. (SDG 4/5/8/10/11)
Financial Inclusion
Financial inclusion is an umbrella term for financial literacy and financial management. The capacity for miners to save and be linked to the formal financial system. (SDG 5/8)
*ESG:
Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance refers to the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and societal impact of an investment in a company or business.
**SDG:
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “blueprint for achieving a better and more sustainable future for all.”
