Material Investigations | Betts Metal on Single Mine Origin
Betts Metal specialises in the smelting and refining of precious metals. Founded during 1760 in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter by Alexander Betts, Betts is the UK’s oldest surviving precious metal refining and dealing business. Betts Metal sales products can be purchased and shipped throughout Britain, Ireland, and continental Europe. Increasingly aware of the social and environmental issues within the gold supply chain Betts launched Single Mine Origin (SMO) gold in 2018. To find out more and present an overview of Betts Metal’s commitment to a more traceable supply chain through SMO, we have been in touch with Betts Operations Manager Duncan Marshall to answer our questions.
This post is part of our Material Investigations: Gold series that investigates options for sourcing traceable gold through Q&A style articles. The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust does not verify any of the claims made by interviewed suppliers but instead aims to introduce diverse types of traceable gold available to purchase, allowing you to make further enquiries to inform your metal sourcing. For more information read the series introduction below:
What is SMO gold?
SMO stands for Single Mine Origin. SMO gold is kept separate from any other material throughout the supply chain from mine to finished item and can be traced to a single, responsibly operated mine. Currently SMO gold is sourced from Hummingbird Resources PLC’s Yanfolila Mine in Mali and Endeavour Mining’s Ity Mine in Cote D’Ivoire, both of which are independently audited to comply with the World Gold Council’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles. SMO gold is provided with a QR code, allowing end consumers to see exactly where their gold was sourced and learn more about the social and environmental projects going on around that source.
Dore bars, Yanfolila mine, Mali
Could you describe the journey that led The Betts Group to the launch SMO gold in 2018?
The Betts Group has been engaged with material provenance for many years. The business has been recycling precious metals for over a quarter of a millennium and is the only accredited refinery of Fairtrade and Fairmined gold in the UK. The Betts family established Hummingbird Resources in 2006 as a West African gold exploration business. This company listed publicly in 2010 and first produced gold in Mali at the end of 2017. Through first hand experience, the family could see the enormous beneficial impact a well run corporate mine can have on local and regional communities, and with a unique oversight of the supply chain from mine to finished product, the Single Mine Origin project was born. SMO aims to source gold specifically from corporate mines working to international best practice and delivering a positive impact in their host communities, which is why it was delighted to sign up Endeavour’s Ity mine in 2020.
How do you certify the process? Which third-party(s) are auditing the process?
The chain of custody for SMO is simple and transparent. Gold is shipped from the mine site, using internationally renowned logistics partners to an LBMA refiner in Switzerland, where it is refined in segregation from any other material before being shipped to manufacturers and jewellers. The chain of custody has undergone process assurance from a subsidiary of Baker Tilley International, SGS are present on site at the mine site to verify mine output and Bureau Veritas attend the LBMA refinery to audit the segregated refining of each SMO batch.
What would you consider are the key distinctions of SMO, in comparison to other initiatives? (What is the SMO unique selling point?)
Fairtrade and Fairmined are focused on artisanal mining and are fantastic charitable initiatives providing genuine benefits. SMO is specifically focused on sourcing metal from corporate scale mines. By utilising the economies of scale available for corporate miners, SMO can be offered with little or no pricing premium and is available in plentiful supply, making it a viable option for all users. SMO aims to drive ever higher standards within the mining industry by providing positive exposure to mines going above and beyond their licence requirements from a CSR perspective.
How has this commitment been received so far, by customers and workers throughout the supply chain?
The response to SMO has been fantastic and almost universally positive. Internally our staff are proud to be developing this product and within our customer-base we have seen enthusiastic adoption of SMO from major brands such as Boodles, Fernando Jorge, Messika and Deakin & Francis through to countless individual designers.
Does Betts Metals in partnership with Hummingbird Resources PLC and Endeavour Mining, in mining and further processing, have policy for controlling toxicity of the waste created from production?
Both Hummingbird Resources and Endeavour Mining are fully compliant with the International Cyanide Code, which ensures that mining effluent is extremely tightly controlled and monitored on a daily basis. The TSFs (tailings storage facilities) for both Yanfolila and Ity are built and audited to international best practice.
Will Betts Metals in partnership with Hummingbird Resources PLC and Endeavour Mining be involved in reclaiming the mine sight once mining has ceased?
Responsible mine closure is the responsibility of the mining partner and is a prerequisite of both the Responsible Gold Mining Principles and the respective mining licences of both Yanfolila and Ity. Both mines have detailed mine closure plans and annually accrue reserves to cover these costs. Extensive Environmental Impact Assessments take place before the mine is built, with appropriate mitigation measures implemented. Extensive tree reforestation projects are also already underway.
Market Garden, Yanfolila
If you can offer us insight into your sustainable development strategy, what areas are you hoping to improve or innovate in?
We are looking to increasingly expand the range of responsibly sourced products we offer, whether they be from responsible mining operations or recycled from known provenance materials. As a business we are also constantly looking inwards at how we can improve from a sustainability perspective. We have internal focus groups aimed at driving ideas across a range of areas (including sustainability) from which we implement small changes that eventually culminate in significant change (eg rainwater collection for use in internal processing, solar panels, electric charging points, recycling policies etc).
Is there any other products or commitments offered by Betts group that may be of interest to jewellers committed to ethical making?
The Betts Group is strongly focussed on material provenance. We believe that by engaging with material provenance, jewellers will not only be doing the right thing, but also the most profitable thing, as more and more end consumers demand responsibly sourced products. Consequently, Betts tries to offer customers a broad choice of responsibly sourced products from SMO, Fairtrade and Fairmined gold products to AgAIN silver products (specifically recycled from medical X-ray film).
Thank you, Duncan, for answering our questions and sharing further information Betts SMO products.
Further reading and watching on Betts is linked below: