How the sector is run

The systems that map, trace, certify and formalise ASM

Beyond the data lie the working systems: the traceability chains, certification standards, formalisation registries and monitoring platforms that turn artisanal mining into something legible. Filter by what a system does, or by the mineral it follows.

A dataset tells you what is happening; a system does something about it. This catalogue maps the schemes that follow minerals from pit to market, the standards that certify how they were mined, the registries that formalise the miners, and the platforms that watch the sector from the ground and from orbit.

26 systems

Traceability & due diligenceContested

iTSCI

The largest bag-and-tag traceability and due-diligence programme for tin, tantalum and tungsten in the Great Lakes; RMI suspended its recognition in 2022 and Global Witness alleges mis-tagging of conflict minerals, which iTSCI disputes.

ITA + Pact; 3T, Great Lakes
Traceability & due diligenceGrowing

Better Mining

Continuously monitors ESG risk and impact at cobalt, copper and 3T artisanal sites via on-site agents, driving corrective actions aligned to OECD guidance.

SLR (ex-RCS Global); cobalt/copper/3T, DRC
Traceability & due diligenceEstablished

RMI RMAP

Third-party assessment of smelters and refiners for tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold and cobalt; the first scheme recognised under the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation.

Responsible Minerals Initiative; smelter/refiner audits
Traceability & due diligenceGrowing

ICGLR RCM

The Great Lakes region's inter-governmental certification mechanism, issuing regional certificates for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold to curb conflict financing.

ICGLR; regional certificate, Great Lakes
Traceability & due diligenceContested

Kimberley Process

Inter-governmental certification scheme requiring rough-diamond shipments to carry a conflict-free certificate; widely criticised for a narrow definition of conflict.

KPCS; 60 participants, since 2003
Traceability & due diligenceEmerging

BGR CTC

German-government Certified Trading Chains piloted responsible-practice certification of artisanal 3T production in Rwanda across health, safety, environment and traceability.

BGR (Germany); pilot, Rwanda
Traceability & due diligenceEstablished

LBMA Responsible Gold

Mandatory responsible-sourcing programme requiring accredited gold refiners to run OECD five-step due diligence against conflict, money-laundering and human-rights risks.

London Bullion Market Association; refiners
Traceability & due diligenceGrowing

Circulor

Blockchain traceability platform giving materials a digital identity from origin, underpinning digital battery passports for cobalt, lithium and other supply chains.

Circulor; blockchain, battery metals
Traceability & due diligenceEmerging

Minexx

Blockchain platform (MineSmart) linking artisanal miners to markets with traceability, compliance and digital payments for 3T and gold in the DRC and Rwanda.

Minexx; MineSmart, DRC/Rwanda
Traceability & due diligenceEmerging

Re|Source

Industry-consortium blockchain pilot tracing responsibly produced cobalt end-to-end from DRC mine sites to electric-vehicle production.

CMOC/ERG/Glencore + Umicore; cobalt pilot
Certification & assuranceGrowing

Fairmined

Assurance label certifying gold from organised, responsible artisanal and small-scale mining organisations that meet leading social and environmental standards.

ARM; est. 2004
Certification & assuranceGrowing

Fairtrade Gold

Standard guaranteeing artisanal gold miners a minimum price and premium, with FLOCERT auditing working conditions, chemical handling and environmental care.

Fairtrade International; FLOCERT-audited
Certification & assuranceEstablished

CRAFT Code

Open-source market-entry code helping artisanal producers meet OECD due-diligence expectations through progressive improvement rather than pass/fail certification.

ARM + RESOLVE; open-source, since 2018
Certification & assuranceGrowing

Maendeleo Diamond Standards

First standards set for ethical artisanal diamond production, covering legality, human rights, health, safety, environment and community across eight principles.

DDI@RESOLVE; artisanal diamonds
Certification & assuranceGrowing

RJC Chain of Custody

Voluntary certification letting jewellery-chain companies handle and trade gold, silver and platinum-group metals as fully traceable, responsibly sourced material.

Responsible Jewellery Council; jewellery supply chain
Certification & assuranceGrowing

Fair Cobalt Alliance

Multi-stakeholder platform professionalising artisanal cobalt site management in the DRC, channelling investment into safer mines and child-labour remediation.

The Impact Facility; multi-stakeholder, DRC
Formalisation & DPIEmerging

Hatua

Digital public infrastructure giving each artisanal operator self-assessment, due-diligence and a portable, operator-controlled profile shareable with banks, buyers and programmes.

Datastake; open DPI for ASM operators
Formalisation & DPIEmerging

KOTA

Onboarding system helping DRC mining and mineral-trade operators meet banking-compliance requirements and improve reporting to investors, buyers and partners.

Datastake + TMB; banking onboarding, DRC
Formalisation & DPIGrowing

CAMI

The DRC's mining cadastre, administering and publishing mineral rights through a public online map portal to improve transparency and reduce corruption.

DRC mining cadastre; Landfolio portal
Formalisation & DPIGrowing

SAEMAPE

DRC public service assisting and supervising artisanal mining, organising miners into cooperatives and channelling output toward official production and sale.

DRC public service; artisanal supervision
Formalisation & DPIEstablished

Trimble Landfolio

Cadastre and mineral-rights administration software (formerly FlexiCadastre) run by many African mining authorities to manage licensing and compliance online.

Trimble (ex-FlexiCadastre); cadastre software
Formalisation & DPIGrowing

planetGOLD

GEF-funded programme advancing formalisation, access to finance and mercury-free processing to make artisanal gold mining safer, cleaner and more profitable.

UNEP/UNIDO, GEF-funded; 27 countries
Mapping & monitoringEstablished

Delve

The global online database of artisanal and small-scale mining data, publishing a recurring 'State of the Sector' report and downloadable country datasets.

World Bank + Pact; global ASM data
Mapping & monitoringEstablished

IPIS ASM Map

Field-mapped artisanal sites in eastern DRC with mineral, mercury, worker, child-labour and armed-actor variables, published as an open interactive map and dashboard.

IPIS; eastern DRC, 3,400+ sites
Mapping & monitoringGrowing

Amazon Mining Watch

AI analysis of Sentinel-2 satellite imagery mapping legal and illegal gold-mining deforestation across all nine Amazonian countries as an early-warning tool.

Earth Genome, Pulitzer, Amazon Conservation; satellite AI
Mapping & monitoringGrowing

MapX

Open geospatial platform from UNEP that manages, analyses and visualises natural-resource and extractive-sector data with a data-integrity scorecard.

UNEP/GRID-Geneva; open geospatial platform

Where Hatua fits

Most systems here trace minerals or certify sites. Formalisation and digital public infrastructure work on the operator: Hatua gives an artisanal operator a self-assessment, a due-diligence record and a portable profile it owns and can present to any buyer or scheme. It is the connective layer beneath the traceability and certification systems above.