1. Workshop 9th September 2007 CASM’s 7th ACC, Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia
Fair Trade Minerals Opportunities, Challenges and Finding a Way Forward for Sustainable ASM
Workshop
9th September 2007
CASM’s 7th ACC, Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia
I believe we are at a critical moment in deciding what Fair Trade minerals will actually be able to achieve in terms of enabling sustainable development.
It is therefore my aim to present to you some of the opportunities for meeting the goals of Fair Trade, as well as some of the challenges that are likely to disrupt the path to Fair Trade. I will also give a brief overview of what to expect in the Fair Trade workshop happening later today.

2. Fair Trade Session Objectives
To contribute to ARM's FT process.
To produce recommendations on how to tackle several of the challenges related to building sustainable ASM communities through FT certification.
To consider what CASM’s role should be in implementing these recommendations and in the FT movement generally.
Before I finish, I’d like to set out how we’re going to do the workshop.
The session objectives are as follows:
To contribute to ARM's FT process.
To produce recommendations on how to tackle several of the challenges related to building sustainable ASM communities through FT certification.
To consider what CASM’s role should be in implementing these recommendations and in the FT movement generally.

3. Fair Trade Session Questions
FT gold in Asia?
Where are possible pilot sites in Asia?
What are the specific opportunities and challenges?
What are the challenges and opportunities for expanding Fair Trade into other minerals?
jewellery relevant
non-jewellery relevant
How do we deal with overdemand without undermining the FT process?
What are the possible models for ramping up supply? e.g.
Is there a way of buying from pre-certified mines?
What about separate certification of communities who aren’t FT compliant, but who demonstrate strengths in one area or another?
Could consumers pay an ethical surcharge on conventional gold, to fund work in pre-certified communities to bring them to compliance?
Should Fair Trade be for artisanal mining only, i.e. should large-scale mines be allowed to produce Fair Trade Gold? Is this a threat or an opportunity?
What role should CASM have in these efforts?
The main questions we’ll be considering after the presentations are:
Where can we find potential sites for producing FT gold in Asia? And what are the challenges and opportunities for FT gold in Asia?
What are the challenges and opportunities for expanding FT into other minerals?
How do we deal with overdemand in a way which protects the interests of artisanal mining communities and the goals of FT?
What role should CASM have in all these efforts?

4. contacts Estelle Levin, Cambridge, UK estellelevin@hotmail.com;