Oliver Haslam on August 14, 2019, 5:30 pm

Apple Gold Is Now Being Sourced From Miners Who Commit To Habitat Restoration

Apple uses gold for its circuit boards which means that it needs to source that gold from somewhere. Now, that gold comes from miners who work to improve the land they mined once they have finished with it.

Apple isn’t the only company to have signed up to such an initiative. Jeweller Tiffany & Co has done the same, with the aim being to try and not only prevent, but also reverse damage done to the landscape during the collection of gold.

There are hundreds of small and large placer mining operations in Alaska actively producing gold in the US. Placer mining sites sit along creeks and streams, giving miners the chance to re-mine for any nuggets or fine gold left over from the Yukon’s Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890s.

Meanwhile, since 1991, 12 Pacific salmon runs have been listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These routes that salmon use to make their run to their spawning beds each year are often adjacent to placer mining sites.

Apple has long been keen to make everyone well aware of its efforts for the environment. Those efforts should be lauded and while the cynical may suggest that publicity is the driving factor behind such moves, that’s unfair. Gold isn’t the only way Apple seeks to help out with the planet and the changes it’s going through, with this latest move just another part of its ongoing supplier responsibility program.

“As we continue to increase our use of recycled materials, we’re seeking out innovative ways to source gold responsibly,” says Paula Pyers, Apple’s head of Supplier Responsibility. “Partnering with Tiffany, a pioneer in sustainable sourcing, as well as RESOLVE ensures Salmon Gold can be an example of how the industry can evolve.”

If every other company worked in similar ways the world would be a much better place.