Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Responsible Assurance Framework
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Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Responsible Assurance Framework

Small-scale mining, verified and on the record.

ASMRAF is a pan-African not-for-profit that verifies artisanal and small-scale mines of any mineral or metal against national law and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.

Each mine receives one permanent Mineral Unique Chain of Custody (MUCC) code. It starts as Provisional and becomes Certified after ASMRAF’s checks. Every lot sold through an approved provider is recorded against it.

We never buy or sell minerals or handle payments.

Request a briefing How verification works

Find your path

Government

Work with ASMRAF to support mine identification, formalisation and responsible mining.

Government cooperation

Industry

Learn how buyers and other organisations can participate in the ASMRAF framework.

Industry participation

The result is a system in which the identity and provenance of mineral production can remain connected from:

  1. Verified mine
  2. MUCC codeMUCC-2026-000144
  3. Production
  4. Collection
  5. Processing
  6. Export
  7. Refining
  8. Manufacturing

This enables governments and regulators to understand what is being produced, where it is being produced and how it moves through the formal economy, while enabling downstream participants to obtain reliable provenance and chain-of-custody evidence.

This is how the system is designed to work. See which parts are live today.

Why work with ASMRAF

For governments

  • A route into the formal economy. We issue a Certified MUCC code only to mines that hold the legal permissions required for their actual activities, and we help mine owners meet licensing, safety and environmental requirements.

  • A reason to stay formal. Verified mines can sell to approved buyers who need checked supply, which makes the legal route worth taking.

  • Production and sales on the record. Every lot a verified mine sells through an approved provider is recorded against its MUCC code, with weight, assay results and buyer. That supports the production, royalty and export records government keeps.

  • Government stays in charge. Licensing, tax and export control stay with government. We supply the evidence.

  • Evidence for policy. Aggregated, anonymised data on production, compliance and support needs, shared under agreement and in line with each country’s data-protection law.

What government gets

For buyers

  • Know the mine. Legal status, ownership, location, labour and safety practices, checked on site.

  • Know the lot. Each lot sold through an approved provider is recorded against the mine’s MUCC code, with weight, assay results, handovers and payment.

  • Checks that continue. Desk reviews and risk-based visits carry on after verification. Serious incidents, credible grievances or unfinished fixes trigger a review or suspension.

  • Support for your own checks. We check every mine’s legal permissions for its actual activities before it gets a Certified MUCC code. That supports the checks you’re required to make; it doesn’t replace them.

  • Separate roles. ASMRAF verifies, approved providers run the sale, and nobody with a stake in a mine or its minerals decides its status.

What buyers get

From mine to record

How a verified mine’s sales become records that officials and buyers can rely on.

  1. Verified mine

    Checked against national law and ASMRAF’s requirements.

  2. MUCC code

    One permanent code per mine, such as MUCC-2026-000144.

  3. Approved provider

    MinePay, or another approved provider, records each sale.

  4. Lot record

    Weight, assay results, handovers, buyer and payment, filed under the mine’s code.

  5. Authorised access

    ASMRAF, auditors and the provider. Approved buyers see the records of lots they buy, and regulators what the law requires, under confidentiality agreements. Never public.

This is how the system is designed to work. See which parts are live today.

How a mine gets verified, stage by stage

Standards we build on

  • National law comes first: no Certified MUCC code without the legal permissions required for the mine’s actual activities.
  • Verification is designed around the five steps of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for minerals, including its risks for conflict-affected and high-risk areas.
  • The framework considers recognised chain-of-custody approaches; no ISO conformity or accreditation is claimed.

Read the MUCC standard

What we never do

We never buy or sell minerals or handle payments. We never issue a Certified MUCC code to a mine without the legal permissions required for the mine’s actual activities. We never stand in for a government licence, permit or inspection. We never publish where minerals are produced, and we never sell data.

Practical support for mines

Read about the practical support ASMRAF aims to develop. Project results will be published when their evidence and permissions are confirmed.

See our work

Own or run a mine?

Get your free MUCC code. Your Provisional MUCC code appears in about 2 minutes, and we never ask you to pay.

Get my free MUCC code What’s in it for mine owners

ASMRAF and MinePay

On 9 November 2025, ASMRAF signed a non-exclusive agreement with MinePay, a technology provider that records sales and supports payments to mine owners within the ASMRAF framework. Together we aim to help ASMRAF-verified mines reach approved buyers, record every lot they sell under the mine’s MUCC code, and get mine owners a fairer deal for what they produce. Any provider that meets ASMRAF’s requirements can apply on the same terms, and MinePay takes no part in verification decisions.

Start with a briefing.

We brief ministries, regulators, buyers and refiners on the framework, the data and the safeguards.

Request a briefing Become an approved buyer