Miners enjoy taste of success with world's first Fairtrade gold

The world's first Fairtrade and Fairmined gold is launched in the UK today in an effort to tackle poverty and dangerous conditions faced by small-scale miners.

Royal jeweller Garrard is among 20 companies to launch the first of the gold, which has been used in collections and one-off pieces including wedding and engagement rings, earrings and necklaces.

Each piece will carry a Fairtrade and Fairmined hallmark.

The Fairtrade Foundation said hundreds of thousands more workers had been lured to the industry by the surging price for precious metal on world markets.

But it remained one of the world's most dangerous industries, with many of the estimated 15 million people working in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector risking disease, serious injury and death or facing exploitation from middle-men paying below-market prices.

The price of gold has risen from $320 (200) per ounce in 1999 to more than $1,400 (875) last year.

The Fairtrade minimum price for pure gold is set at 95 per cent of the London Bullion Market Association's fix - the internationally agreed price.

But the foundation said ASM producers in the main received anything from 30 per cent to 85 per cent of the fix.

The International Labour Organisation says there are more than six times the number of accidents in ASM compared with large-scale mining, mainly due to the larger labour force and poorer working conditions.

It has also warned of severe risks to the health of miners caused by daily contact with toxic chemicals used to process gold, such as mercury, cyanide and nitric acid, which can lead to brain and nervous system damage, vomiting, gastroenteritis, kidney complaints and muscular tremors.

The Fairtrade and Fairmined system requires miners to adhere to a set of standards, guaranteeing that gold is produced in a way that is safe for people and the environment.

In return, miners will receive a set minimum Fairtrade price for their gold, plus a Fairtrade premium to invest in community and business development projects.

They are also compelled to establish long-term business relationships with their commercial partners, with plans including improving the technology and working conditions in mines and setting up community projects in education, health, and environmental restoration.

The Cotapata Mining Co- operative in Bolivia is the first certified Fairtrade and Fairmined mining organisation, with more groups expected to join the system in the coming weeks.

Fairtrade Foundation executive director Harriet Lamb said: "The reality of gold production is at complete odds with what consumers imagine.

"Consumers care about the conditions faced by miners. This is why Fairtrade and Fairmined gold has the potential to tackle unfair supply chains, improve working and environmental conditions and deliver tangible and sustainable economic benefits to impoverished communities."Juana Pea Endara, senior president of Cotapata, said: "This a momentous occasion for my family and the other members of Cotapata.

"We are extremely proud to be the first Fairtrade and Fairmined-certified mine."

Fairtrade ambassador and Olympic gold medalist Sir Steve Redgrave said: "There is a real need for consumers to demand higher standards when they purchase gold and they can do this by getting behind this new and important initiative.

"Fairtrade and Fairmined gold means everyone is a winner."

The global market for gold jewellery was worth $137.5 billion (86bn) last year, with India and the Middle East the biggest consumers. The UK is the second largest gold jewellery market in Europe after Italy.

Fairtrade and Fairmined gold will be launched later in other countries. The foundation said it hoped to capture 5 per cent of the gold jewellery market over the next 15 years.