Refiner due-diligence standards, mining standards, registers and market rules, each source-rated and stamped. The Schemes Compared matrix states only what the July 2026 crawl documented.
No living, neutral comparison of gold assurance schemes exists anywhere; the newest published comparison is a 2022 academic paper. The matrix below rebuilds one from primary sources. Where the crawl found nothing for a cell, the cell says so rather than guessing.
| Scheme | Who it covers | What it audits | Current version | Revision status | OECD alignment | EU CMR recognition | Gold-specific reach | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance | All gold Good Delivery refiners (mandatory) | Refiner supply-chain due diligence, OECD five-step aligned | v9 (Nov 2021, applies from FY2022) | v10 public consultation launched at the June 2026 LBMA summit (ASM Toolkit integration, recycled-gold definition, extended disclosures) | OECD five-step aligned | EC 2025 assessment: 89% on Section A, full on B and C, "partially aligned"; reapplication anticipated by summer 2026 | 66 gold refiners on the Good Delivery List (checked 2026-07) | Source |
| RMI RMAP (gold) | Gold refiners (RMAP-audited facilities) | Third-party refiner audits against the RMAP Gold Standard | Released 2017-12-18; minor revision 2023-01-07 | 2023 minor revision is current; no open revision documented in this crawl | Not documented in this crawl | First and only scheme recognised (Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2071, adopted 2025-10-16); covers RMAP-audited facilities only | 94 conformant gold refiners (37 RMAP-audited + 57 cross-recognised), 3 pending (registry, 2026-07-02) | Source |
| WGC RGMPs (→ CMSI) | WGC member mining companies (LSM); conformance mandatory | Annual ISAE 3000-type external assurance | Launched Sep 2019; no standalone revision | Being superseded by the CMSI Consolidated Standard, still not launched as of 2026-07-03 (H1 2026 target passed; Final Consultation Report 2026-03-12) | Not documented in this crawl | Not documented in this crawl | Mandatory across WGC membership; CMSI anticipates ~100 companies and ~600 operations | Source |
| IRMA | Mine sites, all minerals (ESG, 400+ requirements) | Independent mine-site audits with achievement levels Transparency/50/75/100; Chain of Custody Standard v1.0 approved Sep 2024 | v1.0 (2018); ISEAL Code Compliant 2026-02-16 | v2.0 draft 2 consultation closed 2025-10-22 (82 organisations); approval pending | Not documented in this crawl | Not documented in this crawl | Zero primary gold mines audited or in audit (2026-07-02); gold is by-product only at PGM sites, so IRMA is a benchmark and CoC framework, not certified gold supply | Source |
| RJC COP / CoC | Jewellery-chain companies; ~2,000 members, ~1,644 certified (per RJC live directory; ~1,396 COP + 390 COC certified at year-end 2024, APR 2025, unaudited) | Gold refiner audits mutually recognised with LBMA and RMI under the cross-recognition policy | COP 2024 + CoC 2024, both published 2024-12-10, effective 2025-01-01 | 2024 editions current (CoC updated recycled definitions); no open revision documented in this crawl | Not documented in this crawl | Not recognised; RMAP is the only scheme recognised as of 2026-07 | CoC-certified refiners feed the RMI cross-recognition channel (57 refiners cross-recognised via LBMA/RJC) | Source |
| Fairmined | ASM mining organisations (certification) | Certification of ASM mining organisations | v2.0 (2014-04-05), in force | 3.0 revision documented 2021-2023, dormant since (no 2025-26 activity) | Not documented in this crawl | Not documented in this crawl | Certified organisations: 5 (live directory, 2026-07-02) to 11 (2024 impact report), homepage says 8; 74.12 kg sold in 2024, 428 licensees in 34 countries (per scheme, unaudited); premium USD 4,000/kg (+2,000 ecological) | Source |
| Fairtrade Gold | Artisanal mining organisations (ASMOs), Peru-concentrated | Certification of artisanal mining organisations | Standard 2013 (amended 2015), valid to 2027-06-30 | Revised standard published, valid from 2027-07-01 | Not documented in this crawl | Not documented in this crawl | 1,283 kg exported on Fairtrade terms in 2024 (per Fairtrade); no public current ASMO count; premium USD 2,000/kg at a 95% LBMA minimum price | Source |
| CRAFT Code | ASM producers plus aggregators, traders and processors (v2.1 scope) | Not a certification: an open-source market-entry code with CRAFT-UA upstream assurance | v2.1 launched 2024-10-21 (full PDF Nov 2024) | v2.1 is current; no open revision documented in this crawl | OECD-aligned baseline for ASM market entry | Not documented in this crawl | Used or referenced by planetGOLD, the LBMA ASM work, Swiss Better Gold and Solidaridad | Source |
| Swiss Better Gold | ASM mines on an escalator model plus member companies (30 members) | Escalator model against 27 sourcing criteria; 10 mines suspended in 2025 (per SBG) | Member-led association since 2025-07-01 (SECO PPP ended) | SECO successor programme 2025-2029 (CHF 5.87M) | Not documented in this crawl | Not documented in this crawl | 2025: 5,335 kg exported, 27 Step 2/3 mines, 11 in Step 1 (per SBG Impact Report 2025, unaudited); premium USD 1.35/g | Source |
Compiled from the July 2026 crawl; cells state what the crawl documented.
Refiner due-diligence standard, mandatory for all gold Good Delivery refiners and aligned to the OECD five-step framework; a v10 public consultation launched at the June 2026 LBMA summit. The EC’s 2025 Conflict Minerals Regulation assessment scored it 89% on Section A (full on B and C, "partially aligned"), with reapplication anticipated by summer 2026.
Transparency rules published December 2025 after a June-September 2025 consultation, effective 2026-01-01, two years early. Comply-or-explain disclosure of red-flag-location counterparties, WGC member mine suppliers, and all source countries.
Refiner audit standard released 2017-12-18, minor revision 2023-01-07. The first and only scheme recognised under the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation (Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2071, adopted 2025-10-16); recognition covers RMAP-audited facilities only, not cross-recognised ones.
LSM mining standard launched September 2019; conformance is mandatory for WGC members, with annual ISAE 3000-type external assurance. Being superseded by the CMSI Consolidated Mining Standard; no standalone revision.
Merger of four standards into one Consolidated Standard (24 performance areas; ~100 companies and ~600 operations anticipated). Final Consultation Report published 2026-03-12, still not launched as of 2026-07-03 (the H1 2026 target passed); a civil-society coalition (Public Citizen, Earthworks, NRGI, Oxfam and others) argues the standard is too weak, and CMSI has published responses.
Structure and timeline well corroborated; adequacy contested, both sides attributed
Mine-site ESG standard (400+ requirements, achievement levels Transparency/50/75/100); v2.0 draft 2 consultation closed 2025-10-22 with approval pending, Chain of Custody Standard v1.0 approved September 2024, ISEAL Code Compliant 2026-02-16. Zero primary gold mines audited or in audit as of 2026-07-02: gold appears only as a by-product at PGM sites, so for gold buyers IRMA is a benchmark and CoC framework, not certified supply.
Registry-checked 2026-07-02
Legacy standard from October 2012 that operationalises the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for conflict-affected areas; still referenced by WGC.
66 gold refiners (checked 2026-07); entry requires at least 5 years of operation, 10 t/yr, GBP 15m net worth and Responsible Sourcing compliance. The Rules 2026 edition took effect 2026-01-01; the last gold addition was Shenzhen Yuexin (effective 2024-12-19, per the GDL Newsletter of April 2025).
94 conformant gold refiners: 37 RMAP-audited plus 57 cross-recognised via LBMA and RJC; 3 active (pending), all in Peru, and 2 flagged crude-gold refiners (counted from the live database on 2026-07-02).
Primary registry, directly observed 2026-07-02
Mutual-recognition agreement covering gold refiner audits, with annual origin-data exchange and grievance coordination. First announced in 2012, realigned to the OECD framework in 2017; policy v2 dates from September 2018.
Jewellery-chain standards, both published 2024-12-10 and effective 2025-01-01 (the CoC updated its recycled definitions); around 2,000 member companies at its 2025 20th anniversary (RJC’s own figure, unaudited), of which about 1,644 are certified on the live member directory (roughly 1,396 COP-certified plus 390 COC-certified at year-end 2024, per the 2025 Annual Progress Report) — certified members are materially fewer than total members. An industry-only board; in April 2026 eight NGOs (HRW, IMPACT, Swissaid, The Sentry and others) publicly urged RJC to match LBMA DG3 transparency.
Membership figure per RJC, unaudited; governance adequacy contested
DMCC Rules for Risk Based Due Diligence, Version 2 (2020) (superseding v1.0 2016 and v1.1 2017; the v2/2020 date read from the rules PDF cover); the DGD list counts around 10 gold members including 3 UAE refineries (LBMA Spotlight on the UAE, undated chapter), and the standard is being folded into UAE Good Delivery. A 2016 OECD assessment found the programme not aligned (2018 re-assessment: most programmes in or close to alignment on standards, implementation gaps remain); Kaloti was removed from DGD in 2015.
Strong for history; DGD membership count from an undated LBMA chapter
IFSCA Good Delivery Guidelines 2025: a consultation for IIBX delivery with responsible-sourcing and CAHRA criteria. The consultation closed 2025-12-31; finalisation unconfirmed as of 2026-07.