Data sources, organisations and experts
Where the evidence comes from and who produces it: the datasets you can use, the organisations, funders and industry bodies that build and pay for the record, the networks that connect the field, and the researchers who study it. Filter by type, search by name, follow the links.
ASM data is a patchwork held together by a handful of institutions. This directory lists the datasets you can actually use, the organisations and funders that build and pay for the evidence, the industry bodies shaping demand-side rules, the networks and miner associations that connect the field, and the experts, institutes and publications that study it.
For the documents these sources publish, see the resource library; for the programmes they run, see initiatives; for the rules they work within, see regulation and standards. Each card carries a corroboration rating and links out to the source. Last reviewed July 2026.
206 entries
Delve database
The primary public ASM platform: country profiles, production and employment data, and a large resource library. This hub is built in tribute to it.
IGF "Global Trends in ASM"
The canonical longitudinal estimate of ASM workforce growth and the source behind most headline numbers.
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries
Annual world production, reserves and trends for cobalt, gold, tin, tantalum, diamonds and more. Free and authoritative.
IPIS Open Data (eastern DRC)
Field-mapped artisanal sites with mineral, mercury, worker, women, child-labour, armed-actor and traceability variables.
UN Comtrade
HS-level import/export flows for tracing mineral trade; the standard source, with known under-reporting for conflict minerals.
Amazon Mining Watch
AI-mapped mining deforestation across all nine Amazon countries; most of it artisanal gold.
USGS Copperbelt ASM database
Open geospatial database classifying copper-cobalt mines as artisanal, small or large, 2016–2023.
RMI facilities lists
The de-facto registry of audited downstream control points for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold.
planetGOLD country data
ASGM mercury baselines, project data and resources across the programme’s countries.
National mining cadastres
Public spatial title/permit portals that map artisanal zones and small-scale licences in several countries.
World Bank EGPS
Finances ASM formalisation, women-in-ASM work and the Delve database across dozens of countries.
Pact (Mines to Markets)
Runs ASM formalisation, traceability and health-and-safety programmes worldwide; co-builder of Delve.
IGF (hosted by IISD)
Intergovernmental forum issuing ASM guidance for governments under the Mining Policy Framework.
Alliance for Responsible Mining
Pioneer of responsible ASM; owns Fairmined and co-developed the CRAFT Code.
IMPACT
Conflict-minerals and diamonds NGO and ICGLR technical partner in the Great Lakes.
IPIS
Maps conflict and artisanal mining in eastern DRC; the reference field-data source for the Great Lakes.
BGR
Developed analytical "fingerprinting" of 3T minerals and field studies of artisanal cobalt.
planetGOLD (UNEP/UNIDO/GEF)
The flagship programme cutting mercury from artisanal gold mining under the Minamata Convention.
RESOLVE / PPA / DDI
Hosts the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade and the Maendeleo artisanal-diamond standards.
Responsible Minerals Initiative
Industry initiative running RMAP smelter audits and reporting templates for 3TG, cobalt and mica.
European Partnership for Responsible Minerals
EU multi-stakeholder partnership supporting ASM in conflict-affected areas and downstream due diligence.
Swiss Better Gold Association
Refiners, banks and brands building responsible ASGM gold supply chains to Switzerland.
Artisanal Gold Council
Specialists in mercury-free ASGM processing, National Action Plans and gold supply chains.
LBMA + World Gold Council
The bullion market’s refiner due-diligence and the gold industry’s body, both engaging ASGM market access.
Levin Sources
Responsible-sourcing and ASM advisory; co-authored the ASM-PACE protected-areas studies.
GOXI
Knowledge-sharing community for extractive-industry governance, hosting ASM dialogues.
IC-ASM conference
The global ASM-and-quarrying conference series and its standing council.
Prof. Gavin Hilson, Surrey
Leading authority on ASM formalisation; editor of The Extractive Industries and Society.
Prof. Saleem Ali, Delaware
Directs the Minerals, Materials & Society programme; lead author of "Mapping ASM to the SDGs".
CIRDI
A UBC/SFU/Polytechnique institute with a dedicated "Transforming ASM" focus.
World Map of ASM (artisanalmining.org Inventory)
86 countries with quantified ASM population; ~49.5M direct participants
EITI Summary Data and Open Data portal
55 countries; revenue, production, licensing; some ASM disclosures
Zambia EITI Online Fusion portal
Zambia mineral production, exports, revenue, licences
Minamata ASGM National Action Plans repository
Party-submitted NAPs with mercury-use and miner-population baselines
ILOSTAT
Employment in mining and quarrying + informality by country/sex
Kimberley Process Rough Diamond Statistics
Production, import, export, certificates 2004-2025
UNODC-SIMCI EVOA monitoring (Colombia alluvial gold)
Remote-sensing census of alluvial gold exploitation; 94,733 ha (2022)
MapBiomas Mining (garimpo annual maps)
Garimpo vs industrial classes, annual 1985-present; Collection 10
Amazonia Minada
Daily-updated ANM mining-request records overlapping indigenous lands
RAISG illegal mining map of the Amazon
2,312 illegal mining sites across six Amazon countries
MAAP (Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program)
Near-real-time gold-mining deforestation reports across the Amazon
RAMI (Radar Mining Monitoring tool)
Sentinel-1 radar mining alerts, Peruvian Amazon, ~15-day cadence
CERSGIS Small-Scale Mining Portal (Ghana galamsey)
Annual galamsey footprint maps + crowdsourced reports
Swiss-Impex (Swiss foreign trade statistics, gold)
Monthly gold imports/exports by partner; mined vs refined since 2021
SWISSAID African Gold Report
Africa-wide production/export/import reconciliation; 17 country profiles
BACI international trade database
Reconciled HS6 bilateral trade flows 1995-2024
resourcetrade.earth
Bilateral resource-trade visualisation incl. metals, gems
BGS World Mineral Statistics
70+ commodities by country, 1913-present; open downloads
World Mining Data
168 countries, 65 commodities; annual
USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS)
Global deposits/occurrences; archived (updates ceased 2011)
USGS geospatial compilation, mineral industries of Africa
54 African countries; facilities, deposits, infrastructure
ITSCI mineral tonnage data
Tagged 3T production/export tonnages from ~3,000 sites; disputed
ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism portal
Certificate verification + regional 3TG tracking database
Fairmined certified mining organizations directory
Colombia and Peru certified ASM org profiles + audit summaries
Global-scale mining polygons v2 (Maus et al.)
44,929 polygons, 101,583 km2 mining land use incl. ASM
Global mining footprint polygons (Tang & Werner)
74,548 fine-contour polygons, ~66,000 km2
SmallMinesDS (ASM mapping dataset, Ghana)
8,540 Sentinel-1/2 patches with mining masks, SW Ghana
Congo Mines document and data portal
2,367+ DRC mining reports, company data, maps
ResourceContracts.org
3,343 mining/petroleum contracts, 107 countries
ACLED DRC dataset (incl. Kivu Security Tracker archive)
Georeferenced eastern-DRC conflict events near mining zones
Interactive map of copper-cobalt production in DR Congo
Industrial + field-verified artisanal cobalt sites
IPIS maps and open data beyond eastern DRC
CAR, Tanzania (450+ sites), Zimbabwe ASM site mappings
Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Largest multilateral funder of ASGM mercury reduction; finances planetGOLD and Minamata NAPs
SECO (Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs)
Swiss government funder of the Better Gold Initiative for ASM
SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation)
Funded Mongolia's long-running Sustainable Artisanal Mining project
US Department of Labor ILAB
Funds child-labour elimination projects in ASM (COTECCO, GALAB, CARING Gold)
European Commission DG INTPA
EU development arm backing EPRM and due-diligence support for ASM
BMZ (German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation)
German ministry with a dedicated ASM topic under Extractives and Development
GIZ
Implements BMZ extractives programmes incl. ASM governance
FCDO (UK)
UK aid funder of ASM programmes e.g. SDMR Rwanda
Global Affairs Canada
Funded IMPACT Just Gold traceability and Sahel ASM governance
Ford Foundation
Funds ASM civil society, gender and dialogue work
Tiffany & Co. Foundation
Jewellery-sector philanthropy funding responsible ASM standards
UNEP / Global Mercury Partnership
Leads global mercury-in-ASGM work and planetGOLD
Minamata Convention Secretariat
Treaty secretariat receiving ASGM National Action Plans
UNIDO
Mercury Programme rooted in ASGM technical assistance since 1994
UNDP
Implements planetGOLD country projects and ASM formalisation
UNITAR
Trains governments on ASGM NAPs; co-authored formalisation handbook
ILO
Implements child-labour and decent-work projects in ASM
UNICEF
Child-rights agency on child labour in mining, notably DRC cobalt
UNODC
Tackles illegal gold mining and mineral trafficking as organised crime
UNECA (ECA ASM Knowledge Hub)
African ASM knowledge platform and country policy profiles
African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC)
AU centre coordinating Africa Mining Vision, ASM workstream
African Development Bank (AfDB)
Finances ASM-linked projects e.g. PABEA-COBALT, GEF Liberia mercury
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Funds responsible ASM formalisation and certification in Latin America
OECD
Due Diligence Guidance + annual Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains
EITI
Transparency standard with dedicated ASM reporting guidance
ICGLR
Great Lakes body running the Regional Certification Mechanism for 3TG
UN Critical Energy Transition Minerals Initiative
SG's panel with an ASM cluster empowering artisanal miners
Global Witness
Investigates conflict financing and laundering in ASM 3TG and gold
Human Rights Watch
Documents hazardous child labour and mercury exposure in ASGM
Amnesty International
Exposed child labour in DRC artisanal cobalt (This Is What We Die For)
PAX
Dutch peace org on artisanal miners' rights and mining-linked conflict
The Sentry
Investigates conflict gold flows and laundering from Africa
AFREWATCH
Congolese resources watchdog on artisanal cobalt conditions
ZELA (Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association)
Legal-empowerment NGO driving ASM formalisation in Zimbabwe
WACAM
Ghanaian community rights NGO engaging galamsey issues
Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW)
Regional watchdog monitoring extractives incl. ASM across SADC
Third World Network-Africa
Pan-African policy advocacy on extractives justice incl. ASM
Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG)
Zimbabwean NGO defending communities in mining areas
Bench Marks Foundation
South African NGO on survival mining (zama zamas), legalisation
Swedwatch
Swedish research NGO on business/human rights in mineral chains
SOMO
Dutch centre analysing cobalt and metals supply chains
Solidaridad
Development NGO with a gold programme supporting responsible ASM
Pure Earth
Pollution NGO training artisanal miners in mercury-free techniques
BAN Toxics
Philippine NGO on mercury, child labour, responsible ASGM
Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta (YTS)
Indonesian foundation leading ASGM mercury-reduction
Instituto Escolhas
Brazilian think-tank exposing illegal Amazon garimpo gold
AWIMA (Assoc. of Women in Mining in Africa)
Continental network of national women-in-mining associations
International Women in Mining (IWiM)
Global network with a Women in ASM workstream
GNASSM (Ghana Nat. Assoc. of Small Scale Miners)
Ghana's umbrella body for registered small-scale miners
Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF)
National federation of ASM associations in Zimbabwe
ASM Knowledge Hub Mongolia
National knowledge platform for Mongolia's formalised ASM
Global Battery Alliance
WEF-founded coalition; Cobalt Action Partnership targets ASM cobalt
Cobalt Institute
Cobalt industry association with a public ASM position + market data
International Tin Association
Tin industry body behind ITSCI; ASM ~40% of tin supply
TIC (Tantalum-Niobium Int. Study Center)
Tantalum-niobium body co-managing ITSCI
Responsible Jewellery Council
Jewellery standards body; CoP covers ASM sourcing
Fairtrade International
Operates the Fairtrade Gold Standard for ASM organisations
Minespider
Blockchain traceability tracking artisanal gold from DRC and Peru
Trafigura
Commodity trader with EGC artisanal-cobalt offtake/formalisation
Entreprise Generale du Cobalt (EGC)
DRC state enterprise mandated to buy/process/sell artisanal cobalt
Glencore
Major DRC cobalt producer with ASM interface management
Metalor
Swiss refiner with traceable ASM gold chain from Peru
Valcambi
Swiss refiner with a dedicated ASM sourcing programme
Fairphone
Electronics brand pioneering Fairtrade ASM gold, FCA member
Apple
Funds ASM-linked programmes (Salmon Gold, CRAFT, DRC training)
IIED
Convenes ASM multi-stakeholder dialogues and cobalt research
DIIS (Danish Institute for International Studies)
Studies ASM, roadblocks and conflict financing in eastern DRC
Oeko-Institut
Researches artisanal cobalt impacts and responsible sourcing
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC)
Gold Watch: illicit actors and financial flows in ASGM
KIT Royal Tropical Institute
Researches gender equality and women's rights in ASM
Prof. Roy Maconachie
ASM livelihoods, youth and child labour, West Africa
Prof. Sara Geenen
ASM gold, formalisation, global production networks in DRC
Prof. Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt
Gender and informal mining, South Asia
Prof. Filipe Calvao
Anthropology of diamonds, extractive labour, digitalisation
Prof. Marcello Veiga
Mercury in ASGM, processing technology
Dr. Kevin Telmer
Geochemist; global mercury estimates for ASGM
Prof. Eleanor Fisher
Social anthropology of ASM, Tanzania; Gold Matters
Dr. Cristiano Lanzano
Anthropology of ASGM governance and technology, West Africa
Prof. Doris Buss
Gender, law and resource governance in ASM
Prof. Blair Rutherford
Anthropology of gendered labour in ASM
Prof. Sam Spiegel
ASM formalisation politics, mercury policy
Prof. Marjo de Theije
Small-scale gold mining in the Amazon; GOMIAM
Dr. Boris Verbrugge
Informalisation in global gold production, Philippines
Dr. Jeroen Cuvelier
Anthropology of creuseurs, cobalt formalisation, Katanga
Dr. Jennifer Hinton
Mining engineer-practitioner; gender and ASM performance
Dr. Felix Hruschka
ASM standards architect (Fairmined, CRAFT); ASM Inventory
Dr. James McQuilken
ASM formalisation policy, Ghana; Delve knowledge platform
Estelle Levin-Nally
Responsible sourcing and ASM policy
Dr. Nicholas Garrett
Responsible minerals sourcing; DRC ASM economics
Prof. Gerardo Damonte
ASM formalisation, hybrid governance in the Andes-Amazon
Joanne Lebert
Gender, conflict minerals and ASM governance
Ken Matthysen
ASM site mapping, resources and security, Central Africa
Dr. Hans Merket
Diamonds, Kimberley Process, human rights in ASM
Dr. Christoph Vogel
Critical scholar of conflict-minerals regulation, eastern DRC
Dr. Ben Radley
ASM mechanisation vs foreign corporate mining, South Kivu
Prof. Saleem Ali
ASM and the SDGs; Mapping ASM to the SDGs
Prof. Gavin Hilson
ASM formalisation in Africa; editor, Extractive Industries & Society
IOB, University of Antwerp
Great Lakes of Africa Centre; ASM gold research
CEGEMI, Universite Catholique de Bukavu
Congolese centre of expertise on mining governance
Nordic Africa Institute (NAI)
Africa research institute; Gold Matters project
GOMIAM network
Comparative research on small-scale gold mining in the Amazon
Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering, UBC
ASGM mercury and processing research lineage
IIED ASM Dialogues programme
Multi-stakeholder dialogue and knowledge programme on ASM
The Extractive Industries and Society
Flagship peer-reviewed journal for ASM scholarship
Resources Policy
Mineral economics and policy journal with strong ASM record
Global Gold Production Touching Ground (Verbrugge & Geenen, 2020)
12-country study integrating ASM into the global gold system
Global Trends in ASM (IGF/IIED, 2018)
Standard reference for global ASM population and trend numbers
Mapping ASM to the SDGs (2020)
First full assessment of ASM against all 17 SDGs
UNITAR/UNEP Handbook: National ASGM Formalization Strategies (2018)
Formalisation guidance for Minamata National Action Plans
MMSD Global Report on ASM (Hentschel, Hruschka, Priester, 2002)
Foundational global baseline study of ASM
Between the Plough and the Pick (Lahiri-Dutt, ed., 2018)
Open-access volume framing ASM within agrarian change
Conflict Minerals, Inc. (Vogel, 2022)
Critical appraisal of conflict-minerals regulation in eastern Congo
SAEMAPE (DRC)
The DRC state service that assists and oversees artisanal and small-scale mining, approving cooperatives and mapping artisanal zones.
ARECOMS (DRC)
The DRC authority regulating and monitoring strategic minerals (cobalt, coltan), which set the 2025 cobalt export suspension and subsequent quotas.
CEEC (DRC)
The DRC centre for the expertise, evaluation and certification of precious and semi-precious minerals, a designated certification authority.
CAMI — Mining Cadastre (DRC)
The DRC mining cadastre, publishing the register of mining rights and a Landfolio spatial portal of licences.
CTCPM (DRC)
The DRC technical unit for the coordination and planning of mining, producing sector statistics and policy analysis.
Office Burundais des Mines (OBM)
Burundi's mining office, the sole legal channel for gold, taking a 30% state share of production.
Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB)
Rwanda's mining regulator, overseeing licensing, mineral traceability and exports.
Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod)
Ghana's state gold aggregator, the sole body with exclusive rights to buy, assay and export artisanal gold.
Ghana Minerals Commission
Ghana's mining regulator, running small-scale licensing, district ASM offices and community mining schemes.
Ghana Mining Repository
The Minerals Commission's public cadastre of mineral rights (artisanal, trader, industrial), searchable and downloadable by district.
Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA)
Ghana's geological survey, providing blocked-out-area geodata used to site and license small-scale mining.
Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM)
The national body representing Ghana's licensed small-scale and artisanal gold miners.
University of Mines & Technology, Tarkwa (UMaT)
Ghana's mining university, a source of applied ASM research on galamsey, mercury and formalisation.
SONASP (Burkina Faso)
Burkina Faso's national precious-substances company, the state channel for buying artisanal gold.
COSOC-GL
A Great Lakes civil-society coalition that maintains a register of mining cooperatives across eastern DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.
MINEM — Ministry of Energy and Mines (Peru)
Peru's mining ministry, running the artisanal-mining formalisation process and the REINFO register.
AJAM (Bolivia)
Bolivia's administrative mining authority, which grants and oversees mining rights including cooperative operations.
CINCIA (Peru)
Amazon scientific-innovation centre producing field research on ASGM mercury and mining-scarred land restoration in Madre de Dios.
SPDA — Peruvian Society for Environmental Law
A Lima-based environmental-law NGO tracking ASM formalisation, illegal mining and the REINFO debate.
Instituto Escolhas (Brazil)
A São Paulo think-tank quantifying the economics and mercury footprint of Amazonian garimpo gold mining.
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (Indonesia)
Indonesia's energy and mineral-resources ministry (ESDM), which sets the people's-mining permit (IPR) and area (WPR) framework.
Mines and Geosciences Bureau (Philippines)
The Philippine mining regulator (DENR-MGB), which administers the People's Small-Scale Mining Act and Minahang Bayan areas.
Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority (Mongolia)
Mongolia's minerals authority (MRPAM), holding the mining cadastre and the framework for artisanal miners.
Mineral Resources Authority (Papua New Guinea)
PNG's mining regulator, which runs the small-scale mining framework and the Wau training centre.
XAMODX (Mongolia)
A Mongolian artisanal-miner NGO, the first Fairmined-certified gold producer in Asia, tied to the national ASM federation.
REINFO — Mining Formalisation Register (Peru)
Peru's public register of artisanal miners in the formalisation process, searchable online; the load-bearing record of who is (and is not) formalising.
RUCOM — Mineral Traders Register (Colombia)
Colombia's single register of authorised mineral traders and exploiters, exposed as an open dataset via a machine-readable API.
SENARECOM (Bolivia)
Bolivia's national register and control service for mineral commercialisation, covering cooperative output.
Ecuador National Mining Cadastre (ARCOM)
Ecuador's mining-concession cadastre and public geoportal, reopened in 2025–26.
ANM SIGMINE / PLG cadastre (Brazil)
Brazil's mining-rights cadastre (SIGMINE) and the artisanal garimpo permit (PLG) regime.
MapBiomas — Mining / Garimpo (Brazil)
A satellite dataset mapping the footprint and water-proximity of garimpo gold mining across the Brazilian Amazon.
JDIH ESDM (Indonesia)
Indonesia's official energy-and-mining legal register, the canonical source for IPR/WPR decrees.