II 

Calendar No. 57 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 797 

To 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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 14, 2023 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. MENENDEZ) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MAY 4, 2023 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Legal 

5 Gold and Mining Partnership Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The illicit mining, trafficking, and commer4 cialization of gold in the Western Hemisphere— 

5 (A) negatively affects the region’s economic 

6 and social dynamics; 

7 (B) strengthens transnational criminal or8 ganizations and other international illicit actors; 

9 and 

10 (C) has a deleterious impact on the envi11 ronment and food security. 

12 (2) A lack of economic opportunities and the 

13 weak rule of law promote illicit activities, such as il14 licit gold mining, which increases the vulnerability of 

15 individuals in mining areas, including indigenous 

16 communities, who have been subjected to trafficking 

17 in persons, other human rights abuses, and popu18 lation displacement in relation to mining activity, 

19 particularly in the artisanal and small-scale mining 

20 sector. 

21 (3) Illicit gold mining in Latin America often 

22 involves and benefits transnational criminal organi23 zations, drug trafficking organizations, terrorist 

24 groups, and other illegal armed groups that extort 

25 miners and enter into illicit partnerships with them 

26 in order to gain revenue from the illicit activity. 


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1 (4) Illicit gold supply chains are international in 

2 nature and frequently involve— 

3 (A) the smuggling of gold and supplies, 

4 such as mercury; 

5 (B) trade-based money laundering; and 

6 (C) other cross-border flows of illicit as7 sets. 

8 (5) In Latin America, mineral traders and ex9 porters, local processors, and shell companies linked 

10 to transnational criminal networks and illegally 

11 armed groups all play a key role in the trafficking, 

12 laundering, and commercialization of illicit gold from 

13 the region. 

14 (6) According to a report on illegally mined 

15 Gold in Latin America by the Global Initiative 

16 Against Transnational Organized Crime— 

17 (A) more than 70 percent of the gold 

18 mined in several Latin American countries, 

19 such as Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, is mined 

20 through illicit means; and 

21 (B) about 80 percent of the gold mined in 

22 Venezuela is mined through illicit means and a 

23 large percentage of such gold is sold— 

24 (i) to the state mining company, 

25 Minerven, a gold processor that has been 


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1 designated by the Office of Foreign Assets 

2 Control of the Department of the Treas3 ury, pursuant to Executive Order 13850, 

4 and is operated by the Maduro regime; or 

5 (ii) through other trafficking and 

6 commercialization networks from which the 

7 Maduro regime benefits financially. 

8 (7) Illegal armed groups and foreign terrorist 

9 organizations, such as the Ej ́ercito de Liberaci ́on 

10 Nacional (National Liberation Army—ELN), work 

11 with transnational criminal organizations in Ven12 ezuela that participate in the illicit mining, traf13 ficking, and commercialization of gold. 

14 (8) Transnational criminal organizations based 

15 in Venezuela, such as El Tren de Aragua, have ex16 panded their role in the illicit mining, trafficking, 

17 and commercialization of gold to increase their 

18 criminal profits. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT22 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com23 mittees’’ means— 

24 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

25 the Senate; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

2 the House of Representatives. 

3 (2) ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING; 

4 ASM.—The terms ‘‘artisanal and small-scale mining’’ 

5 and ‘‘ASM’’ refer to a form of mining common in 

6 the developing world that— 

7 (A) typically employs rudimentary, simple, 

8 and low-cost extractive technologies and manual 

9 labor-intensive techniques; 

10 (B) is frequently subject to limited regula11 tion; and 

12 (C) often features harsh and dangerous 

13 working conditions. 

14 (3) ILLICIT ACTORS.—The term ‘‘illicit actors’’ 

15 includes— 

16 (A) any person included on any list of— 

17 (i) United States-designated foreign 

18 terrorist organizations; 

19 (ii) specially designated global terror20 ists (as defined in section 594.310 of title 

21 31, Code of Federal Regulations); 

22 (iii) significant foreign narcotics traf23 fickers (as defined in section 808 of the 

24 Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation 

25 Act (21 U.S.C. 1907); or 


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1 (iv) blocked persons, as maintained by 

2 the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 

3 Department of the Treasury; and 

4 (B) drug trafficking organizations. 

5 (4) KEY STAKEHOLDERS.—The term ‘‘key 

6 stakeholders’’ means private sector organizations, in7 dustry representatives, and civil society representa8 tives that are committed to the implementation of 

9 the Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy. 

10 (5) LEGAL GOLD AND MINING PARTNERSHIP

11 STRATEGY; STRATEGY.—The terms ‘‘Legal Gold and 

12 Mining Partnership Strategy’’ and ‘‘Strategy’’ mean 

13 the strategy developed pursuant to section 4. 

14 (6) RELEVANT FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND

15 AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘relevant Federal depart16 ments and agencies’’ means— 

17 (A) the Department of State; 

18 (B) the Department of the Treasury; 

19 (C) the Department of Homeland Security, 

20 including U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

21 and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce22 ment; 

23 (D) the Department of Justice, including 

24 the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the 

25 Drug Enforcement Administration; 


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1 (E) the Department of the Interior; 

2 (F) the United States Agency for Inter3 national Development; and 

4 (G) other Federal agencies designated by 

5 the President. 

6 SEC. 4. LEGAL GOLD AND MINING PARTNERSHIP STRAT7 EGY. 

8 (a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of State, 

9 in coordination with the heads of relevant Federal depart10 ments and agencies, shall develop a comprehensive, multi11 year strategy, which shall be known as the Legal Gold and 

12 Mining Partnership Strategy (referred to in this section 

13 as the ‘‘Strategy’’), to combat illicit gold mining in the 

14 Western Hemisphere. 

15 (b) ELEMENTS.—The Strategy shall include policies, 

16 programs, and initiatives— 

17 (1) to interrupt the linkages between ASM and 

18 illicit actors that profit from ASM in the Western 

19 Hemisphere; 

20 (2) to deter ASM in environmentally protected 

21 areas, such as national parks and conservation 

22 zones, to prevent mining-related contamination of 

23 critical natural resources, such as water resources, 

24 soil, tropical forests, and other flora and fauna, and 


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1 aerosol contamination linked to detrimental health 

2 impacts; 

3 (3) to counter the financing and enrichment of 

4 actors involved in the illicit mining, trafficking, and 

5 commercialization of gold, and the abetting of their 

6 activities by— 

7 (A) promoting the exercise of due diligence 

8 and the use of responsible sourcing methods in 

9 the purchase and trade of ASM; 

10 (B) preventing and prohibiting foreign per11 sons who control commodity trading chains 

12 linked to illicit actors from enjoying the benefits 

13 of access to the territory, markets or financial 

14 system of the United States, and halting any 

15 such ongoing activity by such foreign persons; 

16 and 

17 (C) supporting the capacity of financial in18 telligence units, customs agencies, and other 

19 government institutions focused on anti-money 

20 laundering initiatives and combating the financ21 ing of criminal activities and terrorism to exer22 cise oversight consistent with the threats posed 

23 by illicit gold mining; 


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1 (4) to build the capacity of foreign civilian law 

2 enforcement institutions in the Western Hemisphere 

3 to effectively counter— 

4 (A) linkages between illicit gold mining, il5 licit actors, money laundering, and other finan6 cial crimes, including trade-based money laun7 dering; 

8 (B) linkages between illicit gold mining, il9 licit actors, trafficking in persons, and forced or 

10 coerced labor, including sex work and child 

11 labor; 

12 (C) the cross-border trafficking of illicit 

13 gold, and the mercury, cyanide, explosives, and 

14 other hazardous materials used in illicit gold 

15 mining; and 

16 (D) surveillance and investigation of illicit 

17 and related activities that are related to or are 

18 indicators of illicit gold mining activities; 

19 (5) to ensure the successful implementation of 

20 the existing Memoranda of Understanding signed 

21 with the Governments of Peru and of Colombia in 

22 2017 and 2018, respectively, to expand bilateral co23 operation to combat illicit gold mining; 

24 (6) to work with governments in the Western 

25 Hemisphere, bolster the effectiveness of anti-money 


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1 laundering efforts to combat the financing of illicit 

2 actors in Latin America and the Caribbean and 

3 counter the laundering of proceeds related to illicit 

4 gold mining by— 

5 (A) fostering international and regional co6 operation and facilitating intelligence sharing, 

7 as appropriate, to identify and disrupt financial 

8 flows related to the illicit gold mining, traf9 ficking, and commercialization of gold and 

10 other minerals and illicit metals; and 

11 (B) supporting the formulation of strate12 gies to ensure the compliance of reporting insti13 tutions involved in the mining sector and to 

14 promote transparency in mining-sector trans15 actions; 

16 (7) to support foreign government efforts— 

17 (A) to increase regulations of the ASM sec18 tor; 

19 (B) to facilitate licensing and formalization 

20 processes for ASM miners; 

21 (C) to create and implement environmental 

22 safeguards to reduce the negative environmental 

23 impact of mining on sensitive ecosystems; and 


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1 (D) to develop mechanisms to support reg2 ulated cultural artisanal mining and artisanal 

3 mining as a job growth area; 

4 (8) to engage the mining industry to encourage 

5 the building of technical expertise in best practices, 

6 environmental safeguards, and access to new tech7 nologies; 

8 (9) to support the establishment of gold com9 modity supply chain due diligence, responsible 

10 sourcing, tracing and tracking capacities, and stand11 ards-compliant commodity certification systems in 

12 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, in13 cluding efforts recommended in the OECD Due Dili14 gence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of 

15 Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High Risk 

16 Areas, Third Edition (2016); 

17 (10) to reduce the negative environmental im18 pacts of ASM, particularly— 

19 (A) the use of mercury in preliminary re20 fining; 

21 (B) the destruction of tropical forests; 

22 (C) the construction of illegal and unregu23 lated dams and the resulting valley floods; 

24 (D) the pollution of water resources and 

25 soil; and 


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1 (E) the release of dust, which can contain 

2 toxic chemicals and heavy metals that can cause 

3 severe health problems; 

4 (11) to aid and encourage ASM miners— 

5 (A) to formalize their business activities, 

6 including through skills training, technical and 

7 business assistance, and access to financing, 

8 loans, and credit; 

9 (B) to utilize environmentally safe and sus10 tainable mining practices, including by scaling 

11 up the use of mercury-free gold refining tech12 nologies, and mining methods and technologies 

13 that do not result in deforestation, forest de14 struction, air pollution, water and soil-contami15 nation, and other negative environmental im16 pacts associated with ASM; 

17 (C) to reduce the costs associated with for18 malization and compliance with mining regula19 tions; 

20 (D) to fully break away from the influence 

21 of illicit actors who leverage the control of terri22 tory and use violence to extort miners and push 

23 them into illicit arrangements; 


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1 (E) to adopt and utilize environmentally 

2 safe and sustainable mining practices, includ3 ing— 

4 (i) mercury-free gold refining tech5 nologies; and 

6 (ii) extractive techniques that do not 

7 result in— 

8 (I) forest clearance and water 

9 contamination; or 

10 (II) the release of dust or uncon11 trolled tailings containing toxic chemi12 cals; 

13 (F) to pursue alternative livelihoods out14 side the mining sector; and 

15 (G) to fully access public social services in 

16 ASM-dependent communities; 

17 (12) to support and encourage socioeconomic 

18 development programs, law enforcement capacity19 building programs, and support for relevant inter20 national initiatives, including by providing assistance 

21 to achieve such ends by implementing the Strategy; 

22 and 

23 (13) to promote responsible sourcing and due 

24 diligence at all levels of gold supply chains. 


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1 (c) CHALLENGES ASSESSED.—The Strategy shall in2 clude an assessment of the challenges posed by, and policy 

3 recommendations to address— 

4 (1) linkages between ASM sector production 

5 and trade, particularly relating to gold, to the activi6 ties of illicit actors, including linkages that help to 

7 finance or enrich such illicit actors or abet their ac8 tivities; 

9 (2) linkages between illicit or grey market 

10 trade, and markets in gold and other metals or min11 erals and legal trade and commerce in such commod12 ities, notably with respect to activities that abet the 

13 entry of such commodities into legal commerce, in14 cluding— 

15 (A) illicit cross-border trafficking, includ16 ing with respect to goods, persons and illegal 

17 narcotics; 

18 (B) money-laundering; 

19 (C) the financing of illicit actors or their 

20 activities; and 

21 (D) the extralegal entry into the United 

22 States of— 

23 (i) metals or minerals, whether of 

24 legal foreign origin or not; and 


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1 (ii) the proceeds of such metals or 

2 minerals; 

3 (3) linkages between the illicit mining, traf4 ficking, and commercialization of gold, diamonds, 

5 and precious metals and stones, and the financial 

6 and political activities of the regime of Nicol ́as 

7 Maduro of Venezuela; 

8 (4) factors that— 

9 (A) produce linkages between ASM miners 

10 and illicit actors, prompting some ASM miners 

11 to utilize mining practices that are environ12 mentally damaging and unsustainable, notably 

13 mining or related ore processing practices 

14 that— 

15 (i) involve the use of elemental mer16 cury; or 

17 (ii) result in labor, health, environ18 mental, and safety code infractions and 

19 workplace hazards; and 

20 (B) lead some ASM miners to operate in 

21 the extralegal or poorly regulated informal sec22 tor, and often prevent such miners from im23 proving the socioeconomic status of themselves 

24 and their families and communities, or hinder 

25 their ability to formalize their operations, enVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S797.RS S797

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1 hance their technical and business capacities, 

2 and access finance of fair market prices for 

3 their output; 

4 (5) mining-related trafficking in persons and 

5 forced or coerced labor, including sex work and child 

6 labor; and 

7 (6) the use of elemental mercury and cyanide in 

8 ASM operations, including the technical aims and 

9 scope of such usage and its impact on human health 

10 and the environment, including flora, fauna, water 

11 resources, soil, and air quality. 

12 (d) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—The Strategy shall de13 scribe— 

14 (1) existing foreign assistance programs that 

15 address elements of the Strategy; and 

16 (2) additional foreign assistance resources need17 ed to fully implement the Strategy. 

18 (e) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 180 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall sub20 mit the Strategy to the appropriate congressional commit21 tees. 

22 (f) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after sub23 mission of the Strategy, and semiannually thereafter for 

24 the following 3 years, the Secretary of State, or the Sec25 retary’s designee, shall provide a briefing to the approVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S797.RS S797

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1 priate congressional committees regarding the implemen2 tation of the strategy, including efforts to leverage inter3 national support and develop a public-private partnership 

4 to build responsible gold value chains with other govern5 ments. 

6 SEC. 5. CLASSIFIED BRIEFING ON ILLICIT GOLD MINING IN 

7 VENEZUELA. 

8 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary’s 

10 designee, in coordination with the Director of National In11 telligence, shall provide a classified briefing to the appro12 priate congressional committees, the Select Committee on 

13 Intelligence of the Senate, and the Permanent Select Com14 mittee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives 

15 that describes— 

16 (1) the activities related to illicit gold mining, 

17 including the illicit mining, trafficking, and commer18 cialization of gold, inside Venezuelan territory car19 ried out by illicit actors, including defectors from the 

20 Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 

21 and members of the National Liberation Army 

22 (ELN); and 

23 (2) Venezuela’s illicit gold trade with foreign 

24 governments, including the Government of the ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S797.RS S797

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1 public of Turkey and the Government of the Islamic 

2 Republic of Iran. 

3 SEC. 6. INVESTIGATION OF THE ILLICIT GOLD TRADE IN 

4 VENEZUELA. 

5 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Sec6 retary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and allied 

7 and partner governments in the Western Hemisphere, 

8 shall— 

9 (1) lead a coordinated international effort to 

10 carry out financial investigations to identify and 

11 track assets taken from the people and institutions 

12 in Venezuela that are linked to money laundering 

13 and illicit activities, including mining-related activi14 ties, by sharing financial investigations intelligence, 

15 as appropriate and as permitted by law; and 

16 (2) provide technical assistance to help eligible 

17 governments in Latin America establish legislative 

18 and regulatory frameworks capable of imposing and 

19 effectively implementing targeted sanctions on— 

20 (A) officials of the Maduro regime who are 

21 directly engaged in the illicit mining, traf22 ficking, and commercialization of gold; and 

23 (B) foreign persons engaged in the laun24 dering of illicit gold assets linked to designated 

25 terrorist and drug trafficking organizations. 


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1 SEC. 7. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT. 

2 In implementing the Legal Gold and Mining Partner3 ship Strategy pursuant to section 4, the President should 

4 direct United States representatives accredited to relevant 

5 multilateral institutions and development banks and 

6 United States ambassadors in the Western Hemisphere to 

7 use the influence of the United States to foster inter8 national cooperation to achieve the objectives of this Act, 

9 including— 

10 (1) marshaling resources and political support; 

11 and 

12 (2) encouraging the development of policies and 

13 consultation with key stakeholders to accomplish 

14 such objectives and provisions. 

15 SEC. 8. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO BUILD RESPON16 SIBLE GOLD VALUE CHAINS. 

17 (a) BEST PRACTICES.—The Administrator of the 

18 United States Agency for International Development (re19 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Administrator’’), in co20 ordination with the Governments of Colombia, of Ecuador, 

21 and of Peru, and with other democratically-elected govern22 ments in the region, shall consult with the Government 

23 of Switzerland regarding best practices developed through 

24 the Swiss Better Gold Initiative, a public-private partner25 ship that aims to improve transparency and traceability 

26 in the international gold trade. 


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1 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall coordi2 nate with the Governments of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, 

3 and other democratically-elected governments in the re4 gion determined by the Administrator to establish a pub5 lic-private partnership to advance the best practices identi6 fied in subsection (a), including supporting programming 

7 in participating countries that will— 

8 (1) support formalization and compliance with 

9 appropriate environmental and labor standards in 

10 ASM gold mining; 

11 (2) increase access to financing for ASM gold 

12 miners who are taking significant steps to formalize 

13 their operations and comply with labor and environ14 mental standards; 

15 (3) enhance the traceability and support the es16 tablishment of a certification process for ASM gold; 

17 (4) support a public relations campaign to pro18 mote responsibly-sourced gold; 

19 (5) facilitate contact between vendors of respon20 sibly-sourced gold and United States companies; and 

21 (6) promote policies and practices in partici22 pating countries that are conducive to the formaliza23 tion of ASM gold mining and promoting adherence 

24 of ASM to internationally-recognized best practices 

25 and standards. 


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1 (c) MEETING.—The Secretary of State or the Admin2 istrator, without delegation and in coordination with the 

3 governments of participating countries, should— 

4 (1) host a meeting with senior representatives 

5 of the private sector and international governmental 

6 and nongovernmental partners; and 

7 (2) make commitments to improve due diligence 

8 and increase the responsible sourcing of gold. 

9 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Depart11 ment of State $10,000,000 to implement the Legal Gold 

12 and Mining Partnership Strategy developed pursuant to 

13 section 4. 

14 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

15 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Legal 

16 Gold and Mining Partnership Act’’. 

17 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

18 Congress makes the following findings: 

19 (1) The illicit mining, trafficking, and commer20 cialization of gold in the Western Hemisphere— 

21 (A) negatively affects the region’s economic 

22 and social dynamics; 

23 (B) strengthens transnational criminal or24 ganizations and other international illicit actors; 

25 and 


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1 (C) has a deleterious impact on the environ2 ment, indigenous peoples, and food security. 

3 (2) A lack of economic opportunities and the 

4 weak rule of law promote illicit activities, such as il5 licit gold mining, which increases the vulnerability of 

6 individuals in mining areas, including indigenous 

7 communities, who have been subjected to trafficking 

8 in persons, other human rights abuses, and popu9 lation displacement in relation to mining activity, 

10 particularly in the artisanal and small-scale mining 

11 sector. 

12 (3) Illicit gold mining in Latin America often 

13 involves and benefits transnational criminal organi14 zations, drug trafficking organizations, terrorist 

15 groups, and other illegal armed groups that extort 

16 miners and enter into illicit partnerships with them 

17 in order to gain revenue from the illicit activity. 

18 (4) Illicit gold supply chains are international 

19 in nature and frequently involve— 

20 (A) the smuggling of gold and supplies, such 

21 as mercury; 

22 (B) trade-based money laundering; and 

23 (C) other cross-border flows of illicit assets. 

24 (5) In Latin America, mineral traders and ex25 porters, local processors, and shell companies linked to 


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1 transnational criminal networks and illegally armed 

2 groups all play a key role in the trafficking, laun3 dering, and commercialization of illicit gold from the 

4 region. 

5 (6) According to a report on illegally mined 

6 Gold in Latin America by the Global Initiative 

7 Against Transnational Organized Crime— 

8 (A) more than 70 percent of the gold mined 

9 in several Latin American countries, such as Co10 lombia, Ecuador, and Peru, is mined through il11 licit means; and 

12 (B) about 80 percent of the gold mined in 

13 Venezuela is mined through illicit means and a 

14 large percentage of such gold is sold— 

15 (i) to Mibiturven, a joint venture oper16 ated by the Maduro regime composed of 

17 Minerven, a gold processor that has been 

18 designated by the Office of Foreign Assets 

19 Control of the Department of the Treasury, 

20 pursuant to Executive Order 13850 (relat21 ing to blocking property of additional per22 sons contributing to the situation in Ven23 ezuela), and Marilyns Proje Yatirim, S.A., 

24 a Turkish company; or 


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1 (ii) through other trafficking and com2 mercialization networks from which the 

3 Maduro regime benefits financially. 

4 (7) Illegal armed groups and foreign terrorist or5 ganizations, such as the Eje ́rcito de Liberacio ́n 

6 Nacional (National Liberation Army—ELN), work 

7 with transnational criminal organizations in Ven8 ezuela that participate in the illicit mining, traf9 ficking, and commercialization of gold. 

10 (8) Transnational criminal organizations based 

11 in Venezuela, such as El Tren de Aragua, have ex12 panded their role in the illicit mining, trafficking, 

13 and commercialization of gold to increase their crimi14 nal profits. 

15 (9) Nicaragua’s gold exports during 2021 were 

16 valued at an estimated $989,000,000 in value, of 

17 which 

18 (A) gold valued at an estimated 

19 $898,000,000 was shipped to the United States; 

20 (B) gold valued at an estimated 

21 $48,700,000 was shipped to Switzerland; 

22 (C) gold valued at an estimated $39,000,000 

23 was shipped to the United Arab Emirates; and 

24 (D) gold valued at an estimated $3,620,000 

25 was shipped to Austria. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit5 tees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

7 the Senate; 

8 (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

9 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

10 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

11 House of Representatives; and 

12 (D) the Committee on Financial Services of 

13 the House of Representatives . 

14 (2) ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING; 

15 ASM.—The terms ‘‘artisanal and small-scale mining’’ 

16 and ‘‘ASM’’ refer to a form of mining common in the 

17 developing world that— 

18 (A) typically employs rudimentary, simple, 

19 and low-cost extractive technologies and manual 

20 labor-intensive techniques; 

21 (B) is frequently subject to limited regula22 tion; and 

23 (C) often features harsh and dangerous 

24 working conditions. 

25 (3) ILLICIT ACTORS.—The term ‘‘illicit actors’’ 

26 includes— 


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1 (A) any person included on any list of— 

2 (i) United States-designated foreign 

3 terrorist organizations; 

4 (ii) specially designated global terror5 ists (as defined in section 594.310 of title 

6 31, Code of Federal Regulations); 

7 (iii) significant foreign narcotics traf8 fickers (as defined in section 808 of the For9 eign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 

10 U.S.C. 1907); or 

11 (iv) blocked persons, as maintained by 

12 the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 

13 Department of the Treasury; and 

14 (B) drug trafficking organizations. 

15 (4) KEY STAKEHOLDERS.—The term ‘‘key stake16 holders’’ means private sector organizations, industry 

17 representatives, and civil society groups that represent 

18 communities in areas affected by illicit mining and 

19 trafficking of gold, including indigenous groups, that 

20 are committed to the implementation of the Legal 

21 Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy. 

22 (5) LEGAL GOLD AND MINING PARTNERSHIP

23 STRATEGY; STRATEGY.—The terms ‘‘Legal Gold and 

24 Mining Partnership Strategy’’ and ‘‘Strategy’’ mean 

25 the strategy developed pursuant to section 4. 


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1 (6) RELEVANT FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND

2 AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘relevant Federal departments 

3 and agencies’’ means— 

4 (A) the Department of State; 

5 (B) the Department of the Treasury; 

6 (C) the Department of Homeland Security, 

7 including U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

8 and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce9 ment; 

10 (D) the Department of Justice, including 

11 the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the 

12 Drug Enforcement Administration; 

13 (E) the Department of the Interior; 

14 (F) the United States Agency for Inter15 national Development; and 

16 (G) other Federal agencies designated by the 

17 President. 

18 SEC. 4. LEGAL GOLD AND MINING PARTNERSHIP STRAT19 EGY. 

20 (a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of State, in 

21 coordination with the heads of relevant Federal departments 

22 and agencies, shall develop a comprehensive, multi-year 

23 strategy, which shall be known as the Legal Gold and Min24 ing Partnership Strategy (referred to in this section as the 


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1 ‘‘Strategy’’), to combat illicit gold mining in the Western 

2 Hemisphere. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The Strategy shall include policies, 

4 programs, and initiatives— 

5 (1) to interrupt the linkages between ASM and 

6 illicit actors that profit from ASM in the Western 

7 Hemisphere; 

8 (2) to deter ASM in environmentally protected 

9 areas, such as national parks and conservation zones, 

10 to prevent mining-related contamination of critical 

11 natural resources, such as water resources, soil, trop12 ical forests, and other flora and fauna, and aerosol 

13 contamination linked to detrimental health impacts; 

14 (3) to counter the financing and enrichment of 

15 actors involved in the illicit mining, trafficking, and 

16 commercialization of gold, and the abetting of their 

17 activities by— 

18 (A) promoting the exercise of due diligence 

19 and the use of responsible sourcing methods in 

20 the purchase and trade of ASM; 

21 (B) preventing and prohibiting foreign per22 sons who control commodity trading chains 

23 linked to illicit actors from enjoying the benefits 

24 of access to the territory, markets or financial 


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1 system of the United States, and halting any 

2 such ongoing activity by such foreign persons; 

3 (C) combating related impunity afforded to 

4 illicit actors by addressing corruption in govern5 ment institutions; and 

6 (D) supporting the capacity of financial in7 telligence units, customs agencies, and other gov8 ernment institutions focused on anti-money 

9 laundering initiatives and combating the financ10 ing of criminal activities and terrorism to exer11 cise oversight consistent with the threats posed by 

12 illicit gold mining; 

13 (4) to build the capacity of foreign civilian law 

14 enforcement institutions in the Western Hemisphere 

15 to effectively counter— 

16 (A) linkages between illicit gold mining, il17 licit actors, money laundering, and other finan18 cial crimes, including trade-based money laun19 dering; 

20 (B) linkages between illicit gold mining, il21 licit actors, trafficking in persons, and forced or 

22 coerced labor, including sex work and child 

23 labor; 

24 (C) the cross-border trafficking of illicit 

25 gold, and the mercury, cyanide, explosives, and 


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1 other hazardous materials used in illicit gold 

2 mining; and 

3 (D) surveillance and investigation of illicit 

4 and related activities that are related to or are 

5 indicators of illicit gold mining activities; 

6 (5) to ensure the successful implementation of the 

7 existing Memoranda of Understanding signed with 

8 the Governments of Peru and of Colombia in 2017 

9 and 2018, respectively, to expand bilateral coopera10 tion to combat illicit gold mining; 

11 (6) to work with governments in the Western 

12 Hemisphere, bolster the effectiveness of anti-money 

13 laundering efforts to combat the financing of illicit 

14 actors in Latin America and the Caribbean and 

15 counter the laundering of proceeds related to illicit 

16 gold mining by— 

17 (A) fostering international and regional co18 operation and facilitating intelligence sharing, 

19 as appropriate, to identify and disrupt financial 

20 flows related to the illicit gold mining, traf21 ficking, and commercialization of gold and other 

22 minerals and illicit metals; and 

23 (B) supporting the formulation of strategies 

24 to ensure the compliance of reporting institutions 


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1 involved in the mining sector and to promote 

2 transparency in mining-sector transactions; 

3 (7) to support foreign government efforts— 

4 (A) to increase regulations of the ASM sec5 tor; 

6 (B) to facilitate licensing and formalization 

7 processes for ASM miners; 

8 (C) to create and implement environmental 

9 safeguards to reduce the negative environmental 

10 impact of mining on sensitive ecosystems; and 

11 (D) to develop mechanisms to support regu12 lated cultural artisanal mining and artisanal 

13 mining as a job growth area; 

14 (8) to engage the mining industry to encourage 

15 the building of technical expertise in best practices, 

16 environmental safeguards, and access to new tech17 nologies; 

18 (9) to support the establishment of gold com19 modity supply chain due diligence, responsible 

20 sourcing, tracing and tracking capacities, and stand21 ards-compliant commodity certification systems in 

22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, in23 cluding efforts recommended in the OECD Due Dili24 gence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of 


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1 Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High Risk Areas, 

2 Third Edition (2016); 

3 (10) to engage with civil society to reduce the 

4 negative environmental impacts of ASM, particu5 larly— 

6 (A) the use of mercury in preliminary re7 fining; 

8 (B) the destruction of tropical forests; 

9 (C) the construction of illegal and unregu10 lated dams and the resulting valley floods; 

11 (D) the pollution of water resources and 

12 soil; and 

13 (E) the release of dust, which can contain 

14 toxic chemicals and heavy metals that can cause 

15 severe health problems; 

16 (11) to aid and encourage ASM miners— 

17 (A) to formalize their business activities, in18 cluding through skills training, technical and 

19 business assistance, and access to financing, 

20 loans, and credit; 

21 (B) to utilize environmentally safe and sus22 tainable mining practices, including by scaling 

23 up the use of mercury-free gold refining tech24 nologies, and mining methods and technologies 

25 that do not result in deforestation, forest destrucVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S797.RS S797

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1 tion, air pollution, water and soil-contamina2 tion, and other negative environmental impacts 

3 associated with ASM; 

4 (C) to reduce the costs associated with for5 malization and compliance with mining regula6 tions; 

7 (D) to fully break away from the influence 

8 of illicit actors who leverage the control of terri9 tory and use violence to extort miners and push 

10 them into illicit arrangements; 

11 (E) to adopt and utilize environmentally 

12 safe and sustainable mining practices, includ13 ing— 

14 (i) mercury-free gold refining tech15 nologies; and 

16 (ii) extractive techniques that do not 

17 result in— 

18 (I) forest clearance and water con19 tamination; or 

20 (II) the release of dust or uncon21 trolled tailings containing toxic chemi22 cals; 

23 (F) to pursue alternative livelihoods outside 

24 the mining sector; and 


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1 (G) to fully access public social services in 

2 ASM-dependent communities; 

3 (12) to support and encourage socioeconomic de4 velopment programs, law enforcement capacity-build5 ing programs, and support for relevant international 

6 initiatives, including by providing assistance to 

7 achieve such ends by implementing the Strategy; 

8 (13) to interrupt the illicit gold trade in Nica9 ragua, including through the use of United States pu10 nitive measures against the government led by Presi11 dent Daniel Ortega and Vice-President Rosario 

12 Murillo and their collaborators pursuant to Executive 

13 Order 14088 (relating to taking additional steps to 

14 address the national emergency with respect to the sit15 uation in Nicaragua), which was issued on October 

16 24, 2022; 

17 (14) to assist local journalists with investiga18 tions of illicit mining, trafficking, and commer19 cialization of gold and its supplies in the Western 

20 Hemisphere; and 

21 (15) to promote responsible sourcing and due 

22 diligence at all levels of gold supply chains. 

23 (c) CHALLENGES ASSESSED.—The Strategy shall in24 clude an assessment of the challenges posed by, and policy 

25 recommendations to address— 


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1 (1) linkages between ASM sector production and 

2 trade, particularly relating to gold, to the activities of 

3 illicit actors, including linkages that help to finance 

4 or enrich such illicit actors or abet their activities; 

5 (2) linkages between illicit or grey market trade, 

6 and markets in gold and other metals or minerals 

7 and legal trade and commerce in such commodities, 

8 notably with respect to activities that abet the entry 

9 of such commodities into legal commerce, including— 

10 (A) illicit cross-border trafficking, including 

11 with respect to goods, persons and illegal nar12 cotics; 

13 (B) money-laundering; 

14 (C) the financing of illicit actors or their 

15 activities; and 

16 (D) the extralegal entry into the United 

17 States of— 

18 (i) metals or minerals, whether of legal 

19 foreign origin or not; and 

20 (ii) the proceeds of such metals or min21 erals; 

22 (3) linkages between the illicit mining, traf23 ficking, and commercialization of gold, diamonds, 

24 and precious metals and stones, and the financial 


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1 and political activities of the regime of Nicola ́s 

2 Maduro of Venezuela; 

3 (4) factors that— 

4 (A) produce linkages between ASM miners 

5 and illicit actors, prompting some ASM miners 

6 to utilize mining practices that are environ7 mentally damaging and unsustainable, notably 

8 mining or related ore processing practices that— 

9 (i) involve the use of elemental mer10 cury; or 

11 (ii) result in labor, health, environ12 mental, and safety code infractions and 

13 workplace hazards; and 

14 (B) lead some ASM miners to operate in the 

15 extralegal or poorly regulated informal sector, 

16 and often prevent such miners from improving 

17 the socioeconomic status of themselves and their 

18 families and communities, or hinder their ability 

19 to formalize their operations, enhance their tech20 nical and business capacities, and access finance 

21 of fair market prices for their output; 

22 (5) mining-related trafficking in persons and 

23 forced or coerced labor, including sex work and child 

24 labor; and 


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1 (6) the use of elemental mercury and cyanide in 

2 ASM operations, including the technical aims and 

3 scope of such usage and its impact on human health 

4 and the environment, including flora, fauna, water 

5 resources, soil, and air quality. 

6 (d) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—The Strategy shall de7 scribe— 

8 (1) existing foreign assistance programs that ad9 dress elements of the Strategy; and 

10 (2) additional foreign assistance resources needed 

11 to fully implement the Strategy. 

12 (e) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 180 days after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 

14 the Strategy to the appropriate congressional committees. 

15 (f) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after submis16 sion of the Strategy, and semiannually thereafter for the 

17 following 3 years, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary’s 

18 designee, shall provide a briefing to the appropriate con19 gressional committees regarding the implementation of the 

20 strategy, including efforts to leverage international support 

21 and develop a public-private partnership to build respon22 sible gold value chains with other governments. 


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1 SEC. 5. CLASSIFIED BRIEFING ON ILLICIT GOLD MINING IN 

2 VENEZUELA. 

3 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary’s des5 ignee, in coordination with the Director of National Intel6 ligence, shall provide a classified briefing to the appropriate 

7 congressional committees, the Select Committee on Intel8 ligence of the Senate, and the Permanent Select Committee 

9 on Intelligence of the House of Representatives that de10 scribes— 

11 (1) the activities related to illicit gold mining, 

12 including the illicit mining, trafficking, and commer13 cialization of gold, inside Venezuelan territory carried 

14 out by illicit actors, including defectors from the Rev15 olutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and 

16 members of the National Liberation Army (ELN); 

17 and 

18 (2) Venezuela’s illicit gold trade with foreign 

19 governments, including the Government of the Repub20 lic of Turkey and the Government of the Islamic Re21 public of Iran. 

22 SEC. 6. INVESTIGATION OF THE ILLICIT GOLD TRADE IN 

23 VENEZUELA. 

24 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Sec25 retary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and allied and 

26 partner governments in the Western Hemisphere, shall— 


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1 (1) lead a coordinated international effort to 

2 carry out financial investigations to identify and 

3 track assets taken from the people and institutions in 

4 Venezuela that are linked to money laundering and 

5 illicit activities, including mining-related activities, 

6 by sharing financial investigations intelligence, as 

7 appropriate and as permitted by law; and 

8 (2) provide technical assistance to help eligible 

9 governments in Latin America establish legislative 

10 and regulatory frameworks capable of imposing and 

11 effectively implementing targeted sanctions on— 

12 (A) officials of the Maduro regime who are 

13 directly engaged in the illicit mining, traf14 ficking, and commercialization of gold; and 

15 (B) foreign persons engaged in the laun16 dering of illicit gold assets linked to designated 

17 terrorist and drug trafficking organizations. 

18 SEC. 7. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT. 

19 In implementing the Legal Gold and Mining Partner20 ship Strategy pursuant to section 4, the President should 

21 direct United States representatives accredited to relevant 

22 multilateral institutions and development banks and 

23 United States ambassadors in the Western Hemisphere to 

24 use the influence of the United States to foster international 

25 cooperation to achieve the objectives of this Act, including— 


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1 (1) marshaling resources and political support; 

2 and 

3 (2) encouraging the development of policies and 

4 consultation with key stakeholders to accomplish such 

5 objectives and provisions. 

6 SEC. 8. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO BUILD RESPON7 SIBLE GOLD VALUE CHAINS. 

8 (a) BEST PRACTICES.—The Administrator of the 

9 United States Agency for International Development (re10 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Administrator’’), in coordi11 nation with the Governments of Colombia, of Ecuador, and 

12 of Peru, and with other democratically-elected governments 

13 in the region, shall consult with the Government of Switzer14 land regarding best practices developed through the Swiss 

15 Better Gold Initiative, a public-private partnership that 

16 aims to improve transparency and traceability in the inter17 national gold trade. 

18 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall coordinate 

19 with the Governments of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and 

20 other democratically-elected governments in the region de21 termined by the Administrator to establish a public-private 

22 partnership to advance the best practices identified in sub23 section (a), including supporting programming in partici24 pating countries that will— 


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1 (1) support formalization and compliance with 

2 appropriate environmental and labor standards in 

3 ASM gold mining; 

4 (2) increase access to financing for ASM gold 

5 miners who are taking significant steps to formalize 

6 their operations and comply with labor and environ7 mental standards; 

8 (3) enhance the traceability and support the es9 tablishment of a certification process for ASM gold; 

10 (4) support a public relations campaign to pro11 mote responsibly-sourced gold; 

12 (5) include representatives of local civil society 

13 to work towards soliciting the free and informed con14 sent of those living on lands with mining potential; 

15 (6) facilitate contact between vendors of respon16 sibly-sourced gold and United States companies; and 

17 (7) promote policies and practices in partici18 pating countries that are conducive to the formaliza19 tion of ASM gold mining and promoting adherence of 

20 ASM to internationally-recognized best practices and 

21 standards. 

22 (c) MEETING.—The Secretary of State or the Adminis23 trator, without delegation and in coordination with the gov24 ernments of participating countries, should— 


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1 (1) host a meeting with senior representatives of 

2 the private sector and international governmental 

3 and nongovernmental partners; and 

4 (2) make commitments to improve due diligence 

5 and increase the responsible sourcing of gold. 

6 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Depart8 ment of State $10,000,000 to implement the Legal Gold and 

9 Mining Partnership Strategy developed pursuant to section 

10 4. 


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Calendar No. 57 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 797 

A BILL 

To establish and implement a multi-year Legal 

and for other purposes. illicit gold mining in the Western Hemisphere, the negative environmental and social impacts of Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy to reduce 

MAY 4, 2023 

Reported with an amendment 


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