FCA member since March 2024
The Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) is a leading not-for-profit global expert on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) launched in Colombia in 2004 to transform the ASM sector into a socially and environmentally responsible activity, improving the quality of life of miners, their families and communities. Our mission is to facilitate the empowerment of ASM miners, their organization and the adoption of good practices, promoting a favorable policy environment for their inclusion in the formal economy. ARM pioneered voluntary standard systems for responsible ASM production and trade. We support multi-stakeholder dialogues for risk mitigations and bottom-up decision-making.
Cobalt is a mineral of strategic importance for the energy transition., mainly produced by ASMOs in DRC. As an organization, we strongly believe that engaging with legitimate cobalt ASM and using economic and political leverage to improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of artisanal extraction is mandatory to bring positive changes within the sector. ARM engages with stakeholders throughout the ASM supply chain, advocating for transparency, fair labour practices, and environmental sustainability. We believe that shared responsibilities along the cobalt value chain and the involvement of the government and industry players are essential for the sustainability of its professionalisation and formalization process.
In 2018 ARM and Resolve developed the CRAFT Code, an open-source standard, that facilitates the understanding and addressing of the risks and processes of the OECD due diligence guidance in the context of ASM, ultimately enabling legitimate and formal supply chains. Over the last five years of implementing the Craft Code with different minerals and in diverse contexts (including the DRC), we have gained experience and created methodologies that can add value to the processes that artisanal cobalt miners are driving forward.
ARM is convinced that a just energy transition is a huge opportunity for integrating and transforming the ASM sector, bringing more sustainable development to local communities. To unleash this potential, the narrative must change from risk to a tremendous opportunity. We believe that a multi-stakeholder partnership such as the FCA, can contribute to this goal. We are bringing 20 years of experience with ASM formalization, professionalization and market engagement, and hope to be part of the innovation and actions to promote artisanal cobalt mining with decent working conditions, integrated into global supply chains and with the communities reaping the benefits.
Marcin Piersiak
Executive Director Europe
[email protected]