The open reference on responsible gold

The scattered record on responsible gold, joined and rated by its evidence.

The standards, rules, programmes, datasets and technologies that govern how gold moves from mine to market live in hundreds of places, in incompatible formats, often undated. The Gold Hub gathers them into one open reference where every record is source-linked, corroboration-rated and stamped with when it was last checked.

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How to read this hub

Every record carries its evidence: a rating, a stamp, a live link.

Nothing here asks to be trusted on authority. Each record shows how well its claims are corroborated, when it was last checked, and where it came from, and the link behind it is verified with a real request.

Well corroborated
Three or more independent sources of different types agree.
Corroborated
Two independent sources, or one authoritative source plus corroboration.
Single source
One source only. Read with caution.
Contested
Credible sources disagree. Both sides are published and attributed.

Checked, not asserted

Every record carries the month its link and facts were last checked. The target: no stamp older than 90 days.

Link health

Every external URL is verified with a real request. A link the checker has not seen reads unchecked, never a silent ok.

A public changelog

Every expansion or correction gets a dated entry in the public changelog on the Method page, committed at a fortnightly cadence, so the reference can be audited as it evolves.

The publication policy, in nine sentences

Every rating and claim type maps to one publication outcome, decided in advance. The full rules live on the Method page.

P1Status chips are computed from evidence of activity, never asserted.
P2Contested counts publish as attributed ranges, floor and ceiling sources named, never one number.
P3Self-reported figures carry "per X, unaudited" and never enter headline stats.
P4A statistic with no traceable primary source is dropped, not hedged.
P5Register inclusion is criteria-based; below the bar, a record parks in the ledger rather than being silently dropped.
P6Single-source allegations naming people or firms live only in the dated feed, with the counterparty's response or "no response documented".
P7Legal-status chips are computed from the official record: draft, agreed but not in force, in force, suspended or voluntary.
P8Recurring datasets carry their edition, reference year and cadence, so an overdue edition shows itself.
P9A claim resting only on an unfetchable, unmirrored URL parks in the ledger; nothing publishes with a "check this yourself" flag.

In the Hub's July 2026 landscape pass, no existing gold reference was found carrying per-record ratings, last-checked stamps, link health and a public changelog. Keeping that layer visible on every record is this Hub's standing commitment.

Read the full method
Ways in

Twelve ways into the record.

Standards & assurance

The refiner and mine standards compared side by side: LBMA, RMI RMAP, RGMPs and CMSI, IRMA, RJC and more, each dated and status-tagged.

Compare the schemes

Regulation

The binding rules and the famous ones that do less than assumed: the OECD baseline, EU instruments, US disclosure, sanctions and national laws.

Map the rules

ASM & market access

The certifications, premiums and sourcing models that link artisanal gold to formal buyers: Fairmined, Fairtrade, CRAFT, Swiss Better Gold and more.

Browse the schemes

Programmes & funders

The donor programmes, trust funds and NGOs working on ASGM formalisation, finance and mercury-free processing, with computed activity status.

See the programmes

Data & research

The datasets and research lines behind the numbers: WGC Goldhub, LBMA data, Delve, IPIS, Swissaid, EITI, each with edition and cadence.

Find the data

Traceability & provenance tech

Bar integrity, DLT ledgers, optical fingerprinting and geoforensics: what each system proves, and who can actually see its data.

See the tech

Refiners & market accountability

The refiner registers joined in one place, the exchanges, and the incident reviews currently open.

See the registers

Investigations & enforcement

Sanctions, incident reviews and investigations into illicit gold flows, dated and rated, with responses documented.

Follow the cases

The Numbers

Every published figure shown as a spread of readings tagged by method, never averaged into a single 'true' number.

See the numbers

Updates

A dated, source-rated feed of the developments reshaping responsible gold.

Read the feed

Library

The key reports, investigations and studies, grouped, summarised and linked to the source document.

Open the library

Events

The forums and summits where the rules get made, upcoming and recent.

See the calendar
Profiles

Eight flagships, profiled in depth.

See all profiles

The schemes and institutions that shape responsible gold most, from the LBMA stack to Ghana's GoldBod, each profiled from the same rated evidence base as the rest of the Hub.

Active

planetGOLD

The GEF-funded, UNEP-led programme in 27 countries to make artisanal and small-scale gold mining safer, cleaner and more profitable, across formalisation, mercury-free technology, finance and market access. Comprehensive profile: the four knowledge areas, the country portfolio and the 1,170-item knowledge library.

Lead: UNEP; funded by the GEF; with UNIDO, UNDP, CIWhere: 27 countries
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Active

LBMA Responsible Sourcing

The living standard-setting stack for Good Delivery refiners: Responsible Gold Guidance (v9 since 2021, v10 consultation opened June 2026), the Good Delivery List, Disclosure Guidance v3 and the Gold Bar Integrity programme. Two incident reviews are open.

Lead: LBMAWhere: London / global
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Active

WGC RGMPs & CMSI

The Responsible Gold Mining Principles (2019, mandatory for WGC members with annual external assurance) are being superseded by the Consolidated Mining Standard, which had not launched as of 2026-07-02 and whose adequacy is contested, both sides attributed.

Lead: World Gold Council; CMSI with ICMM, Copper Mark, MAC/TSMWhere: Global
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Active

RMI RMAP (gold)

The refiner audit programme behind the conformant gold list (94 refiners: 37 RMAP-audited plus 57 cross-recognised, plus 3 pending, as of 2026-07-02) and the first scheme recognised under the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation (October 2025).

Lead: Responsible Minerals InitiativeWhere: Global
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Active

Swiss Better Gold

The escalator sourcing model linking ASM mines to the Swiss value chain, member-led since 1 July 2025, with a USD 1.35/g premium (0.70 projects, 0.50 technical assistance, 0.15 costs). 2025 figures are per SBG, unaudited.

Lead: Swiss Better Gold AssociationWhere: Switzerland / Latin America / Mongolia
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Active

Fairmined (ARM)

The ASM certification standard (v2.0 in force since 2014) with a USD 4,000/kg premium (+2,000 ecological). The certified-organization count is contested (5 to 11 depending on source and date) and the 3.0 revision has been dormant since 2023.

Lead: Alliance for Responsible MiningWhere: Colombia / global
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Active

CRAFT Code

The open-source, OECD-aligned market-entry baseline for ASM. v2.1 (October 2024) extends scope to aggregators, traders and processors and adds CRAFT-UA upstream assurance; used or referenced by planetGOLD, LBMA’s ASM work, Swiss Better Gold and Solidaridad.

Lead: ARM & RESOLVEWhere: Global
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Active

Ghana GoldBod

The state monopsony created by Act 1140 (April 2025): sole buyer, assayer, exporter and regulator of ASM gold. Export figures are per GoldBod, unaudited; independent critics contest the model. Blockchain track-and-trace is targeted for end-2026.

Lead: Government of GhanaWhere: Ghana
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Active

Gold Bar Integrity

The industry’s bar-integrity infrastructure: database live on aXedras DLT since January 2025, voluntary monthly country-of-origin reporting from April 2026, mandatory in 2027. The database is industry-confidential, not a public registry.

Lead: LBMA + WGCWhere: Global
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Help keep the record complete.

The Hub is an open reference, maintained in the open. Point it to a missing source, a correction, or a development it should carry.