D-ISN: TRACK 1: Understanding and Disrupting Key Convergence Nodes of the Illicit Gold and Mercury Supply Chains in Latin America and Africa

D-ISN：轨道 1：了解和破坏拉丁美洲和非洲非法黄金和汞供应链的关键聚合节点

• 批准号: 2039980
• 负责人: Nicole Smith
• 金额: $ 100万
• 依托单位: Colorado School of Mines
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-02-15 至 2026-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2039980&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ISN; TRACK; Understanding; Disrupting; Key

This Disrupting Operations of Illicit Supply Networks (D-ISN) award will enhance national health, prosperity and welfare by contributing to a better understanding of illicit supply chains and the ability to detect, disrupt, and disable them. The project involves an examination and comparison of key convergence nodes in the global supply chains for illicit gold and mercury in Latin America and Africa. It specifically focuses on Peru and Kenya because of the similar characteristics they share on their respective continents as important trading hubs to other regional markets via both air and maritime transport, as well as acting as trading hubs for other illicit commodities and goods. In addition, both countries have significant artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sectors, that often operate at sites of informal gold production where the illicit gold supply chain begins and that use mercury to extract gold from the ore, representing the end of the mercury supply chain. This provides an opportunity for comparative analysis across two continents. One major challenge in Peru is that there are no organized records of illicit activities related to the gold and mercury supply chains, which presents difficulties in making decisions to combat them. Additionally, Kenya has not been thoroughly examined as an emerging hub for illicit gold in East Africa, especially gold from the ASGM sector originating from the DRC. Furthermore, actors from around the world are involved in the gold and mercury supply chains, and the micro problems in Peru and Kenya have global implications, including some that directly bear upon the national security of the United States. A more thorough understanding of the ways in which the illicit gold and mercury supply chains operate will support policy and enforcement interventions that target illicit actors without unduly harming vulnerable communities. This research will advance knowledge of the illicit gold and mercury supply chains in Peru and Kenya, the international destinations of this gold, and the origins of the mercury entering the countries. It seeks to fill a knowledge gap raised in recent research coordinated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN): the co-dependency between the mercury and gold supply chains. Our interdisciplinary team with expertise in engineering, social science, computer science, and law will map the routes of gold from inland sites to major export hubs and the routes of mercury from major import hubs to inland mining sites. Particular emphasis will be placed on the maritime and air dynamics of the gold and mercury supply chains by focusing on the major convergence nodes, or collection points, transshipment hubs, and actors through which the illicit mercury and gold supply chains flow and intersect. This research expands the methodologies used to evaluate and understand illicit supply chains, by collating publicly available data, such as surveillance platform data and conducting ethnographic fieldwork with artisanal and small-scale gold miners and community members, other operators in the gold and mercury trades, and sources in security, law enforcement, and regulatory enforcement. By combining these data with a graph analytics approach, we will develop models that identify patterns transnationally and can help to disrupt both the illicit gold and mercury supply networks, as well as make connections with other types of illicit activities occurring and connected to global supply chain networks. This project will train STEM graduate students in interdisciplinary research methodologies, expose them to the complexities of mineral supply chains, provide them with tools to better understand these supply chains, and allow them to work with faculty, students, and collaborators from different disciplines. This research represents a concerted effort to leverage existing and emerging technologies, such as machine learning and advanced data analytics, to inform public policy not only in the targeted countries but also in other states facing related challenges.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这一非法供应网络破坏行动(D-ISN)奖将有助于更好地了解非法供应链以及检测、破坏和禁用它们的能力，从而增强国家的健康、繁荣和福利。该项目涉及对拉丁美洲和非洲非法黄金和汞全球供应链中的关键汇聚节点进行审查和比较。它特别侧重于秘鲁和肯尼亚，因为这两个国家在各自的大陆上有相似的特点，既是通过空运和海运向其他区域市场的重要贸易中心，也是其他非法商品和货物的贸易中心。此外，两国都有重要的手工和小规模黄金开采部门，这些部门往往在非法黄金供应链开始的非正式黄金生产地点作业，并使用汞从矿石中提炼黄金，代表着汞供应链的结束。这为两大洲的比较分析提供了机会。秘鲁的一大挑战是，没有与黄金和汞供应链有关的非法活动的有组织记录，这给作出打击这些活动的决定带来了困难。此外，肯尼亚尚未作为东非新兴的非法黄金中心进行彻底审查，特别是来自刚果民主共和国ASGM部门的黄金。此外，来自世界各地的行为者参与了黄金和汞供应链，秘鲁和肯尼亚的微观问题具有全球影响，包括一些直接影响美国国家安全的问题。更透彻地了解非法黄金和汞供应链的运作方式将有助于针对非法行为者的政策和执法干预，而不会过度伤害脆弱社区。这项研究将促进对秘鲁和肯尼亚的非法黄金和汞供应链、这种黄金的国际目的地以及进入这些国家的汞的来源的了解。它试图填补在国际自然保护联盟(自然保护联盟)协调的最近研究中提出的一个知识空白：汞和黄金供应链之间的相互依存关系。我们的跨学科团队拥有工程、社会科学、计算机科学和法律方面的专业知识，将绘制从内陆地点到主要出口中心的黄金路线，以及从主要进口中心到内陆矿场的汞路线。将特别重视黄金和汞供应链的海上和空中动态，重点放在非法汞和黄金供应链流动和交叉通过的主要汇聚节点或收集点、转运枢纽和行为者。这项研究扩大了用于评估和了解非法供应链的方法，方法是整理公开可用的数据，如监测平台数据，并与手工和小规模的黄金矿工和社区成员、黄金和汞交易的其他经营者以及安全、执法和监管执法方面的来源进行人种学实地工作。通过将这些数据与图表分析方法相结合，我们将开发模型，以确定跨国家的模式，并有助于扰乱非法黄金和汞供应网络，以及与发生的和与全球供应链网络有关的其他类型的非法活动建立联系。该项目将对STEM研究生进行跨学科研究方法方面的培训，让他们接触复杂的矿产供应链，为他们提供更好地了解这些供应链的工具，并允许他们与来自不同学科的教职员工、学生和合作者合作。这项研究代表着共同努力，利用现有的和新兴的技术，如机器学习和先进的数据分析，不仅为目标国家的公共政策提供信息，而且为面临相关挑战的其他州的公共政策提供信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

“I am formal, what comes next?”: A proposed framework for achieving sustainable artisanal and small-scale mining formalization in Peru

“我是正式的，接下来会发生什么？”：秘鲁实现可持续手工和小规模采矿正规化的拟议框架

• DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2023.101227
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: The Extractive Industries and Society
• 作者: Martinez, Gerardo;Smith, Nicole M.;Malone, Aaron
• 通讯作者: Malone, Aaron

Indicators of illicit activities in gold supply chains: Insights from Peru and Kenya

• DOI: 10.35188/unu-wider/2023/376-5
• 发表时间: 2023-06
• 期刊: WIDER Working Paper
• 作者: N. Smith;Kady Seguin;U. M. Saka;S. Duzgun;D. Soud;J. White

Artisanal and small-scale gold supply chains in Latin America and Africa: Insights from Peru and Kenya

拉丁美洲和非洲的手工和小规模黄金供应链：来自秘鲁和肯尼亚的见解

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Namibia.
• 作者: Smith, N.