Gold Hub · Library

The evidence base.

The key reports, investigations, studies and standards on responsible gold, grouped by type and linked to the source document. Filter by type, search by title or author.

Showing 40 of 40 documents
Investigations·WGC / Raab·2024

Silence is Golden

Report on illicit ASGM gold and conflict finance, published 18 November 2024. Its headline number is Swissaid’s 435 t (about US$30.7bn) smuggled out of Africa in 2022; a much larger smuggling figure widely attributed to this report does not appear in it.

Investigations·Swissaid·2024

On the trail of African gold

Flagship trade-gap study: 321-474 t/yr of undeclared African ASM gold, 435 t smuggled out in 2022 (about US$30.7bn), 80-85% of it to the UAE.

Investigations·Swissaid·2025

African Gold Report

Rolling country pages published from May 2025; documents Sudan-UAE routes, including 29 t direct in 2024.

Investigations·GI-TOC·2026

Commodity, currency, crime

Published 8 June 2026: frames illicit gold as a conflict-finance backbone, with Sudan, the Sahel and the DRC among the highest-risk settings, and calls for mandatory due diligence.

Research & analysis·Chatham House·2025

Gold and the war in Sudan

March 2025 analysis of the wartime gold-trade ecosystem in Sudan, with the UAE as principal outlet.

Standards & guidance·OECD·2016

Gold Supplement to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance

The gold supplement to the Due Diligence Guidance (3rd edition, 2016): the global baseline, binding only where a regulator or market standard hard-wires it.

Government & institutions·Delve / World Bank·2023

2023 State of the ASM Sector

The latest edition of the sector-wide ASM report series (2019, 2020, 2023), on an irregular cadence.

Market & industry·LBMA·2026

Supporting Pathways for Responsible ASM

Published 17 June 2026 by LBMA’s ASM Initiative, which pairs the Toolkit v6 progressive-improvement approach with country work in Peru, Ghana, the Philippines and Colombia.

Market & industry·LBMA·2025

Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing Report 2025

Carries the latest published aggregate country-of-origin data (2023 data), on an annual cadence.

Market & industry·Swiss Better Gold·2026

Impact Report 2025

Published 21 April 2026: 5,335 kg exported in 2025, 27 Step 2/3 mines, 11 in Step 1, 10 mines suspended, and the USD 1.35/g premium structure (per SBG, unaudited).

Market & industry·World Gold Council·2026

Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey 2026

Published 16 June 2026: a record 76 central banks surveyed; 89% expect global gold reserves to rise, a record 45% their own.

ASM & communities·IMPACT·2021

Just Gold lessons

Lessons from the 2012-2020 DRC pilot that built the first traceable conflict-free artisanal gold chain from eastern DRC; it concluded there is "no viable future" without major market shifts.

Research & analysis·planetGOLD·2024

Improving Access to Formal Finance in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining

Issue brief reviewing past experience delivering financial and allied services to the ASGM sector, the barriers that keep formal finance out, and recommended interventions for governments, donors and allies. First published 2020, updated 2024 (per planetGOLD).

Standards & guidance·planetGOLD / Artisanal Gold Council·2024

ASGM Financial Training Curriculum

Financial training curriculum with an instructor’s guidebook and presentation modules, built to develop business infrastructure, financial literacy and planning skills so artisanal miners can secure loans and attract investors. Available in English, French and Spanish.

Standards & guidance·planetGOLD / Artisanal Gold Council·2024

ASGM Investor Introductory Course

Teaching notes and presentation introducing the ASGM sector to prospective financiers and investors, covering socially responsible investing and supply chains, designed to be adapted to specific investor audiences.

Standards & guidance·planetGOLD·2025

Engaging with ASGM: A Short Guide for Commercial Banks

Short guide for commercial banking representatives considering engagement with ASGM: an overview of the sector and its financing needs, business opportunities, ways to de-risk the sector, and further resources.

Standards & guidance·planetGOLD / The Impact Facility·2024

planetGOLD Financial Inclusion Information Exchanges

Meeting summaries and recordings from virtual information-exchange sessions on financial inclusion in the ASGM sector, run in English, French and Spanish by The Impact Facility with planetGOLD.

Standards & guidance·planetGOLD / Artisanal Gold Council·2024

A Business Plan Template and "How to Guide"

Business plan template and practical guide for ASGM businesses, covering three business structures (sole proprietorship, partnership or small business, corporation) and the elements needed to compile a plan for financing applications.

Research & analysis·planetGOLD Colombia·2023

Summary Report: planetGOLD Colombia Technology Transfer Interventions

Summary report documenting the clean-technology transfer activities and mercury-free processing strategies implemented under the planetGOLD Colombia project (programme self-reported).

Research & analysis·planetGOLD Guyana·2024

Summary Report: planetGOLD Guyana Technology Transfer Interventions

Summary report on technology transfer under the planetGOLD Guyana project: demonstrations of prospecting and exploration technologies and the establishment of mercury-free demonstration sites (programme self-reported).

Research & analysis·planetGOLD / Levin Sources·2024

Documenting planetGOLD programme experiences with ASGM supply chain mechanisms

Levin Sources study of how the supply-chain mechanisms used across planetGOLD’s first-phase country projects address market-access barriers for artisanal miners, drawing lessons for future formalisation initiatives.

Research & analysis·planetGOLD / The Impact Facility·2022

Overcoming Practical Barriers for Integrating Responsible ASM Gold into International Supply Chains

Study by The Impact Facility of the obstacles keeping responsibly mined ASM gold out of mainstream international supply chains, written to inform funders, leaders and managers of ASGM market-access initiatives.

Standards & guidance·planetGOLD·2023

Agreements and Engagement with Rightsholders in ASGM

Guidance on agreements and engagement with rightsholders in ASGM, centred on consultation for free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) with Indigenous or tribal communities whose rights or lands may be affected, as required under the planetGOLD Criteria.

Market & industry·planetGOLD·2022

Supply Chain Technology Solutions for planetGOLD Projects

Report on supply-chain technologies (due-diligence systems, traceability solutions, blockchain) that can help ASGM producers meet formal market standards and connect with responsible gold buyers. Cites ASGM at roughly 20% of newly mined gold supply (per planetGOLD, self-reported).