Business vision and adaptable technology: Artisanal Gold Council consolidates strategic alliance in Colombia for mining in Zambia.

The Artisanal Gold Council has taken a new step towardthe professionalization and sustainability of Artisanal and Small-Scale GoldMining (ASGM) through a technology acquisition technical mission in Medellín,Colombia. In collaboration with equipment manufacturer Oro Sinú, the teamevaluated and finalized details for implementing mercury-free processingsystems adapted to the Zambian context.

Collaborative innovation and control for theminer

The core of this technical acquisition centers aroundthe development and optimization of the concentration cone, a device designedto recover alluvial gold through gravity concentration without relying on toxicsubstances.

During the tour of the facilities in Colombia, René Roger Tissot, Executive Director of the Artisanal Gold Council, reflectedon the evolution and impact of this equipment:

"We are discussing the development of theconstruction of what we call the small cone, that is a technology that wasinitially developed by Artisanal Gold Council by my previous manager professorTelmer, but we have made significant new improvement and design and with thehelp within not only they are expert in the engineering, but there are alsominers themselves to adapt it to the realities of the small miners. What we areachieving here is to be able for the miners to have more control on the processof the gold production at a much lower cost."

A bigbusiness perspective for small-scale mining

One of thefundamental pillars highlighted by the Artisanal Gold Council leadership is OroSinú's operational philosophy, which combines machinery manufacturing withhands-on mining practice across different scales. Regarding this, René RogerTissot underscored:

"I'mparticularly proud of the partnership that we have with Oro Sinú. As I said,not only because this is a partner that not only produce equipment, but they domining and they have been extremely successful at moving from small to mediumand large scale mining. They do small scale mining thinking like a big miningbusiness: technology, safety, environmental protection and a good transparentmanagement.”

Impactin Zambia and the planetgold project

Theacquired equipment will form part of pilot plants and shared processing centerswithin PlanetGOLD initiatives in Zambia. To ensure the sustainability and localroots of this technology transfer, a development partnership has beenestablished with the University of Zambia.

Throughthis academic link, local technicians, students, and miners can understand howthe equipment works, replicate it autonomously, or source it directly throughOro Sinú. In this way, the Artisanal Gold Council continues to drive cleaner,safer mining practices managed directly by the beneficiary communities.