S. 3496 — United States Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Act

This section provides a short title for the Act as the "United States Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Act" and sets forth the table of contents.

This section states congressional findings concerning illicit gold mining, trafficking, and commercialization in the Western Hemisphere, including its negative economic, social, environmental, and security impacts; links to transnational criminal organizations, drug traffickers, terrorist groups, and illegal armed actors (e.g., ELN, El Tren de Aragua); involvement of smuggling, trade-based money laundering, and shell companies; and statistics such as more than 70% of gold mined illicitly in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru and 80% in Venezuela (often benefiting the Maduro regime). It further finds that Nicaragua's 2023 gold exports totaled an estimated $1.24 billion (with $637 million to the United States, $353 million to Canada, $244 million to Switzerland, and $6.56 million to Italy) and that profits from illegal logging finance illegal mining.

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) appropriate congressional committees, meaning specified Senate and House committees on foreign relations, judiciary, banking, housing and urban affairs, and intelligence; (2) artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), meaning rudimentary, low-cost, labor-intensive mining common in the developing world that is often unregulated with harsh working conditions; (3) key stakeholders, meaning private sector organizations, industry representatives, and civil society groups (including indigenous communities affected by illicit gold mining and trafficking) committed to implementing the Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy; (4) Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy (or Strategy), meaning the strategy required under section 4; (5) relevant Federal departments and agencies, meaning the Department of State and other agencies designated by the President with equities in countering illicit mining; and (6) Secretary, meaning the Secretary of State.

This section directs the Secretary, in coordination with relevant federal departments and agencies, to develop a comprehensive, multi-year Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy to combat illicit gold mining in the Western Hemisphere. The strategy must include policies, programs, and initiatives (1) to interrupt linkages between gold mining—including artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)—and illicit actors; (2) to deter ASM in environmentally protected areas and prevent related contamination of water, soil, forests, and health-impacting aerosols; (3) to counter financing of illicit mining through due diligence and responsible sourcing in ASM trade, restrictions on foreign persons linked to illicit actors, anti-corruption measures, support for financial intelligence units and anti-money laundering efforts, and collaboration with gold refineries; (4) to build foreign law enforcement capacity against gold mining linkages to money laundering, trafficking in persons, illegal timber trade, cross-border gold and precursor trafficking (e.g., mercury, cyanide from China), and related surveillance; (5) to implement 2017 and 2018 U.S. memoranda of understanding with Peru and Colombia; (6) to enhance anti-money laundering via intelligence sharing and mining-sector transparency; (7) to support ASM licensing, formalization, regulated cultural mining, and environmental standards; (8) to engage the mining industry on best practices and technologies; (9) to establish supply chain due diligence, tracing, and certification per OECD guidance (2016); (10) to partner with civil society on ASM environmental impacts (e.g., mercury use, deforestation, pollution); (11) to assist ASM miners with formalization, mercury-free technologies, financing, and separation from illicit actors; and (12) to interrupt the illicit gold trade in Nicaragua.

This section directs the Secretary, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, to provide a classified briefing to the appropriate congressional committees, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act that describes (1) illicit gold mining, trafficking, and commercialization activities in Venezuela by illicit actors including defectors from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and members of the National Liberation Army (ELN); and (2) Venezuela's illicit gold trade with foreign governments including Turkey and Iran.

This section directs the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and allied and partner governments in the Western Hemisphere, to (1) lead a coordinated international effort to conduct financial investigations identifying and tracking assets taken from the people and institutions of Venezuela that are linked to money laundering and illicit activities, including mining-related activities, through sharing of financial intelligence as appropriate and permitted by law; and (2) provide technical assistance to eligible Latin American governments to establish legislative and regulatory frameworks for imposing and implementing targeted sanctions on (A) Maduro regime officials directly engaged in the illicit mining, trafficking, and commercialization of gold and (B) foreign persons engaged in laundering illicit gold assets linked to designated terrorist and drug trafficking organizations.

This section directs the President, in implementing the Strategy required under section 4, to instruct U.S. representatives to relevant multilateral institutions and development banks, as well as U.S. ambassadors in the Western Hemisphere, to use U.S. influence to foster international cooperation toward the Act's objectives. Such cooperation includes (1) marshaling resources and political support and (2) encouraging policy development and consultation with key stakeholders.

This section directs the Secretary to coordinate with the governments of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and other democratically elected governments in the region to establish a public-private partnership supporting programming in participating countries that (1) supports formalization of and compliance with existing environmental and labor standards by the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold sector; (2) increases awareness of financing access for ASM gold miners formalizing operations and complying with labor and environmental standards; (3) enhances traceability and supports certification of ASM gold; (4) supports a public relations campaign promoting responsibly sourced gold; (5) includes local civil society representatives to solicit free and informed consent from those living on lands with mining potential; (6) facilitates contacts between vendors of responsibly sourced gold and U.S. companies; and (7) promotes policies and practices conducive to ASM formalization and adherence to internationally recognized best practices and standards.

This section adds factors to the criteria for designating jurisdictions, financial institutions, or account types of primary money laundering concern under 31 U.S.C. 5318A(c)(2)—which authorizes the Treasury Secretary to impose special measures (e.g., enhanced recordkeeping or prohibiting U.S. correspondent accounts)—by (1) inserting in subparagraph (A) a new clause (iii) requiring consideration of the extent to which the jurisdiction or its financial institutions facilitate transactions involving the mining, sale, or trade of precious metals subject to U.S. sanctions; and (2) inserting in subparagraph (B) a new clause (ii) requiring consideration of the extent to which such financial institutions are used to facilitate transactions involving the mining, sale, or trade of precious metals subject to U.S. sanctions.