planetGOLD Mongolia project

The planetGOLD project, funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), seeks to contribute to  the elimination of mercury in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector through the  provision of support for the government to develop and implement policies to enhance formalization  of the ASGM sector, facilitate miners’ access to formal gold markets and capital to purchase mercury free processing equipment as well as to introduce responsible mining, gender and environmental  practices in targeted ASGM areas. Artisanal miners will get access to mercury-free processing technologies that are appropriate to the needs and conditions of the target mining sites.  

The project aims to implement the following four components until the end of 2023:

I.                    Review of the policy and legal frameworks supporting formalization of the ASGM sector; 

II.                  Introduction of financing schemes allowing miners to adopt and subsequently invest in mercury-free technologies and access international gold markets more directly; 

III.               Upscale mercury-free gold processing technologies in the selected mining sites; and 

IV.                Dissemination of information and knowledge created under the planetGOLD programme.  

At the end, the project is expected to achieve (i) an increased formalization of the ASGM sector, (ii) improved access to responsible gold markets by miners, (iii) reduced mercury releases by the ASGM sector, and (iv) increased information dissemination globally.