Southampton Sustainability Forum

‘Pure Gold?’ is CAFOD’s new photographic exhibition which reveals the truth behind the glamour of gold through striking images and accounts from three continents.

See the reality in the Democratic Republic of Congo – where gold mining has contributed to a cycle of violence and poverty.
Hear the voices of communities in Honduras whose water supplies have been poisoned.

Meet the indigenous people fighting back in the Philippines after seeing their sacred mountain destroyed to make way for a gold mine.

Visit the exhibition and discover how you can help turn gold from a curse into a blessing for the countries where it is mined.

While gold mining creates huge profits for multinational companies and their backers, it can destroy the lives of some of the world’s poorest people. CAFOD’s Pure Gold? exhibition and Unearth Justice campaign reveal the hidden harm caused by gold mining across three continents.

In the relentless pursuit of gold, communities have been threatened and forced from their lands and homes. Rivers and streams close to mines have been polluted with arsenic, and hillsides and fields have been devastated – the damage lasting long after mines have closed.

CAFOD is calling for:

Governments to:
* make strong laws to regulate mining companies in the countries in which they operate.

Mining companies to:
* guarantee communities, who will be most affected by mining, a say over whether or how mining goes ahead on their lands.
* publicly disclose their contracts and the revenue they gain from each mine.
* work to eliminate harmful social and environmental impacts from their operations.

Jewellery retailers to:
* make a public commitment to the Golden Rules, pledging to work towards sourcing cleaner gold, both in their own supply chain and across the industry.

The Exhibition comes to Southampton on the 5th June to the 7th June at the Solent University Cafe.