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Gold Jewelry Auction Supports Pure Earth’s Mission of Mercury-free Mining October 06, 2022 (0 comments)

New York, NY--Pure Earth, a global environmental nonprofit, is teaming up with actor and musician Ruby Rivera Modine and more than 30 designers for the 2022 Pure Earth Pure Gold collection, featuring pieces crafted using only responsibly sourced Fairmined gold donated by Hoover and Strong.

The collection is the centerpiece of Pure Earth’s ongoing collaboration with the responsible jewelry industry. The collection aims to raise awareness about the global impact of mercury pollution from gold mining, the plight of artisanal and small-scale gold miners, and the solutions being implemented in the Amazon rainforest and beyond.

The Pure Earth Pure Gold collection will open for auction October 10, with bids closing on the evening of October 17 during the Pure Earth Benefit Bash.

[Ruby Rivera Modine at a photo shoot with the Pure Earth Pure Gold collection. Photo credit: Pure Earth]

“The Pure Earth Pure Gold collection is not just beautiful, it is purposeful,” Ruby Rivera Modine says. “It shows that gold can be mined without toxic mercury, and without the destruction of lives and our natural resources. The incredible jewelers collaborating with Pure Earth are a key part of the solution. Their work on this collection should inspire us all, just as Mother nature inspires me, to work for a better world.”

Pure Earth trains miners in both mercury-free techniques and reforestation in the Peruvian Amazon, impacting one of the busiest gold mining areas on earth.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), which supplies about 20% of the world's gold, is the largest source of global mercury emissions. In the Amazon, ASGM using mercury has resulted in large scale destruction and mercury pollution of the rainforest. This has exposed local communities to health risks, which also pose threats far beyond its borders. Mercury moves through the atmosphere and drops into oceans and rivers worldwide, poisoning the seafood we all consume. 

“I think we all must start asking questions about how gold is mined,” says Richard Fuller, Founder, Pure Earth. “Responsible jewelers who support our work and educate their peers and clients will help create a demand for gold mined without mercury, and that in turn will encourage more miners to go mercury free. We all want the same thing. Gold that does not poison our food, does not contaminate our precious natural resources, and is safe for artisanal miners and their families, who do much of the hard work to get the gold into our hands. The Pure Earth Pure Gold collection is one of the ways we are connecting responsible gold miners to responsible jewelers to consumers to begin the transformation.”

Pure Earth works with artisanal and small-scale gold miners to produce gold without the use of mercury, and to support the commercialization of "clean" gold. To date Pure Earth has trained over 1,000 miners worldwide. Pure Earth works with miners to implement the best mercury-free approach for their mine, often increasing gold recovery rates. In the Amazon, an entire mining association can go mercury-free with just a handful of miners trained.

Pure Earth has helped miners in the Peruvian Amazon plant over 10,000 seedings (15 different species) to restore land damaged by mining. Survival rate is high, at over 70%. Nearly 10 hectares of rainforest has been restored, serving as model for how mines can be closed. Pure Earth is working to install nurseries in mining concessions in the Amazon to facilitate reforestation.

Participating jewelers 2022 Pure Earth Pure Gold Collection are: 

Andrea Jose Castro, Ani Fine Jewelry, Sandrine B Jewelry, Bario Neal, Bondeye Jewelry, Brilliant Earth, Dana Bronfman, Susan Crow, Freebird, Futura, Catherine Grisez, Maya Kini, Delphine Leymarie, LOLiDE, Made Line, Christina Malle, Melissa Joy Manning, MERZATTA, Leigh Miller, Mina Stones, Anna Moltke-Huitfeldt, Hi June Parker Fine Jewelry, Patrizia NYC, Plume by Kate Collins, Toby Pomeroy, Andrea Pooler, Truss and Ore, Irene Weinz, WEND, Susan Wheeler, WWake, SharonZ.