An opportunity, not a threat

Letter to the Editor

Your editorial (“Intelligent approaches to mining ethics,” T.N.M. March 10-16/2006) makes a number of incorrect statements about the No Dirty Gold campaign.

The campaign is not a consumer boycott on gold. We are working to educate consumers about gold mining’s impacts, build consumer and retailer support for mining industry reform, and create an independent, third-party system to verify that gold comes from a responsible source. This is far from a boycott.

Mining can, and should, be done in a responsible way. Our agenda for reform is guided by international human rights, environmental, and social standards and criteria known as the Golden Rules. These include the free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities; protecting parks and natural reserves from mining; and not dumping mine waste into oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams. These reforms are not just supported by environmental and human rights advocates. Last October, a joint effort by civil society, retailers, investors, insurers, and technical experts working in the minerals sector resulted in a working document called the Framework for Responsible Mining, which explores state-of-the-art social and environmental improvements in the mining industry.

The No Dirty Gold campaign is solutions-oriented, and we see the Framework as serving as a catalyst for a multi-sector dialogue that would lead to the adoption of principles, standards and criteria for more responsible mining. Dig deeper and you might find an opportunity rather than a threat.

Radhika Sarin

International Campaign Co-ordinator, Earthworks

and Keith Slack

Senior Policy Advisor

Oxfam America, Washington, D.C.