Signet Offers First 'Conflict-Free' DRC Gold

RAPAPORT... The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has exportedconflict-free artisanal gold to the US jewelry market for the first time,according to groups involved in the project. The metal from the South Kivu province has gone on sale atcertain Signet Jewelers retail chains, the Responsible Artisanal Gold SolutionsForum (RAGSF) said last week. RAGSF and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) worked with several American companies toestablish a legitimate supply chain, according to the organizations. Fair Congo, the artisanal-gold export office in the DRC, shipped the metal, withAsahi Refining processing it in the US, before Richline Group manufactured itinto gold earrings. Signet then sold the finished products through brandsincluding Kay Jewelers and Zales. "We are proud to be contributing to the establishment of due-diligencesystems to support a documented, tracked and traceable process for artisanalgold from the DRC," Mark Hanna, chief marketing officer of Richline Group, saidlast week. "This first completed proof of concept is evidence of the potentialfor scalability." Currently, more than 95% of artisanal gold in the DRC comesfrom illegal mining, and is smuggled out of the country, contributing to theongoing conflict in the country, according to RAGSF. The pilot is the firststep to exporting responsibly sourced gold from the DRC that conforms to internationaldue-diligence standards, it added. "We aim to support the continuous improvement in theintegrity of the global jewelry supply chain," said David Bouffard, Signet'svice president of corporate affairs. "We look forward to responsibly sourced artisanalgold from the DRC becoming part of the mainstream gold supply chain." Image: An artisanal miner panning for gold. (Shutterstock)