A new UK-backed gold deal could help formalise one of Africa's largest artisanal mining sectors
A UK-based responsible gold sourcing company has signed a long-term supply and financing agreement aimed at expanding traceable artisanal gold exports from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), marking a significant step forward for efforts to formalise the region's mining sector.
Black News 
A UK-based responsible gold sourcing company has signed a long-term supply and financing agreement aimed at expanding traceable artisanal gold exports from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), marking a significant step forward for efforts to formalise the region's mining sector.
- SigraFi Ltd has signed a long-term supply and financing agreement with PeaceGold Trading Company to boost traceable artisanal gold exports from eastern DRC.
- The partnership will provide working capital and support to mining cooperatives, improving access to compliant export channels and international refineries.
- PeaceGold has worked over a decade to legalise mining operations, reduce mercury usage, and create responsible export pathways in the region.
- The agreement aims to formalise more of the artisanal gold sector, which currently supports about two million miners in DRC.
SigraFi Ltd announced it has entered into a partnership with PeaceGold Trading Company Ltd, establishing a framework for the supply of fully traceable gold doré sourced from cooperative-based artisanal miners in Ituri Province.
The agreement builds on PeaceGold's long-running efforts to formalise artisanal gold production in eastern Congo, where much of the sector has historically operated outside regulated international markets.
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Under the arrangement, SigraFi will provide structured working capital and refinery-delivery support in exchange for contracted future gold deliveries.
The company said the financing model is designed to help mining cooperatives access compliant export channels, improve pricing transparency, and connect with accredited international refineries.
New financing model targets eastern Congo's artisanal gold sector
Founded by Greg Valerio MBE in collaboration with peacebuilding organisations including Peace Direct and Centre Résolution Conflits, PeaceGold has spent more than a decade working with mining communities to legalise operations, reduce mercury use in gold processing, and establish responsible export pathways.
The latest agreement represents a commercial milestone for the initiative, which earlier outlined plans to begin formal gold exports despite persistent insecurity in eastern Congo.
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"Everyone knows the potential within the artisanal and small-scale gold sector, but producers are often constrained by limited access to compliant export channels, refinery relationships, and appropriately structured financing," said Zara Shirwan, co-founder and director of strategy at SigraFi.
According to industry estimates, artisanal and small-scale mining accounts for around 20% of global gold production and supports more than 15 million livelihoods worldwide.
In the DRC alone, an estimated two million artisanal miners participate in gold production.
SigraFi said the PeaceGold partnership forms part of a broader strategy to develop responsible sourcing and growth-capital partnerships with artisanal mining operations across Africa and Latin America, as demand grows for traceable and ethically sourced minerals in global supply chains.
