Anny Jaramillo, Mining Engineer and Planning Director of “Chede” Mining Organization, gave a twist to her professional life in 2013, when she changed her position in large scale mining company for a new path in artisanal and small scale mining sector. This challenge brought learning and victories, making her a direct participant of the transformation in the mining organization and the community of the municipality of El Tambo, in Cauca, Colombia. Know more about this story of change.
When you listen to Anny talking about Chede Mining Organization, that it started in 2011 with 7 employees, without any large technological equipment, and an incipient organizational structure, it is inevitable to feel that pride that she and the collaborators in the organization transmit about the evolution of Chede.
“Obtaining the Fairmined Standard Certification is no small victory, it is a triumph that comes from the effort of the organization. It gives us more value, demands us to be better, and keeps our engines running.” says Anny. Year after year, rectification is the evidence of permanent commitment that makes it possible to reach the goals set, aiming at the wellbeing of the community and the environment.
JONATHAN GONZALEZ, FROM FAIRMINED: ANNY, TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AND THE STORY OF CHEDE.
AJ: When I entered, Chede was organizing. They had the support of an engineer in charge of licenses and the legal aspect and, with the vision of the mine manager to create a team of professionals to structure the organization, we started to work.
It was not very common to have professionals in artisanal mines, so our job involved creating several things from scratch, and making a contribution from our knowledge. I started to investigate about the origin of the gold and the minerals because of a class that I was taking at that time, and looking for that information on social and environmental responsibility related to gold, we found about the green gold and we came to know the Fairmined seal. Our first approach was a phone call in which we said: “We are a small scale organization. We are interested in the process. What is it about? We don’t know it very well.” We started the process and, six months later, we got the certification.
JG: WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOTIVATION TO KEEP THE FAIRMINED CERTIFICATION?
AJ: The problem with artisanal mines is that they do not see the importance of being sustainable in time. This means that, when profits come, they do not invest back in the mine, they do not know where to start investing, and they end up just spending the money. With the Fairmined standard, we demand ourselves to be better all the time, transversally optimize the organization, and keep the operation at the high level demanded by the standard with the premium.
Another thing is, that Fairmined Certification put us on the map. We are an example of how to mine in our region. We are a referent. We are on one tip of Colombia, in Cauca, a region in which the State is totally absent, and offering fair conditions and being a legal source of employment that moves local economy means a lot. Collaborators feel proud to come and work here, they know us in the place as “The Company,” and it is a place where people want to come and work.
JG: WHAT HAS THE EXPERIENCE OF CHEDE BEEN LIKE WITH THE FAIRMINED PREMIUM, THE INCENTIVE THAT YOU GET THANKS TO YOUR CERTIFICATION?
AJ: It is impressive! Thanks to the Premium, we have been able to build camps, meeting rooms, a nursing unit, offices, even the restrooms. The change is physically visible in the infrastructure. We also support the youth cultural group of El Tambo Technological Institute (Instituto Tecnológico del Tambo). As for the water management, dredge ponds, and even hazardous waste handling have been a challenge because we are in a location away from the cities, but it is something we do as a company because it is already in our minds to do things responsibly.
JG: WHEN COMPANIES IN GOLD MARKET EVALUATE THE POSSIBILITY OF BUYING FAIRMINED CERTIFIED GOLD VERSUS OTHER TYPE OF GOLD, THEY ASK THEMSELVES WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS. WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM?
AJ: When jewellers want to be responsible, they see two options: certified gold, or recycled gold. I am not in favor of recycle gold myself, because it has become a new way to use illegal gold. Why? Because it is extracted illegally, without any respect for good practices or paying fairly. They turn it into a piece of jewellery and it the automatically becomes legal gold that can be sold as recycled or disused gold. We cannot encourage that if we want an ethical, sustainable mining.
The only way to guarantee you are being responsible is by knowing the origin of things, and the origin of disused jewellery is not known. It could be that you inherited from your grandma or your grandpa, or it could be from illegal mining and the origin cannot be known for sure.
Something different happens with certified gold: you really know what the origin is from its very source, and it is the only one that guarantees there is not a negative impact at social, environmental, legal, or any other level.
“The only way to guarantee that you are being responsible is to know the origin of things, but you never really know the origin of recycled or disused gold.”
JG: HOW DO YOU THINK THAT LIFE QUALITY OF THE MINING COMMUNITY HAS IMPROVED SINCE THE MINE WAS CERTIFIED?
AJ: The change has been very positive. We have workers who have been with us 7, 8 years. Our collaborators are 26 years old on average, and many young people in the region are interested in working with Chede. We have stories of people who say: “I got my house thanks to this Job!” Comments that are highly rewarding. We had to send some collaborators to their houses because of the pandemic situation, but they stilled received their salary and that gave them a lot of confidence in the organization. Now, the goal is to offer our gold when markets activate, so we can continue to provide stability and wellbeing to our people.
