I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5570 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 

Mr. MILLS (for himself and Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The illicit mining, trafficking, and commer2 cialization of gold in the Western Hemisphere— 

3 (A) negatively affects the region’s economic 

4 and social dynamics; 

5 (B) strengthens transnational criminal or6 ganizations and other international illicit actors; 

7 (C) perpetuates human rights abuses and 

8 land occupation against indigenous commu9 nities; and 

10 (D) can cause significant environmental 

11 destruction. 

12 (2) A lack of economic opportunities, corrup13 tion, and the weak rule of law promote illicit activi14 ties, such as illicit gold mining, which increases the 

15 vulnerability of individuals in mining areas, includ16 ing indigenous communities, who have been sub17 jected to trafficking in persons, other human rights 

18 abuses, and population displacement in relation to 

19 mining activity, particularly in the artisanal and 

20 small-scale mining 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 


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1 miners and enter into illicit partnerships with them 

2 in order to gain revenue from the illicit activity. 

3 (4) Illicit gold supply chains are international in 

4 nature and frequently involve— 

5 (A) the smuggling of gold and supplies, 

6 such as mercury; 

7 (B) trade-based money laundering; and 

8 (C) other cross-border flows of illicit as9 sets. 

10 (5) In Latin America, mineral traders and ex11 porters, local processors, and shell companies linked 

12 to transnational criminal networks and illegally 

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

14 laundering, and commercialization of illicit gold from 

15 the region. 

16 (6) According to a report on illegally mined 

17 Gold in Latin America by the Global Initiative 

18 Against Transnational Organized Crime— 

19 (A) more than 70 percent of the gold 

20 mined in several Latin American countries, 

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

22 through illicit means; and 

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

24 Venezuela is mined through illicit means and a 

25 large percentage of such gold is sold— 


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1 (i) to Mibiturven, a joint venture op2 erated by the Maduro regime composed of 

3 Minerven, a gold processor that has been 

4 designated by the Office of Foreign Assets 

5 Control of the Department of the Treas6 ury, pursuant to Executive Order 13850 

7 (relating to blocking property of additional 

8 persons contributing to the situation in 

9 Venezuela), and Marilyns Proje Yatirim, 

10 S.A., a Turkish company; or 

11 (ii) through other trafficking and 

12 commercialization networks from which the 

13 Maduro regime benefits financially. 

14 (7) Illegal armed groups and foreign terrorist 

15 organizations, such as the Eje ́rcito de Liberacio ́n 

16 Nacional (National Liberation Army—ELN), work 

17 with transnational criminal organizations in Ven18 ezuela that participate in the illicit mining, traf19 ficking, and commercialization of gold. 

20 (8) Transnational criminal organizations based 

21 in Venezuela, such as El Tren de Aragua, have ex22 panded their role in the illicit mining, trafficking, 

23 and commercialization of gold to increase their 

24 criminal profits. 


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

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

3 which 

4 (A) gold valued at an estimated 

5 $898,000,000 was shipped to the United 

6 States; 

7 (B) gold valued at an estimated 

8 $48,700,000 was shipped to Switzerland; 

9 (C) gold valued at an estimated 

10 $39,000,000 was shipped to the United Arab 

11 Emirates; and 

12 (D) gold valued at an estimated 

13 $3,620,000 was shipped to Austria. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT17 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com18 mittees’’ means— 

19 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

20 the Senate; 

21 (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

22 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

23 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

24 the House of Representatives; and 


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1 (D) the Committee on Financial Services 

2 of 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) ranges from employing rudimentary, 

8 simple, and low-cost extractive technologies and 

9 manual labor-intensive techniques to being 

10 highly mechanized, using large earth-moving 

11 equipment and high through-put processing 

12 centers; 

13 (B) is frequently subject to limited regula14 tion; and 

15 (C) often features harsh and dangerous 

16 working conditions. 

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

18 includes— 

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

20 (i) United States-designated foreign 

21 terrorist organizations; 

22 (ii) specially designated global terror23 ists (as defined in section 594.310 of title 

24 31, Code of Federal Regulations); 


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1 (iii) significant foreign narcotics traf2 fickers (as defined in section 808 of the 

3 Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation 

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

5 (iv) blocked persons, as maintained by 

6 the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 

7 Department of the Treasury; and 

8 (B) drug trafficking organizations. 

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

10 stakeholders’’ means private sector organizations, in11 dustry representatives, and civil society groups that 

12 represent communities in areas affected by illicit 

13 mining and trafficking of gold, including indigenous 

14 groups, that are committed to the implementation of 

15 the Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy. 

16 (5) LEGAL GOLD AND MINING PARTNERSHIP

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

18 Mining Partnership Strategy’’ and ‘‘Strategy’’ mean 

19 the strategy developed pursuant to section 4. 

20 (6) RELEVANT FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND

21 AGENCIES.—The term ‘‘relevant Federal depart22 ments and agencies’’ means— 

23 (A) the Department of State; 

24 (B) the Department of the Treasury; 


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1 (C) the Department of Homeland Security, 

2 including U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

3 and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce4 ment; 

5 (D) the Department of Justice, including 

6 the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the 

7 Drug Enforcement Administration; 

8 (E) the Department of the Interior; 

9 (F) the United States Agency for Inter10 national Development; and 

11 (G) other Federal agencies designated by 

12 the President. 

13 SEC. 4. LEGAL GOLD AND MINING PARTNERSHIP STRAT14 EGY. 

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

16 in coordination with the heads of relevant Federal depart17 ments and agencies, shall develop a comprehensive, multi18 year strategy, which shall be known as the Legal Gold and 

19 Mining Partnership Strategy (referred to in this section 

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

21 Western Hemisphere. 

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

23 programs, and initiatives— 


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1 (1) to interrupt the linkages between ASM and 

2 illicit actors that profit from ASM in the Western 

3 Hemisphere; 

4 (2) to deter ASM in protected indigenous land 

5 and environmentally protected areas, such as na6 tional parks and conservation zones, to prevent min7 ing-related contamination of ancestral indigenous 

8 land and critical natural resources, such as water re9 sources, soil, tropical forests, and other flora and 

10 fauna, and aerosol contamination linked to detri11 mental health impacts; 

12 (3) to counter the financing and enrichment of 

13 actors involved in the illicit mining, trafficking, and 

14 commercialization of gold, and the abetting of their 

15 activities by— 

16 (A) promoting the exercise of due diligence 

17 and the use of responsible sourcing methods in 

18 the purchase and trade of ASM; 

19 (B) preventing and prohibiting foreign per20 sons who control commodity trading chains 

21 linked to illicit actors from enjoying the benefits 

22 of access to the territory, markets or financial 

23 system of the United States, and halting any 

24 such ongoing activity by such foreign persons; 


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1 (C) combating related impunity afforded to 

2 illicit actors by building the capacity of inves3 tigative and anti-corruption offices and address4 ing corruption in government institutions; and 

5 (D) supporting the capacity of financial in6 telligence units, customs agencies, and other 

7 government institutions focused on anti-money 

8 laundering initiatives and combating the financ9 ing of criminal activities and terrorism to exer10 cise oversight consistent with the threats posed 

11 by illicit gold mining; 

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

13 enforcement institutions in the Western Hemisphere 

14 to effectively counter— 

15 (A) linkages between illicit gold mining, il16 licit actors, money laundering, and other finan17 cial crimes, including trade-based money laun18 dering; 

19 (B) linkages between illicit gold mining, il20 licit actors, trafficking in persons, and forced or 

21 coerced labor, including sex work and child 

22 labor; 

23 (C) the cross-border trafficking of illicit 

24 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 

7 the existing Memoranda of Understanding signed 

8 with the Governments of Peru and of Colombia in 

9 2017 and 2018, respectively, to expand bilateral co10 operation 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 

22 other minerals and illicit metals; and 

23 (B) supporting the formulation of strate24 gies to ensure the compliance of reporting insti25 tutions involved in the mining sector and to 


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1 promote transparency in mining-sector trans2 actions; 

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 reg12 ulated artisanal mining as a job growth area; 

13 (8) to engage the mining industry to encourage 

14 the building of technical expertise in best practices, 

15 environmental safeguards, and access to new tech16 nologies; 

17 (9) to support the establishment of gold com18 modity supply chain due diligence, responsible 

19 sourcing, tracing and tracking capacities, and stand20 ards-compliant commodity certification systems in 

21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, in22 cluding efforts recommended in the OECD Due Dili23 gence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of 

24 Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High Risk 

25 Areas, Third Edition (2016); 


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1 (10) to engage with civil society, including the 

2 indigenous communities that are directly impacted, 

3 to reduce the negative environmental impacts of 

4 ASM, particularly— 

5 (A) the use of mercury in preliminary re6 fining and in extracting gold; 

7 (B) the destruction of tropical forests; 

8 (C) the construction of illegal and unregu9 lated dams and the resulting valley floods; 

10 (D) the pollution of water resources and 

11 soil; and 

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

13 toxic chemicals and heavy metals that can cause 

14 severe health problems; 

15 (11) to aid and encourage ASM miners— 

16 (A) to formalize their business activities, 

17 including through skills training, technical and 

18 business assistance, and access to financing, 

19 loans, and credit; 

20 (B) to utilize environmentally safe and sus21 tainable mining practices, including by scaling 

22 up the use of mercury-free gold refining and ex23 tracting technologies, and mining methods and 

24 technologies that do not result in deforestation, 

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1 contamination, and other negative environ2 mental impacts associated with ASM; 

3 (C) to reduce the costs associated with for4 malization and compliance with mining regula5 tions; 

6 (D) to fully break away from the influence 

7 of illicit actors who leverage the control of terri8 tory and use violence to extort miners and push 

9 them into illicit arrangements; 

10 (E) to adopt and utilize environmentally 

11 safe and sustainable mining practices, includ12 ing— 

13 (i) mercury-free gold refining and ex14 tracting technologies; and 

15 (ii) extractive techniques that do not 

16 result in— 

17 (I) forest clearance and water 

18 contamination; or 

19 (II) the release of dust or uncon20 trolled tailings containing toxic chemi21 cals; 

22 (F) to pursue alternative livelihoods out23 side the mining sector; and 

24 (G) to fully access public social services in 

25 ASM-dependent communities; 


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1 (12) to support and encourage socioeconomic 

2 development programs, law enforcement capacity3 building programs, and support for relevant inter4 national initiatives, including by providing assistance 

5 to achieve such ends by implementing the Strategy; 

6 (13) to interrupt the illicit gold trade in Nica7 ragua, including through the use of United States 

8 punitive measures against the government led by 

9 President Daniel Ortega and Vice-President Rosario 

10 Murillo and their collaborators pursuant to Execu11 tive Order 14088 (relating to taking additional steps 

12 to address the national emergency with respect to 

13 the situation in Nicaragua), which was issued on Oc14 tober 24, 2022; 

15 (14) to assist local journalists with investiga16 tions of illicit mining, trafficking, and commer17 cialization of gold and its supplies in the Western 

18 Hemisphere; and 

19 (15) to promote responsible sourcing and due 

20 diligence at all levels of gold supply chains. 

21 (c) CHALLENGES ASSESSED.—The Strategy shall in22 clude an assessment of the challenges posed by, and policy 

23 recommendations to address— 

24 (1) linkages between ASM sector production 

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1 ties of illicit actors, including linkages that help to 

2 finance or enrich such illicit actors or abet their ac3 tivities; 

4 (2) linkages between illicit or grey market 

5 trade, and markets in gold and other metals or min6 erals and legal trade and commerce in such commod7 ities, notably with respect to activities that abet the 

8 entry of such commodities into legal commerce, in9 cluding— 

10 (A) illicit cross-border trafficking, includ11 ing with respect to goods, persons and illegal 

12 narcotics; 

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 

19 legal foreign origin or not; and 

20 (ii) the proceeds of such metals or 

21 minerals; 

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 

9 that— 

10 (i) involve the use of elemental mer11 cury; or 

12 (ii) result in labor, health, environ13 mental, and safety code infractions and 

14 workplace hazards; and 

15 (B) lead some ASM miners to operate in 

16 the extralegal or poorly regulated informal sec17 tor, and often prevent such miners from im18 proving the socioeconomic status of themselves 

19 and their families and communities, or hinder 

20 their ability to formalize their operations, en21 hance their technical and business capacities, 

22 and access finance of fair market prices for 

23 their output; 


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1 (5) mining-related trafficking in persons and 

2 forced or coerced labor, including sex work and child 

3 labor; and 

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

5 ASM operations, including the technical aims and 

6 scope of such usage and its impact on human health 

7 and the environment, including flora, fauna, water 

8 resources, soil, and air quality. 

9 (d) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—The Strategy shall de10 scribe— 

11 (1) existing foreign assistance programs that 

12 address elements of the Strategy; and 

13 (2) additional foreign assistance resources need14 ed to fully implement the Strategy. 

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

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall sub17 mit the Strategy to the appropriate congressional commit18 tees. 

19 (f) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after sub20 mission of the Strategy, and semiannually thereafter for 

21 the following 3 years, the Secretary of State, or the Sec22 retary’s designee, shall provide a briefing to the appro23 priate congressional committees regarding the implemen24 tation of the strategy, including efforts to leverage inter25 national support and develop a public-private partnership 


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1 to build responsible gold value chains with other govern2 ments. 

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

4 VENEZUELA AND NICARAGUA. 

5 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary’s 

7 designee, in coordination with the Director of National In8 telligence, shall provide a classified briefing to the appro9 priate congressional committees, the Select Committee on 

10 Intelligence of the Senate, and the Permanent Select Com11 mittee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives 

12 that describes— 

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

14 including the illicit mining, trafficking, and commer15 cialization of gold— 

16 (A) inside Venezuelan territory carried out 

17 by illicit actors, including defectors from the 

18 Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia 

19 (FARC) and members of the National Libera20 tion Army (ELN); and 

21 (B) inside Nicaragua carried out by state22 owned mining companies such as Empresa 

23 Nicaraguense de Minas (ENIMINAS); 

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

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1 public of Turkey and the Government of the Islamic 

2 Republic of Iran; and 

3 (3) Nicaragua’s illicit gold trade with foreign 

4 governments, including the Venezuelan regime and 

5 the Government of Russia. 

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

7 VENEZUELA. 

8 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Sec9 retary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and allied 

10 and partner governments in the Western Hemisphere, 

11 shall seek to— 

12 (1) lead a coordinated international effort to 

13 carry out financial investigations to identify and 

14 track assets taken from the people and institutions 

15 in Venezuela that are linked to money laundering 

16 and illicit activities, including mining-related activi17 ties, by sharing financial investigations intelligence, 

18 as appropriate and as permitted by law; and 

19 (2) provide technical assistance to help eligible 

20 governments in Latin America establish legislative 

21 and regulatory frameworks that bolster legal mecha22 nisms to disrupt illicit mining, including by sup23 porting the capacity to impose and effectively imple24 ment targeted sanctions on— 


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1 (A) officials of the Maduro regime or any 

2 successor thereof not installed through free or 

3 fair elections who are directly engaged in the il4 licit mining, trafficking, and commercialization 

5 of gold; and 

6 (B) foreign persons engaged in the laun7 dering of illicit gold assets linked to designated 

8 terrorist and drug trafficking organizations. 

9 SEC. 7. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT. 

10 In implementing the Legal Gold and Mining Partner11 ship Strategy pursuant to section 4, the President should 

12 direct United States representatives accredited to relevant 

13 multilateral institutions and development banks and 

14 United States ambassadors in the Western Hemisphere to 

15 use the influence of the United States to foster inter16 national cooperation to achieve the objectives of this Act, 

17 including— 

18 (1) marshaling resources and political support; 

19 and 

20 (2) encouraging the development of policies and 

21 consultation with key stakeholders to accomplish 

22 such objectives and provisions. 


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1 SEC. 8. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO BUILD RESPON2 SIBLE GOLD VALUE CHAINS. 

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

4 United States Agency for International Development (re5 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Administrator’’), in co6 ordination with the Governments of Colombia, of Ecuador, 

7 and of Peru, and with other democratically elected govern8 ments in the region, shall consult with the Government 

9 of Switzerland regarding best practices developed through 

10 the Swiss Better Gold Initiative, a public-private partner11 ship that aims to improve transparency and traceability 

12 in the international gold trade. 

13 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall coordi14 nate with the Governments of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, 

15 and other democratically elected governments in the re16 gion determined by the Administrator to establish a pub17 lic-private partnership to advance the best practices identi18 fied in subsection (a), including supporting programming 

19 in participating countries that will— 

20 (1) support formalization and compliance with 

21 appropriate environmental and labor standards in 

22 ASM gold mining; 

23 (2) increase access to financing for ASM gold 

24 miners who are taking significant steps to formalize 

25 their operations and comply with labor and environ26 mental standards; 


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1 (3) enhance the traceability and support the es2 tablishment of a certification process for ASM gold; 

3 (4) support a public relations campaign to pro4 mote responsibly-sourced gold; 

5 (5) include representatives of local civil society 

6 and indigenous communities to work towards solic7 iting the free and informed consent of those living 

8 on lands with mining potential; 

9 (6) facilitate contact between vendors of respon10 sibly-sourced gold and United States companies; and 

11 (7) promote policies and practices in partici12 pating countries that are conducive to the formaliza13 tion of ASM gold mining and promoting adherence 

14 of ASM to internationally-recognized best practices 

15 and standards. 

16 (c) MEETING.—The Secretary of State or the Admin17 istrator, without delegation and in coordination with the 

18 governments of participating countries, should— 

19 (1) host a meeting with senior representatives 

20 of the private sector and international governmental 

21 and nongovernmental partners; and 

22 (2) make commitments to improve due diligence 

23 and increase the responsible sourcing of gold. 


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1 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Depart3 ment of State $10,000,000 to implement the Legal Gold 

4 and Mining Partnership Strategy developed pursuant to 

5 section 4. 

Æ 


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