Artisanal Small-Scale Mining October 19, 2026Strengthening Market Integrity Through Responsible International Bullion Centres and ASMIn the latest issue of Bullion World, Nirali Shah (Sustainability &

AI desk brief

LBMA argues that responsible sourcing now requires tighter cooperation across refiners, auditors, governments and International Bullion Centres to curb illicit gold flows, cash transactions and hand-carried material. The piece says recent gold price strength is increasing incentives for informal flows, making transparency and governance more urgent for the market.

On supply, LBMA cites Metals Focus estimates that ASM accounted for 24% of global gold mine production in 2025, up from 20% in 2016, with output at 932 tonnes after a 10% YoY increase. LBMA’s ASM Task Force is promoting a toolkit, a Global Processing Plant Standard and in-country capacity building to create credible channels for responsible ASM into formal supply chains and onward to Good Delivery refiners.