Conflict Minerals: Pioneering Canadian System Ensures Conflict-Free Gold

Jun 25, 2017 | Geoffrey York, Globe and Mail
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About 15 per cent of the world’s gold supply is provided by the 30 million workers in the small-scale and artisanal mining industry. But these miners are routinely exploited and vulnerable, unable to get a fair price for their products, which are often labelled as conflict minerals because they originate in countries such as Congo where armed militias and corrupt soldiers are rampant. In eastern Congo, a stunning 98 per cent of the small-scale gold is smuggled out of the country without any taxes paid, according to United Nations estimates.