Due diligence in Colombia’s gold supply chain

This report assesses the Colombian gold supply chains and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas in the Colombian context. It analyses conditions of mineral extraction and related risks in Colombia’s Chocó region. Although Chocó is Colombia’s second largest producer, gold exploitation has left few dividends for the majority of its population, one of the poorest in the country. The gold mining sector in Chocó faces tremendous legal, social, political, and security problems. Despite isolated attempts to implement due diligence processes in gold exploitation in Chocó, widespread poverty, high levels of corruption and established patterns of money laundering, difficult access to mining sites, and the presence of illegal armed groups and criminal organisation have rendered these efforts unreliable.