SUPPLYCHAIN AID

Chopard has partnered with the Swiss Better Gold Association (SBGA) on a groundbreaking project to source gold from Colombian artisanal miners. El Chocó is Colombia’s secondlargest gold-producing region, but also one of the country’s poorest. The Barequeros are artisanal gold miners of whom 46 per cent are women. They use local traditional alluvial mining techniques with hand equipment such as sluices and panning. Their methods use no mercury, thus protecting the region’s biodiversity, which is among the most unique in the world. The programme ensures that the Barequeros receive a competitive price and also a special SBGA Better Gold Incentive of US$0.70 (S$0.97) per gram for them to reinvest into improving their living and working conditions. To date, 500 Barequeros have benefited from this initiative.