Our society loves gold, but we may not love knowing where it comes from.
Would you be comfortable knowing that your gold bullion or wedding band came from gold mined by child slaves in the brutal working conditions of the Congo? Unfortunately, this scenario isn’t entirely off the table.
In truth, the Wall Street Journal reports that 65% of gold mines in the Congo are controlled by militant groups. These groups use slave labor (often children) to mine the gold that they smuggle out of the country. The funds they receive from the gold the militants use for weapons so that they can pillage villages, capturing more slaves while taking resources, raping and killing those who stand in their way.
It’s not a pretty picture, and you may wonder how you can avoid bloodstained gold in your investment portfolio. Fortunately, a number of U.S. gold companies are working to acquire only conflict-free gold. Third-party certifiers work with these companies to verify that their gold is responsibly sourced and conflict free.
Moral of the story: Make sure you do your research about a company and where their gold comes from before investing with them. There is such a thing as responsible gold investing!