I am delighted to announce that the Kenyan Gold mining Coop MICA, made the first legal export of gold from Artisanal Miners yesterday. The gold should be arriving in the UK tomorrow so will post photos when I have them.

This is a very significant step, as there is now a registered ASM Gold Coop, with an export license, with an international customer. Critical foundations for building a Fairtrade process in Africa.

Humorously, Julius the manager of the COOP told me he had to sit through a one hour lecture by the Commissioner who signed off the export on why the success of the Coop was critical to the development of the mineral sector in Kenya.

There are many more steps to take before we can secure the goal of ‘Africa’s first certified Fairtrade Fairmined gold Coop’, but with a commercial pipeline in place we are now in motion.

But anyway good news all round, considering the problems we had at the back end of last year.