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. It treats mercury elimination as a question of formalisation as much as technology. 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. On the country count, planetGOLD’s /about and Phase-2 pages both give 27; the earlier higher status counter (once about 31/23) is no longer present and is treated as resolved (checked 2026-07-07). The live /countries listing is client-rendered, so the precise implementing/completed/in-development split is not independently countable to the corroboration bar; 27 is the corroborated headline.
planetGOLD organises its work around four pillars, the same ones 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 and safety, gender, community and environment, from comic books to radio to 360° tours.
The portfolio spans 27 countries (19 under implementation, 7 completed, 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 2026-07-07. The programme reports 27 countries (planetgold.org /about and Phase-2 pages, self-reported); the earlier higher status counter (once about 31/23) is no longer present and is treated as resolved. The live /countries listing is client-rendered, so the precise per-status split is not independently countable to the bar, so 27 stands as the corroborated headline and the grouping below is the enumerated roster as shown.
Every portfolio country runs a GEF child project, and all 27 are now covered by 26 GEF-primary records (Mongolia and the Philippines share one regional child project). Each row is read field-by-field from the project’s own page in the GEF project database, the authoritative registry: grant, co-financing, agencies, dated milestone and status.
| Country | GEF ID | Phase | GEF grant | Co-financing | GEF agency | Executing agency | Milestone | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | Not on the GEF page | USD 4,500,000 | USD 37,000,758 | UNEP | Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) | CEO approval 2025-06-25 | Project approved | |
| Zimbabwe | Not on the GEF page | USD 5,000,000 | USD 18,799,000 | UNEP | IMPACT | CEO endorsement 2023-12-20 | Project approved | |
| Ghana | Phase 2 | USD 6,350,000 | USD 44,668,371 | UNDP and UNIDO | Ghana EPA (MESTI) | CEO endorsement document 2022-05-11 (project approved for implementation 2022-03-28) | Under implementation 2022-2027 | |
| Côte d’Ivoire | Phase 2 | USD 3,937,500 | USD 13,451,000 | UNEP | IMPACT and CASE (Centre Africain pour la Santé et l’Environnement) | Project approved for implementation 2023-01-06 | Project approved | |
| Guinea | Phase 2 | USD 5,302,000 | USD 11,997,141 | UNEP | CASE (Centre Africain pour la Santé et l’Environnement) | CEO approval 2022-12-08 | Project approved | |
| Kenya | Phase 1 | USD 4,200,000 | USD 17,819,711 | UNDP | Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry | CEO endorsement 2018-06-11 (concept 2016-10-27) | Project approved | |
| Madagascar | Phase 2 | USD 4,971,750 | USD 31,296,986 | UNIDO | Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) | CEO endorsement 2023-01-06 | Project approved | |
| Mali | Phase 2 | USD 5,150,000 | USD 31,651,256 | UNIDO and Conservation International | MEADD via the Agency for Environment and Sustainable Development (AEDD) | Project approved for implementation 2023-11-29 | Project approved | |
| Nigeria | Phase 2 | USD 3,850,000 | USD 29,370,000 | UNIDO | Federal Ministry of Environment; Ministry of Mines and Steel Development; Basel Convention Coordinating Centre | CEO approval 2023-01-06 | Project approved | |
| Republic of the Congo | Phase 2 | USD 2,700,000 | USD 7,821,922 | UNEP | CASE (Centre Africain pour la Santé et l’Environnement) | CEO approval 2022-06-02 | Project approved | |
| Sierra Leone | Phase 2 | USD 2,703,750 | USD 15,546,671 | Conservation International | Environment Protection Agency, Sierra Leone (EPA-SL) | Project approved for implementation 2023-08-31 | Project approved | |
| Uganda | Phase 2 | USD 5,500,000 | USD 13,016,000 | UNEP | IMPACT | Project approved for implementation 2022-04-14 (concept 2020-09-07) | Project approved | |
| Zambia | Phase 2 | USD 2,703,750 | USD 22,356,864 | UNEP | Artisanal Gold Council (AGC), with the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) | Project approved for implementation 2023-12-05 (concept 2021-08-05) | Project approved | |
| Burkina Faso | Phase 1 | USD 2,000,000 | USD 7,310,819 | UNIDO | MEGECC; ANEEMAS; Artisanal Gold Council (AGC) | Project approved for implementation 2019-01-24 | Project approved | |
| Senegal | Phase 2 | USD 4,500,000 | USD 64,500,000 | UNEP | Artisanal Gold Council (AGC) | Project approved for implementation 2026-03-06 (concept 2024-11-19) | Project approved | |
| Indonesia | Phase 1 | USD 6,720,000 | USD 28,600,880 | UNDP | Government of Indonesia (ISMIA) | Project approved for implementation 2018-06-20 | Completed (project closed 2024-10-01) | |
| Mongolia & Philippines (regional) | Phase 1 | USD 11,700,000 (combined) | USD 48,208,145 (combined) | UNEP and UNIDO | Government (executing partner: Artisanal Gold Council) | CEO endorsement 2018-08-07 | Project approved | |
| Ecuador | Phase 2 | USD 4,000,000 | USD 33,200,176 | UNDP | Ministry of Environment and Water of Ecuador (today MAATE) | Project approved for implementation 2022-11-11 (concept 2021-08-11) | Project approved | |
| Bolivia | Phase 2 | USD 6,583,500 | USD 21,774,981 | UNIDO | Projekt-Consult GmbH | Project approved for implementation 2022-06-02 | Project approved | |
| Honduras | Phase 2 | USD 4,000,000 | USD 19,055,151 | UNDP | Secretaría de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente (SERNA / MIAMBIENTE+) | Project approved for implementation 2022-06-02 | Project approved | |
| Nicaragua | Phase 2 | USD 3,380,000 | USD 45,507,000 | UNIDO | UNIDO | Project approved for implementation 2022-12-13 (concept 2021-09-10) | Project approved | |
| Paraguay | Phase 2 | USD 3,000,000 | USD 25,204,000 | UNEP | Investigación para el Desarrollo (id) | CEO endorsement 2024-11-11 | Project approved | |
| Suriname | Phase 2 | USD 5,250,000 | USD 19,650,118 | UNDP | Ministry of Natural Resources | Project approved for implementation 2022-06-02 | Project approved | |
| Colombia | Phase 1 | USD 6,000,000 | USD 23,444,511 | UNDP | Ministry of Environment | Project approved for implementation 2018-05-17 (concept 2016-10-27) | Project approved | |
| Guyana | Phase 1 | USD 2,652,294 | USD 3,136,600 | Conservation International | Conservation International-Guyana; GGDMA; Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) | Project approved for implementation 2018-04-16 | Completed (project closed 2025-02-04) | |
| Peru | Phase 1 | USD 3,990,000 | USD 35,233,512 | UNDP | Not on the GEF page | Project approved for implementation 2018-05-02 | Project approved |
Values are shown as they appear on each thegef.org project page (in English), checked on the date stamped in each row. A GEF status label can lag programme reporting: several completed phase-1 pilots still read "Project approved" on the registry, and that is shown, not corrected. Figures are the registry’s own; nothing is averaged or restated.
Kenya (9708): Phase-1 GEF GOLD pilot (IMKA); GEF-page co-financing used over a divergent secondary UNDP ToR figure (USD 16,650,000).
Madagascar (10604): Distinct from GEF 9457 (Madagascar ASGM National Action Plan); not conflated.
Zambia (10837): Added to GOLD+ after the June-2020 batch (its ASGM mercury use had to be confirmed first); GEF-7 child, launched Nov 2024.
Burkina Faso (9718): Phase-1 GEF GOLD pilot (UNIDO-led), distinct from the later UNEP-led GOLD+ children.
Senegal (11586): Earlier programme prose listed Senegal as "under development"; the GEF page shows it CEO-endorsed 2026-03-06. Notably high co-financing.
Indonesia (9707): Phase-1 GEF GOLD pilot (ISMIA); GEF page co-financing used over a divergent secondary UNDP figure.
Mongolia & Philippines (regional) (9695): One regional GEF child (9695) covers BOTH Mongolia and Philippines; grant and co-financing are combined on the GEF page and are not split per country. The GEF status label lags secondary reports that both country projects have concluded.
Ecuador (10835): The 27th and last country pinned (2026-07-10) after two refuted candidates: planetGOLD’s own cited "GEF ID 9203" is the earlier UNDP national chemicals programme (UNDP PIMS 5706) through which Ecuador first appeared as a planetGOLD partner project, and 10852 is a cancelled agriculture project. Confirmed via the UNDP project document for award 00134908 (UNDP-GEF PIMS 6653, "GEF GOLD+ Ecuador") and the GEF page title "GEF GOLD+: Advancing formalization and mercury-free gold in Ecuador"; the GEF grant and co-financing match UNDP-reported figures exactly. UNDP operational dates 2023-12-11 to 2028-12-08.
Bolivia (10602): Distinct from GEF 10310 (Bolivia ASGM National Action Plan); not conflated.
Nicaragua (10847): GEF-7 GOLD+ child; UNIDO both implements and executes; publicly launched June 2024.
Suriname (10615): GEF page co-financing (USD 19,650,118) used over a higher secondary/press figure.
Colombia (9709): Phase-1 GEF GOLD pilot reported complete in programme materials; the GEF page status label remains "Project Approved".
Peru (9710): Phase-1 GEF GOLD pilot reported complete; the GEF page status label remains "Project Approved" and names no distinct national executing agency.
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.
These six are the flagship citations; the hub Library holds the other 28 of planetGOLD’s 34 curated key publications as individual records.
planetGOLD runs a large multilingual newsroom of 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 2026-07-07 (full corpus-completeness pass); per-country GEF records and the key-publications corpus updated 2026-07-10. Figures are the programme’s own (self-reported) unless otherwise attributed; the Phase-2 GEF figures are corrected against the June 2020 GEF Council primary document (GEF/C.58/04/Rev.01) and per-country projects against the GEF project database.
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.