Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens U.S. ability to disrupt illicit gold networks and support environmental, governance, and formalization reforms abroad—potentially protecting communities and U.S. markets—while requiring taxpayer funding, imposing compliance costs, risking displacement of informal miners, and raising due‑process and diplomatic trade‑offs.
U.S. and regional governments, law enforcement, and border communities gain stronger ability to disrupt illicit gold networks and combat associated transnational crime and terrorist financing through coordinated strategy, sanctions authorities, and improved intelligence-sharing.
Communities near artisanal and illicit mines (including Indigenous and rural populations) are likely to see improved environmental and public-health outcomes from reduced mercury/cyanide use, less deforestation, remediation, and stronger local protections.
U.S. importers, financial institutions, and companies gain better supply-chain transparency, tracing, and certification, reducing exposure to tainted gold, lowering reputational and compliance risk, and improving the integrity of gold entering U.S. markets.
U.S. taxpayers face increased federal spending for foreign assistance, technical assistance, investigations, and State Department programming (including up to $10M of appropriations and likely additional multi‑year costs).
U.S. importers, traders, banks, and consumers may face higher compliance costs, reporting burdens, and potentially higher prices for gold-containing goods as sanctions, tracing, and due-diligence requirements are tightened.
Artisanal and informal miners, particularly low-income, Indigenous, or poorly capitalized operators, risk losing livelihoods or market access if formalization, certification, or market restrictions are imposed without affordable alternatives.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Directs a State Department-led strategy, international cooperation, capacity building, traceability, sanctions support, and up to $10M to combat illicit artisanal gold mining and trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.
Official title: Establish and implement a multi-year Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of illicit gold mining in the Western Hemisphere, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by John Cornyn · Last progress February 27, 2025
Creates a U.S.-led, multi-year strategy to combat illicit artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASM) and associated trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. The State Department will coordinate a Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy that includes capacity building, financial investigations, sanctions assistance, due-diligence and traceability systems, public–private partnerships, and consultations with partner governments; up to $10 million is authorized for implementation for FY2025–FY2026.