planetGOLD is a GEF-funded, UNEP-led programme working across 27 countries to make artisanal and small-scale gold mining safer, cleaner and more profitable — eliminating mercury by treating it as a formalisation challenge, not only a technology one. This page organises the programme’s own public record: its four knowledge areas, its country portfolio, its 1,170-item knowledge library and its stories.
Visit planetgold.orgplanetGOLD’s mission is "to make small-scale gold mining safer, cleaner, and more profitable," toward a vision of "a clean global supply of gold from small-scale miners." It is supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), implemented with UNIDO, UNDP, Conservation International and the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
The programme’s central bet is that mercury use is best ended not as an isolated "mercury problem" but as a formalisation challenge — connecting miners to legal status, finance, mercury-free technology and formal markets at the same time. Phase 1 (2018–2026) started in nine countries; Phase 2, approved by the GEF Council in June 2020, added a further wave, and the live country portfolio now stands at 27.
Everything below mirrors planetGOLD’s own site structure so this page works as a single, navigable map of the programme. Figures are the programme’s own unless noted; planetGOLD’s pages differ slightly on the count — the /about narrative and the enumerated country roster agree on 27, while a status counter on the countries index reads higher; this page uses the enumerated roster, which is the verifiable figure.
planetGOLD organises its work around four pillars — the same four that structure its knowledge areas. Each addresses one reason mercury persists in artisanal gold: no legal footing, no capital, no clean technique, no informed community.
Mercury-free and reduced-mercury extraction. There is no single technology for every site; the toolkit combines improved crushing and milling, gravity concentration, flotation and controlled leaching, targeting the worst practices named by the Minamata Convention.
Bringing ASGM into the formal economy, society and regulatory system through a human rights-based approach, working with communities already advancing toward formal status.
Tackling chronic undercapitalisation: building investment-ready miners and informing financiers. The site cites ASGM at roughly 20% of global gold supply, worth USD 25–30 billion a year.
Site-specific communication on mercury’s dangers, efficient recovery, finance and shorter supply chains, across health & safety, gender, community and environment — from comic books to radio to 360° tours.
The portfolio is 27 countries — 19 under implementation, 7 completed and 1 under development — grouped by region as on planetGOLD’s own countries page. Per-country executing agencies and figures live on each country’s own subpage.
Roster from planetgold.org/countries, checked 2026-07-03. planetGOLD’s /about narrative and this enumerated roster agree on 27; a status counter on the countries index reads higher, but the enumerated country list is the verifiable figure.
The four pillars in practice. planetGOLD frames mercury elimination as an integrated formalisation effort, so the technical work never travels alone — each area carries its own flagship guidance.
Aligned with the CRAFT Code, the Criteria add three planetGOLD-specific requirements: eliminating mercury, respecting and protecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and minimising biodiversity impact.
Compliance is verified through a CRAFT Code Report Template plus a planetGOLD Environmental and Social Risk Verification Form (together the planetGOLD Assessment Report), which satisfies GEF safeguards and improves access to markets and finance.
planetGOLD’s ASGM 101 is a useful context primer. Its headline figures (the programme’s own framing, ranges as published):
Figures per planetGOLD’s ASGM 101 and finance pages; the two differ on sector value and are shown as published, not reconciled.
The planetGOLD Knowledge Repository is the programme’s searchable library — and, in the absence of a live data dashboard, its de facto dataset. It holds 1,170 items across formats, knowledge areas and nine languages.
planetGOLD runs a large multilingual newsroom — some 516 stories across three streams — plus a country-video series and an events programme anchored by the biennial Global Forum on ASGM.
The programme’s flagship convening: 22–24 September 2026 in Panama City, Panama, following the 2024 edition in the Philippines. The events calendar lists around 28 sessions, filterable by knowledge area and country.
Visit planetgold.orgSource: planetgold.org, checked 2026-07-03. Figures are the programme’s own (self-reported) unless otherwise attributed.
Everything here is drawn from planetgold.org and dated to when this Hub checked it. Spotted a gap or a fresher figure? Tell us and we will verify and update.