Sec. 4. Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy
1,313 words·~6 min read·
/bill/117/s/5109/is/section-4A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall develop a comprehensive, multi-year strategy, which shall be known as the Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy (referred to in this section as the Strategy ), to combat illicit gold mining in the Western Hemisphere. The Strategy shall include policies, programs, and initiatives— to interrupt the linkages between ASM and illicit actors that profit from ASM in the Western Hemisphere; to deter ASM in environmentally protected areas, such as national parks and conservation zones, to prevent mining-related contamination of critical natural resources, such as water resources, soil, tropical forests, and other flora and fauna, and aerosol contamination linked to detrimental health impacts; to counter the financing and enrichment of actors involved in the illicit mining, trafficking, and commercialization of gold, and the abetting of their activities by— promoting the exercise of due diligence and the use of responsible sourcing methods in the purchase and trade of ASM; preventing and prohibiting foreign persons who control commodity trading chains linked to illicit actors from enjoying the benefits of access to the territory, markets or financial system of the United States, and halting any such ongoing activity by such foreign persons; and supporting the capacity of financial intelligence units, customs agencies, and other government institutions focused on anti-money laundering initiatives and combating the financing of criminal activities and terrorism to exercise oversight consistent with the threats posed by illicit gold mining; to build the capacity of foreign civilian law enforcement institutions in the Western Hemisphere to effectively counter— linkages between illicit gold mining, illicit actors, money laundering, and other financial crimes, including trade-based money laundering; linkages between illicit gold mining, illicit actors, trafficking in persons, and forced or coerced labor, including sex work and child labor; the cross-border trafficking of illicit gold, and the mercury, cyanide, explosives, and other hazardous materials used in illicit gold mining; and surveillance and investigation of illicit and related activities that are related to or are indicators of illicit gold mining activities; to ensure the successful implementation of the existing Memoranda of Understanding signed with the Governments of Peru and of Colombia in 2017 and 2018, respectively, to expand bilateral cooperation to combat illicit gold mining; to work with governments in the Western Hemisphere, bolster the effectiveness of anti-money laundering efforts to combat the financing of illicit actors in Latin America and the Caribbean and counter the laundering of proceeds related to illicit gold mining by— fostering international and regional cooperation and facilitating intelligence sharing, as appropriate, to identify and disrupt financial flows related to the illicit gold mining, trafficking, and commercialization of gold and other minerals and illicit metals; and supporting the formulation of strategies to ensure the compliance of reporting institutions involved in the mining sector and to promote transparency in mining-sector transactions; to support foreign government efforts— to increase regulations of the ASM sector; to facilitate licensing and formalization processes for ASM miners; to create and implement environmental safeguards to reduce the negative environmental impact of mining on sensitive ecosystems; and to develop mechanisms to support regulated cultural artisanal mining and artisanal mining as a job growth area; to engage the mining industry to encourage the building of technical expertise in best practices, environmental safeguards, and access to new technologies; to support the establishment of gold commodity supply chain due diligence, responsible sourcing, tracing and tracking capacities, and standards-compliant commodity certification systems in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including efforts recommended in the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High Risk Areas, Third Edition (2016); to reduce the negative environmental impacts of ASM, particularly— the use of mercury in preliminary refining; the destruction of tropical forests; the construction of illegal and unregulated dams and the resulting valley floods; the pollution of water resources and soil; and the release of dust, which can contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals that can cause severe health problems; to aid and encourage ASM miners— to formalize their business activities, including through skills training, technical and business assistance, and access to financing, loans, and credit; to utilize environmentally safe and sustainable mining practices, including by scaling up the use of mercury-free gold refining technologies, and mining methods and technologies that do not result in deforestation, forest destruction, air pollution, water and soil-contamination, and other negative environmental impacts associated with ASM; to reduce the costs associated with formalization and compliance with mining regulations; to fully break away from the influence of illicit actors who leverage the control of territory and use violence to extort miners and push them into illicit arrangements; to adopt and utilize environmentally safe and sustainable mining practices, including— mercury-free gold refining technologies; and extractive techniques that do not result in— forest clearance and water contamination; or the release of dust or uncontrolled tailings containing toxic chemicals; to pursue alternative livelihoods outside the mining sector; and to fully access public social services in ASM-dependent communities; to support and encourage socioeconomic development programs, law enforcement capacity-building programs, and support for relevant international initiatives, including by providing assistance to achieve such ends by implementing the Strategy; and to promote responsible sourcing and due diligence at all levels of gold supply chains.
The Strategy shall include an assessment of the challenges posed by, and policy recommendations to address— linkages between ASM sector production and trade, particularly relating to gold, to the activities of illicit actors, including linkages that help to finance or enrich such illicit actors or abet their activities; linkages between illicit or grey market trade, and markets in gold and other metals or minerals and legal trade and commerce in such commodities, notably with respect to activities that abet the entry of such commodities into legal commerce, including— illicit cross-border trafficking, including with respect to goods, persons and illegal narcotics; money-laundering; the financing of illicit actors or their activities; and the extralegal entry into the United States of— metals or minerals, whether of legal foreign origin or not; and the proceeds of such metals or minerals; linkages between the illicit mining, trafficking, and commercialization of gold, diamonds, and precious metals and stones, and the financial and political activities of the regime of Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela; factors that— produce linkages between ASM miners and illicit actors, prompting some ASM miners to utilize mining practices that are environmentally damaging and unsustainable, notably mining or related ore processing practices that— involve the use of elemental mercury; or result in labor, health, environmental, and safety code infractions and workplace hazards; and lead some ASM miners to operate in the extralegal or poorly regulated informal sector, and often prevent such miners from improving the socioeconomic status of themselves and their families and communities, or hinder their ability to formalize their operations, enhance their technical and business capacities, and access finance of fair market prices for their output; mining-related trafficking in persons and forced or coerced labor, including sex work and child labor; and the use of elemental mercury and cyanide in ASM operations, including the technical aims and scope of such usage and its impact on human health and the environment, including flora, fauna, water resources, soil, and air quality.
The Strategy shall describe— existing foreign assistance programs that address elements of the Strategy; and additional foreign assistance resources needed to fully implement the Strategy. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit the Strategy to the appropriate congressional committees. Not later than 180 days after submission of the Strategy, and semiannually thereafter for the following 3 years, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary’s designee, shall provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees regarding the implementation of the strategy, including efforts to leverage international support and develop a public-private partnership to build responsible gold value chains with other governments.