EditorsJan 16, 2026
Remembering Pete Yantzer for His Contributions and His Kindness Pete’s boundless curiosity extended beyond diamond cut and he was always eager to share his knowledge with others, no matter the topic.
Policies & IssuesApr 22, 2016
Fairmined Ecological Gold from Mongolia, Colombia Available
The Alliance for Responsible Mining announced the availability of the gold mined without the use of any toxic chemicals from six mining organizations in the two countries.
Fairmined Ecological Gold, mined without using any toxic chemicals, now is available from the Mongolian organization Xamodx and five mining organizations in la Llanada, Colombia.
Envigado, Colombia--The Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) has announced the availability of Fairmined Ecological Gold from the Mongolian organization Xamodx and five mining organizations in la Llanada, Colombia.
According to ARM, Fairmined Ecological Gold is produced under the same strict standard for responsible mining as regular Fairmined Gold in terms of social, organizational and economic criteria, but without using any toxic chemicals such as mercury and cyanide in the gold processing.
Argen Jewelry Division has been authorized to supply Fairmined Gold in the United States, working with Fairmined licensee Toby Pomeroy and Liberty Refiners to bring a stock of Fairmined Ecological Gold to North America, with support from ARM and the SAM Project.
The mining organizations offering this Fairmined Ecological Gold currently are the only artisanal mining organizations in the world with a third-party certified chemical-free gold production, the alliance said.
Xamodx was the first Asian organization to ever obtain Fairmined certification, due in large part to the Sustainable Artisanal Mining Project, which has been a key partner in establishing supply chains from Mongolia.
And, after the success of the mines in la Llanada, five more organizations now are working with ARM towards Fairmined Ecological Certification.
“The miners who produce Fairmined Ecological Gold take pride that they do not use toxic chemicals and are an example of how gold mining can be practiced in a way that takes measures to minimize the environmental impact,” said Kenneth Porter, head of ARM’s Fairmined Business Development. “Jewelers have been specifically requesting gold that is extracted without any use of mercury or cyanide. Now they can support these miners by sourcing Fairmined Ecological Gold and add value to their jewelry by using the Fairmined Ecological Gold label.”
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