00:00Mahal ang kabuhayan ng Pilipinas.
00:01Ibat po nito ang responsibilidad para protektahan ang kalikasan at kalusugan po ng komunidad.
00:08Kaya patuloy ang panawagan para sa safe, clean and responsible mining practices sa bansa.
00:14At ngayong umaga, makakasama po natin si Sir Roger Tissot ng Artisanal Gold Council o AGC.
00:20Good morning Sir Roger, welcome to Rise and Shine Pilipinas.
00:23Alright, let's talk about the Artisanal Gold Council or AGC in improving the mining sector.
00:28Tell us about the organization.
00:29So the Artisanal Gold Council is a non-profit organization.
00:33We have been working with artisanal gold miners worldwide for more than 20-25 years.
00:41Our mission is to professionalize, to help artisanal gold miners to achieve dignified work without harming the environment.
00:49And according to the rules and regulations, what we call formalization of the countries.
00:55And particularly, we try to help them to avoid the use of mercury, which is a very dangerous chemical for
01:04the individual and for the environment.
01:06Talking about that, the advocacy is Make Mercury History.
01:12So what are the initiatives of AGC to make this advocacy?
01:19Exactly.
01:19What we can see, we are an organization that works closely with the miners based on programs that are financed
01:27by global entities like the Global Environmental Facility, the United Nations Environmental Program, and others.
01:36And the advocacy is, when we go to a country and we do what we call an intervention, we try
01:42to identify a cooperative that are willing partners to work with us after a consultation process.
01:49We ensure, basically, that they want to work within the formalization process, so we help them that, which basically is
02:01work within the legal system.
02:04The second is, we teach them how to use what we call modern technologies that would allow them to increase
02:13the productivity of gold without having to use mercury.
02:17That is usually a very challenging task, because mercury has been used for thousands of years in the process of
02:28producing gold, and it's very efficient, if you want, but very dangerous.
02:33So our goal is to bring them technologies that could maintain this, improve the level of productivity without increasing the
02:42cost.
02:43So we work on that, and third, in order to do that, some miners need to require equipment, so access
02:51to capital.
02:52So we also help them develop programs in which they can have access to what we call finance.
02:59And finally, we help them to make sure that the gold they're produced is fully trustable.
03:05What that means is that the formal buyers, for example, the Bank of Filipinas or large refineries, are confident that
03:14the gold they're buying is mercury-free and comply with all the requirements of the international gold refinery industry, LBMA,
03:25OECD, etc.
03:26Okay.
03:27Now, I want to go to the modern technology that you've been saying.
03:30So what are the concrete examples of the use of modern technology in these practices?
03:34So in reality, the modern technology are not that complex, and they have been around for a number of years.
03:43So shaking tables, gravimetric process.
03:46The idea is to allow the separation of gold with other particles by using gravity.
03:55The complexity, to be honest, is not the main complexity.
04:00The complexity is to ensure that in each of the steps, there is no temptation to use the technology and
04:05add mercury to make sure that that doesn't happen.
04:08And second, that the miners have the ability to manage that technology properly, and they have access to finance that
04:17technology.
04:17Now, let's talk about your collaboration with the Philippine government, particularly the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, or DNR.
04:24Tell us about this collaboration.
04:26So that's, for us, they have been great partners and are extremely important.
04:31The collaboration started through the program what we call the Planet Gold Program.
04:35So this is a program supported by the Global Environmental Facility and the United Nations Environmental Program.
04:44So we were selected to execute the program, basically to work with the communities to ensure all the things that
04:52I mentioned.
04:52But you need a holistic approach, and you need to make sure that what we do is not in isolation
04:58with the objectives and goals of the government.
05:00So we work very close with the government, and they have some policies, some objectives, and we make sure that
05:06those objectives are aligned to what we do.
05:09And they also have an influence in terms of where do they want this type of finance resources from international
05:19light to the benefits of the government objective in terms of artisanal gold miners.
05:24Now, there's a role. You're talking about the current state of the sector in the Philippines.
05:29Yeah.
05:30How bad is it, the use of mercury in the mining sector?
05:33So this is a good question. Right now, we are in the process of completing a document we call the
05:38National Action Plan.
05:40This is a document that obviously is going to be a government-owned document, which is going to be used
05:47as a base to define the next type of activities that are very important to address the issue of mercury
05:54elimination as part of the Philippines' obligation with the Minamata Convention.
05:59So we were, again, selected to do that assessment. And although there have been great improvement in the Philippines, like
06:09in other countries, the challenge is still greater.
06:12And the reason is because the world that we knew in artisanal gold mining 20, 25 years ago is very
06:20different now.
06:20There are three big changes that completely modify the landscape of artisanal gold mining. One is climate change.
06:28So in the past, the farmers used to do gold mining on an artisanal way as a way to diversify
06:34their income.
06:35But there were farmers that happened to do mining.
06:38With the climate change in many countries, farmers cannot sustain alone, so they become full-time miners.
06:45The second one, and if they don't do it properly, so the environmental impact is bigger.
06:49The second one is in many of our developing countries, we have a youth population boom.
06:56So many, many babies born 20, 25 years ago are entering the workforce and they're not finding enough job opportunities.
07:05So artisanal or small-scale mining is an option to generate jobs.
07:10But the most important one is in the last five years is the rapid raise of gold prices.
07:15So very high gold prices attract many people to the sector as an opportunistic option.
07:23So although we have made some progress, the challenges are significant.
07:28Well, it's Labor Day today, and clearly your initiatives also really empower our communities.
07:34And just for the last question, what is your message, the AGC's message to our, like, those involved in this
07:41sector?
07:42And also, what about the future of small-scale mining in the Philippines?
07:45So I want to say that I have never met an artisanal miner that want to work in the informality
07:52or illegality that sometimes people, everybody wants to work within the laws and respecting the environment.
08:00We work very hard with miners to dignify their work.
08:04Is it possible to change something that is often perceived a very negative view?
08:09And I'm not ignoring the negative challenge and something positive that could allow communities to respect the environment, to have
08:19dignified work, and to stay in their areas, in their communities, in rural areas, without having to migrate to other
08:28countries and other places.
08:29So their job is very important.
08:33We need to make sure that it's within the law and within the proper environmental safeguard.
08:42But artisanal miners provide a significant source of employment, direct and indirect, to the Philippines and to many countries of
08:50the Global South.
08:51Well, thank you so much for sharing the initiatives of AGC here in Rising Lang, Filipinas.
08:55And thank you very much, Sir Roger Tissot of the 4th Arsenal Gold Council, or AGC.
09:02Thank you very much.
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