Sponsors (4)
Introduced December 16, 2025 by John Cornyn · Last progress December 16, 2025
The bill strengthens U.S. capacity to detect, disrupt, and sanction illicit gold mining and trafficking—improving financial integrity, environmental protection, and formal market pathways—while risking higher compliance costs, diplomatic friction, greater U.S. spending, and potential harm to informal miners and local communities if implementation support and safeguards are insufficient.
Financial institutions, U.S. markets, and taxpayers will face stronger detection and disruption of illicit gold flows through enhanced sanctions, AML, due-diligence, and targeted investigations, reducing illicit finance risks to the U.S. financial system.
U.S. and regional authorities will gain clearer intelligence and coordinated tools to identify high‑risk jurisdictions, track stolen assets, and pursue targeted enforcement or asset recovery, improving ability to disrupt transnational criminal networks.
Artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) could gain legal income opportunities and market access through formalization support, training, certification, and connections to finance and buyers.
Financial institutions, legitimate traders, and U.S. consumers could face higher compliance costs, de-risking of relationships, and disrupted supply chains that raise prices and reduce access to legally sourced gold.
Informal/artisanal miners and low-income communities risk loss of livelihoods if formalization, certification, and environmental compliance impose costs or barriers before alternative income or support is available.
Naming foreign governments and increasing sanctions or targeted measures can strain diplomacy, complicate negotiations, and create reciprocal political or economic pushback that affects U.S. interests in the region.
Based on analysis of 18 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Secretary of State, working with other U.S. agencies and Western Hemisphere partners, to create a multi-year strategy to fight illicit gold mining and trafficking that finances criminal and terrorist actors, harms the environment, and abuses workers and indigenous communities. The strategy must strengthen anti-money-laundering and sanctions tools, promote formalization and environmental protections for artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), improve traceability and due diligence in gold supply chains, and coordinate international and public-private efforts. Directs classified and public briefings for Congress, creates a regional public-private partnership to support responsible ASM value chains, and requires the Treasury to consider precious-metals-related transactions when identifying jurisdictions and institutions that pose primary money-laundering concerns. The law also clarifies it does not authorize use of U.S. armed force and sets deadlines for submissions and briefings (e.g., strategy due within 180 days; a classified briefing within 90 days).