Regulation and policy, mapped
The instruments that decide whether artisanal minerals reach legal markets, and how miners are recognised, taxed and protected. Filter by the kind of instrument or the region it covers; each entry links to the source and carries a corroboration rating.
ASM is governed at four levels at once: international frameworks that set the norms, trade and due-diligence law in the buyer countries, regional mechanisms that harmonise and certify, and the national mining codes that decide who may dig and how they sell. The chips below filter by level; the dropdown narrows by region.
Two patterns run through the national frameworks: a wave of 2022 to 2025 mining-code rewrites (Sierra Leone, Uganda, Mali, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Zambia, Madagascar, CAR, Indonesia) and the spread of state gold-buying monopolies (Ghana GoldBod, Burkina SONASP, Zambia Gold Company, Ethiopia NBE, Guyana and Zimbabwe). The rating chip reflects how well each instrument is corroborated. Last reviewed July 2026.
66 instruments
EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
Value-chain due diligence reaches ASM-area minerals once applied; Omnibus cut scope to 5,000 employees / EUR 1.5bn
EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) - mining scope note
Often misread as covering mining; no EUDR obligations on minerals currently
Switzerland: Ordinance on Due Diligence and Transparency (DDTrO)
Binds Swiss refiners/traders, a principal ASM-gold destination, to OECD-style due diligence
Germany: Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG)
German buyers of ASM-linked minerals retain risk-based due diligence despite rollback
UK: Modern Slavery Act 2015 (no conflict-minerals law)
Disclosure-only; ASM sourcing not separately regulated
US: Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
Sets the import-ban template increasingly applied to mineral forced-labour risk
US: Section 307, Tariff Act of 1930 (forced-labour import ban)
WROs can block ASM-origin gold where forced-labour indicators are documented
ICGLR Regional Initiative against Illegal Exploitation (RINR) and six tools
ASM formalisation is one of six tools; RCM certificates are the legal export gateway for regional ASM 3TG
Africa Mining Vision (2009) and AMDC
The continental policy anchor most African ASM strategies cite
ECOWAS Directive C/DIR.3/05/09 on mining harmonisation
Shapes ASM provisions across West African codes
SADC Protocol on Mining (1997) + 2006 Harmonisation Framework
Obliges members to promote and coordinate small-scale mining
EAC mining harmonisation + draft EAC Mining Bill
Would standardise ASM licensing across a bloc with major artisanal workforces
Andean Community Decision 774: Policy against Illegal Mining
The regional legal line between formalisable ASM and criminalised illegal mining
Minamata Convention COP-5 (2023) & COP-6 (2025) ASGM decisions
The operative international workplan on mercury reduction in ASGM
ILO Convention No. 176 on Safety and Health in Mines (1995)
Benchmark for mine safety law; patchy ratification is a recurring ASM gap
ILO Conventions No. 138 & No. 182 (child labour) in mining
Legal basis for child-labour prohibitions cited in OECD Annex II and buyer rules
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2011)
Frames buyer responsibility as engagement/remediation, not disengagement
CCCMC Chinese Due Diligence Guidelines for Mineral Supply Chains
The due-diligence reference for the Chinese buyers who absorb much ASM output
RJC 2024 Code of Practices and Chain of Custody
Defines how certified jewellers/refiners may buy ASM material
CRAFT Code v2.1
The most widely used ASM-specific market-entry due-diligence code
IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining - ASM scope note
Certifies industrial mines only; ASM handled via coexistence criteria
Kimberley Process reform cycle 2023-2025 outcome
Artisanal diamond producers remain governed by the unreformed 2003 definition
DRC: Mining Code 2018 + artisanal regime (ZEA/EGC/ARECOMS)
ZEA/carte/cooperative regime; ARECOMS cobalt quota 96,600 t/yr 2026-27; EGC state channel
Ghana: Minerals and Mining Act 2006 + GoldBod Act 2025
All licensed ASM gold now flows through the state buyer-exporter GoldBod
Tanzania: Mining Act 2010 + Primary Mining Licence
PML is the citizen-only ASM title; mineral markets formalise ASM sales
Zimbabwe: Mines and Minerals Act 1961 + 2025 Bill
Small-scale >60% of gold yet no dedicated legal category; Fidelity monopoly
Nigeria: Minerals and Mining Act 2007 + Alake reforms
Small-scale mining lease + cooperative formalisation; Mining Marshals since 2024
Sudan: Mineral Resources Act 2015 + wartime gold regulation
Traditional artisanal mining dominates output; wartime fragmentation, smuggling
Zambia: Minerals Regulation Commission Act 2024
Citizen-only artisanal right + gold-panning certificate + state gold buying
Rwanda: Mining Law 072/2024
Scraps separate artisanal licence; mandatory formalisation into small-scale titles
Mali: Mining Code 2023 (Law 2023-040)
Artisanal exploitation authorisations + orpaillage corridors; state gold push
Burkina Faso: Mining Code 2024 (Law 016-2024) + SONASP
'Artisan minier' card + corridors; SONASP monopoly on artisanal gold export
Niger: Mining Law 2022 (Law 2022-033)
Artisanal authorisations convertible to small-scale permits; 800k+ orpailleurs
Guinea: Mining Code 2011 (amended 2013) + 2025-26 gold drive
Artisanal gold ~2/3 of gold export volume; moves to end unrefined gold exports
Sierra Leone: Mines and Minerals Development Act 2022
Distinct citizen-oriented artisanal licence, strict size/depth/equipment limits
Central African Republic: Mining Code 2024
150k-300k artisanal diamond/gold miners; KP embargo lifted Nov 2024
Uganda: Mining and Minerals Act 2022
First Ugandan citizen-only artisanal licence class
Kenya: Mining Act 2016 + county artisanal permits
County-level artisanal permits; 2019-2023 moratorium stalled ASM licensing
Ethiopia: Mining Operations Proclamation 678/2010 + NBE gold channel
ASM gold flows hinge on the NBE monopsony; 2024-26 pricing reforms
Madagascar: Mining Code 2023 (Law 2023-007) + ANOR
Orpaillage legal only inside commune corridors with ANOR registers
Mozambique: Mining Law 20/2014 + pending replacement
Senha mineira artisanal title across ruby, gold, gemstone ASM
Peru: General Mining Law + REINFO + pending Ley MAPE
REINFO's fate + pending Ley MAPE define status for hundreds of thousands of miners
Colombia: Mining Code Law 685 + formalisation decrees
Most gold is ASM, much untitled; formalisation decrees + stalled code rewrite
Brazil: garimpeiro regime (Law 7.805/1989) + post-2023 tightening
PLG permits + gold-trade rules; post-2023 traceability and Amazon enforcement
Bolivia: Mining Law 535 (2014) + cooperative sector
Cooperatives (the legal form of ASM) dominate gold; 2023 Gold Law central-bank buying
Ecuador: Mining Law 2009 + cadastre reopening + mano dura
Artisanal permits exist but frozen cadastre (2018-) pushed miners informal
Venezuela: Orinoco Mining Arc decree regime
Most gold is artisanal inside a decree-run, militarised zone
Guyana: Mining Act 1989 + Gold Board monopoly
Citizen-reserved small/medium titles; state gold-marketing board; 2027 mercury target
Suriname: Mining Decree E-58 (1986) + stalled new Act
~60k depend on informal gold under a pre-boom decree
Indonesia: Mining Law 4/2009 as amended (Law 2/2025) + IPR/WPR
IPR/WPR is the formal ASM channel; 2025 reforms widen small-actor access
Philippines: People's Small-Scale Mining Act 1991 (RA 7076) + Minahang Bayan
Legal SSM confined to declared Minahang Bayan areas; slow declarations
Mongolia: Minerals Law 2006 + ASM regulation annex
Standalone ASM resolution; frequently cited formalisation model
Papua New Guinea: Mining Act 1992 + Alluvial Mining Lease
AML is the formal ASM tenement; 2025 draft Bill under consultation
India: MMDR Act 1957 + state minor-mineral rules
No statutory artisanal category; small operators via quarry/minor-mineral leases
Myanmar: Mines Law 1994/2015 + Gemstone Law 2019
Tiered permits incl. artisanal/subsistence; jade + rare-earth ASM largely informal
DRC Mining Code — Loi 18/001 (2018)
The revised DRC mining code and its regulation, which require artisanal mining to take place in designated zones (ZEA) by nationals in cooperatives.
DRC Minamata ASGM National Action Plan (2021)
The DRC's national action plan to reduce mercury use in artisanal gold mining under the Minamata Convention.
Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140)
The law creating GoldBod as the sole aggregator, assayer and exporter of Ghana's artisanal gold.
Ghana Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703)
Ghana's principal mining law, amended by Act 900 (2015), licensing small-scale mining under Section 82 and elaborated by regulations L.I. 2173–2177.
Peru ASM formalisation framework (D.Leg 1105 / REINFO)
The legal basis for Peru’s artisanal-mining formalisation, including IGAFOM environmental instruments and the REINFO register, extended to end-2026.
Colombia formalisation & mercury framework (Ley 1658)
Colombia’s mercury-phase-out law and the formalisation subcontracts (Ley 2250/2022) that bring artisanal miners under a titleholder.
Brazil garimpo mercury rule (IBAMA IN 26/2024)
Brazil’s environmental-agency instruction tightening mercury control in garimpo gold mining, under legal challenge before the IACHR.
Indonesia Mining Law — UU 2/2025 (IPR/WPR)
The 2025 amendment to Indonesia’s mining law and its implementing rules (PP 39/2025), governing people’s-mining permits (IPR) and areas (WPR).
Philippines People's Small-Scale Mining Act (RA 7076)
The 1991 law creating declared people’s small-scale mining areas (Minahang Bayan) administered by provincial mining boards.
Mongolia ASM regulation (Govt Resolution 296)
Mongolia’s principal artisanal-mining regulation, building on the 2010 Minerals Law amendment and Resolution 308.
Myanmar Gemstone Law 2019 (Law 4/2019)
Myanmar’s gemstone law governing jade and gem extraction; coverage of the sector is constrained by conflict and limited data access.