A complex trail leads from dusty mining towns to Irish shops

A CURIOUS tale lies behind the origin of a gold ring. It begins in the damp tunnels and dusty pits dotted like cheese holes across Ghana’s mining towns.

It continues where the raw metal is cleaned of impure rocks and soil and fused into a dazzling bar that is finally melted down and crafted into hundreds of perfect items of jewellery.

But few Irish people really question where the gold comes from. What if they discovered the source of a simple ring could have involved towns being polluted, disease being spread or even the death of someone?

Unlike diamonds which are increasingly traceable, a buyer almost has no way of knowing when they purchase gold in Ireland if it has been ethically sourced.

Jewellers rely on manufacturers, who in turn rely on gold bullion dealers. Those dealers source their gold from refineries who themselves receive the raw commodity from mines, small dealers and those at the front of the trade. It is a complex trail which sees gold from multiple sources mixed together.

In the dusty old mining town of Prestea, in south-west Ghana, gold buyer huts lie hidden in the back streets.

This is the world of the gold buyer involving calculators, weighing scales, huge wads of cash and jars filled with little nuggets of gold. In the hut of licensed gold buyer Thomas Mand, sellers at dusk come and go quickly disposing of their finds.

The business takes in nearly $10,000 (€7,460) a day in gold from small-scale and illegal miners.

“We use the gold to take care of ourselves,” explains Mr Mand.

It is estimated that there are more than 500 licensed gold buyers like Mr Mand in Ghana.

Buyers then melt down the chunks into small gold bars, bring them to the cities or the capital, Accra, where they are graded and sold to a Government agency called the Precious Minerals Marketing Company.

An Irish Examiner investigation has established a link between gold sourced by illegal and small-scale miners in Ghana and jewellery being sold in Ireland.

The Precious Minerals Marketing Company confirmed that it sent most of its 1.2 tonnes of gold sourced last year from small scale and illegal miners to a refinery in Switzerland called Metalor Technologies, one of the Europe’s biggest refineries.

Metalor supplies gold sheets and other forms of the precious metal directly to Irish jewellery manufacturers, the Federation of Jewellery Manufacturers in Ireland confirmed. The federation’s president, John Condron, confirmed Metalor was one of the top three suppliers to Irish manufacturers. But he defended the sourcing of gold by manufacturers, saying it was a matter of “trust” in suppliers and refineries.

“We’re just the same as the public. We don’t want to be putting people in danger with anything we do,” stressed Mr Condron.

Metalor refused to confirm whether the Ghanaian government agency was a client.

The marketing company’s deputy director, George Ashanti, though confirmed nearly all of its gold was refined overseas by Metalor. The origin of that gold could come from anywhere, including illegal miners, admitted Mr Ashanti. “We don’t insist on asking where you get the gold from,” he said.

The link between illegally mined gold and the Irish market increases fears that jewellers at home may be unknowingly selling ‘dirty’ gold.

But some retailers are making efforts to source ethical gold.

Moores Jewellers in Cork is one of the first to sell fair trade gold, sourced from South America.

Despite the 25% mark-up price, founder and owner Eileen Moore explained why customers were making a choice: “It’s nice to know your wedding ring hasn’t cost the health of someone else.”

This project was funded by the SIMON CUMBERS MEDIA CHALLENGE fund, supported by Irish Aid.