Analytical Tools to Constrain the Origin of Gold from Confl Ict-Affected and High-Risk Areas
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Analytical Tools to Constrain the Origin of Gold from Confl ict-affected and High-Risk Areas Scoping Study Based on the DR Congo Imprint Commissioned by: Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources) Stilleweg 2 30655 Hannover Germany Authors: Felix Hruschka, Frank Melcher, Birgit Kain-Bückner Technisches Büro für Bergwesen Hruschka & Lehrstuhl für Geologie und Lagerstättenlehre der Montanuniversität Leoben Contact: Désirée Ruppen, Philip Schütte Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe Stilleweg 2 30655 Hannover [email protected] Date: November 2016 ISBN: 978-3-943566-35-2 (PDF) Cover Photographs: © Felix Hruschka (links) © Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (mitte) © Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (rechts) Copyright: © 2016 Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe Analytical Tools to Constrain the Origin of Gold from Confl ict-affected and High-Risk Areas Scoping Study Based on the DR Congo By Felix Hruschka, Frank Melcher, Birgit Kain-Bückner Leoben, November 2016 Analytical Tools to Constrain the Origin of Gold from Conflict-affected and High-Risk Areas – Scoping Study Based on the DR Congo By: F. Hruschka, F. Melcher and B. Kain-Bückner Analytical Tools to Constrain the Origin of Gold from Conflict-affected and High-risk Areas Scoping Study Based on the DR Congo Citation Please cite this report as “Hruschka, F., Melcher, F., Kain-Bückner, B. (2016): Analytical Tools to Constrain the Origin of Gold from Conflict-affected and High-risk areas: Scoping Study Based on the DR Congo. ISBN 978-3- 943566-35-2, Contract study for the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).” Acknowledgement This report was commissioned by the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) within the bilateral German program with the Ministry of Mines / Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The program is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). About this Report International efforts to promote responsible sourcing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) recognize both the significant development potential as well as the particular challenges associated with artisanal and small-scale gold mining. This sub-sector represents the dominant source of employment for artisanal miners in the eastern DRC while also showing the highest risks to contribute to conflict financing. Most supply chains are informal and lack transparency. Mineral traceability and supply chain due diligence efforts in ASM (Artisanal and Small-scale Mining) gold in the DRC are in their infancy. Artisanal gold leaves the country without adequate registration at the national export level. Gold analysis is employed in different scenarios. Gold refiners analyze incoming gold to control its quality. Analyses performed in the context of archeometry attempt to evaluate the origin of certain artefacts. Regulatory and law enforcement authorities may analyze gold in order to differentiate legal from illegal sources. These different analytical efforts may contribute to constraining the origin of gold through “fingerprinting” of its composition. This study presents the state of the art knowledge on different methods and research approaches to analyze gold and interpret its compositional features. It then describes the impacts on gold composition resulting from the geological background in the DRC and transformations taking place along the gold supply chain. It further explores the practical framework and feasibility for employing certain analytical tools to support or verify the chain of custody along industrial and artisanal gold supply chains. About the BGR Module of the German Program with the DRC Ministry of Mines The bilateral German-Congolese cooperation program “Strengthening the transparency and control of the natural resource sector” was launched in 2009. BGR supports the DRC Ministry of Mines and its associated technical services as well as other selected mining sector stakeholders both at the national and province level. The project focuses on supporting the DRC in establishing a national mineral certification scheme for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. Project activities focus on mine sites but also include support to formalizing artisanal supply chains. The current second phase of the project runs until 2017. Online resources for the project are available at https://www.bgr.bund.de/mineral-certification. Disclaimer This report does not necessarily represent the views of BGR or its project partners. tbb.hru and CEG/MUL on behalf of BGR. Contract Nr. 204-4500098892. November 2016 Page i Analytical Tools to Constrain the Origin of Gold from Conflict-affected and High-Risk Areas – Scoping Study Based on the DR Congo By: F. Hruschka, F. Melcher and B. Kain-Bückner Abbreviations Abbreviation Descriptive text 3T Tin, tantalum and tungsten ASM Artisanal and Small-scale Mining ARM Alliance for Responsible Mining BGR German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe) BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BRGM Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières CEG Chair of Geology and Economic Geology CEZ Curt Engelhorn Zentrum CEEC Centre d’Expertise d’Evaluation et de Certification des substances minérales précieuses et semi-précieuses CIL Carbon in leach (cyanide leaching method) CIP Carbon in pulp (cyanide leaching method) COSOC Coalition of Civil society Organizations in the Great Lakes Region against illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources CPSC Closed pipe supply chain CSR Corporate Social Responsibility DGDA Direction Générale des Douanes et Accises DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo EDS Energy-dispersive spectrometry EI Extractive Industries EPMA Electron Probe Micro Analysis FARDC Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo FE-EPMA Field Emission Electron Probe Micro Analysis GD-MS Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry GLR Great Lakes Region GoE United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (also UN GoE) GPA Gold Provenance Analysis ICGLR International Conference on the Great Lakes Region ICP-MS Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry ICP-OES Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry IFF Illicit financial flows IPIS International Peace Information Service LA-ICP-MS Laser-Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry LIBS Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy LMBA London Bullion Market Association LSM Large-scale Mining tbb.hru and CEG/MUL on behalf of BGR. Contract Nr. 204-4500098892. November 2016 Page ii Analytical Tools to Constrain the Origin of Gold from Conflict-affected and High-Risk Areas – Scoping Study Based on the DR Congo By: F. Hruschka, F. Melcher and B. Kain-Bückner MC-ICP-MS Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry MGL Minière des Grands Lacs Mt Million Tons Moz Million ounces MUL Montanuniversitaet Leoben NGO Non-Governmental Organization OCC Office Congolais de Controle OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development PDG Président Directeur Général PIXE Proton-induced X-ray Emission PIGE Particle Induced Gamma-ray Emission pLIBS Portable Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy pXRF Portable X-Ray Fluorescence PGM Platinum-group minerals PGE Platinum-group elements REE Rare earth elements RMCA Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren) SAESSCAM Service d'Assistance et d'Encadrement du Small Scale Mining SARS South African Revenue Services SEM Scanning Electron Microscope Spark OES Spark optical emission spectrometry SR-XRF Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Fluorescence TBD To be defined TIMS Thermal ionization mass spectrometry UAE United Arab Emirates UN GoE United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo WDS Wavelength-dispersive spectrometry WFP World Food Program XRF X-ray Fluorescence tbb.hru and CEG/MUL on behalf of BGR. Contract Nr. 204-4500098892. November 2016 Page iii Analytical Tools to Constrain the Origin of Gold from Conflict-affected and High-Risk Areas – Scoping Study Based on the DR Congo By: F. Hruschka, F. Melcher and B. Kain-Bückner Executive Summary Recent years saw the emergence of frameworks, tools and standards applicable to gold mining, trading and sourcing from Conflict-affected and High Risks Areas such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Information on the chain of custody of gold has become of increasing interest to a broad range of stakeholders. International consumers are concerned about the conditions of mineral extraction, gold traders and refiners seek to demonstrate supply chain due diligence, and gold producing countries as well as international organizations aim to ensure a formalized, legal base for gold supply chains and associated financial flows. In this context, BGR commissioned this Scoping Study to evaluate if – and to what extent – existing methods for the analysis of chemical gold composition might serve as scientifically robust and practically feasible tools to increase the transparency of gold supply chains. Natural gold occurrences originate from a diverse variety of geologic processes. Despite similarities, every gold deposit is unique as native gold may contain different elements in solid solution as well as different minerals as inclusions. Both attributes are considered as characteristic for certain types of gold deposits. Along the supply chain, from “vein to vault”, the precious metal is transformed