GREEN GOLD

It is coming up to London Fashion Week again [this time next month] and I'm reminded of what was happening last year. I was totally into the Green Gold campaigning that Katharine was working with then. So just FYI here is some news about ethical gold mining from back in the day:


This is 70g of pure ore. Not mixed with anything. Before it becomes carat gold.

In a nutshell - one "normal" gold wedding ring produces 3 tonnes of toxic waste. Effectively, a mining company will blow up a mountain, crush it so it doesn't exist any more - and then pour cyanide and mercury over the rubble to draw out the gold. Then the toxic chemicals are stored in reservoirs (which can leak), or dumped in rivers, lakes or the sea. Happy Valentines Day babes. For me it raises the question - if one wedding ring makes three tonnes, how much toxic waste did Big Daddy Kane's ropes make? Or Nelly and his diamond grills?!



Of course, like in most cases there is an alternative and working in the Katharine Hamnett office we are always helpiing KH look for that alternative. A UK jewellery company Cred produce ethical gold and diamond jewellery. Cred work with an organisation called Green Gold who are a fair trade miner's co-operative in Medellin, Colombia. Green Gold locally manage mines that use no toxic chemicals, incorporate reforestation, limit waste and obtain legal approval for proposed mines. The miners have reverted to Mayan and Aztec mining techniques to collect the gold and each mine must fulfill the following criteria:
1. There should be no massive ecological destruction. This state being defined by changes to an ecosystem that places it beyond a possibility of recovery.
2. There should be no toxic chemicals used in the extraction process.
3. The mined areas should gain ecological stability within three years.
4. Top soil removed from the site should be replaced during the exploitation process.
5. Tailings and poolings must not exceed the local ecosystem capacity for rehabilitation.
6. The silt load into stream river or lake system will be controlled in quantity and frequency so that the native aquatic ecosystem is not disrupted.
7. The mining operations must be conducted with the agreement of the local community council.
8. The origin of gold and platinum (for royalty purposes) must be declared in favor of the respective municipality.
9. In forested areas mining activities must not exceed 10% of a hectare during rational periods of two years.
10. Local, regional and national regulations must be followed.
Biodiversity indicators will be established during the process in the intervened ecosystem. This last part means that they check the fish and insects around the mine - if these creatures are still alive then the mine is doing okay. A bit like taking a canary down a coal mine.

Otherwise here are some links to find out more about the project:

www.greengold-oroverde.org the Columbian mining organisation Green Gold.
but this is the best page from Green Gold - it has pictures of the hand tools the miners use, what the mines look like and like charts of how they do each step. Kind of a DIY instruction on how to mine gold in Columbia.

And finally - here are some really gross pictures of cyanide mining here from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website.