Fairmined Credits let jewelry makers pay the Fairmined Premium to certified small-scale mines for gold they cannot buy as physical Fairmined Gold. Each credit stands for one gram of gold from a Fairmined-certified mine, and 4 US dollars of its price go to the mine. Here is how the book-and-claim model works, what it costs and what you can claim – and why physical Fairmined Gold remains the most direct option.
Key insights
- Fairmined Credits pay the premium without moving the metal. Each credit covers one gram of gold that a Fairmined-certified mine sold outside the certified supply chain – and pays the Fairmined Premium it did not earn there.
- 4 of 5 US dollars go to the mine. At Fairever, a Fairmined Credit costs 5 US dollars: 4 dollars in Fairmined Premium for the mining organization, 0.70 dollars for the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) and 0.30 dollars for our administration.
- Credits fill the gaps that physical Fairmined Gold leaves. Jewelry makers use them for chains and findings not available in Fairmined Gold, and for customers' own gold.
- Your claim has to match the mechanism. You can say how much premium went to certified mines – but a product covered by credits is not made with Fairmined Gold.
- Physical Fairmined Gold remains the benchmark. Only physical Fairmined Gold guarantees the mine a minimum price – and only physical gold can carry the Fairmined label on your jewelry.
The gap Fairmined Credits close
Physical Fairmined Gold does not fit every piece of jewelry. To carry the Fairmined label, gold must stay physically segregated from the mine to the finished product.1 That works well for casting grain, sheet and wire. It gets harder for chains, clasps and findings that few manufacturers offer in certified gold.
ARM names the cost and complexity of integrating physical Fairmined gold as the main reasons why larger brands have held back.2 Volumes show the limit: in 2025, Fairmined-certified mining organizations sold 77.35 kg of gold through physical, traceable supply chains.3
The mines, meanwhile, sell part of their certified production as ordinary gold, typically to local buyers – without the premium. Selling locally means less paperwork, no export costs and immediate payment, and for some mines there is no viable export route at all.2 Fairmined Credits connect these mines with buyers who cannot source certified gold physically.
Fairmined Credits in one minute
A Fairmined Credit stands for one gram of gold that a Fairmined-certified mine produced under the Fairmined Standard and sold outside the certified supply chain.4 Whoever buys the credit pays the Fairmined Premium for that gram. ARM calls this a book-and-claim model: the metal and the premium travel separately.
The gram behind the credit was mined under the rules of the Fairmined Gold Standard: annual audits by independent certification bodies, a ban on whole-ore amalgamation, mandatory retorts and protective equipment for all miners, among many other requirements.1 This is how a gram becomes a credit:
- The certified mine sells its gold to a formal buyer at market price, without the premium.
- It uploads the sales invoice to ARM's platform, Fairmined Connect.
- ARM reviews the invoice and releases the matching volume as Fairmined Credits.
- A company buys the credits, and ARM transfers the premium to the mine, which invests it according to its own priorities.2
Neither gold nor money moves directly between buyer and mine; the Alliance for Responsible Mining, the nonprofit behind the Fairmined Standard, sits in the middle. Fairmined Credits replaced the earlier Fairmined Certificates in 2022, and the smartphone maker Fairphone was the first buyer.56
Three ways to use Fairmined Credits
Fairmined Credits work wherever physical Fairmined Gold is not available or not practical. For jewelry makers, three uses stand out.
Components not available in Fairmined Gold
Many workshops cast their rings in Fairmined Gold but buy chains, clasps, earring posts or other semi-finished parts from suppliers who do not offer them in certified gold. With Fairmined Credits, you cover the fine gold in these parts gram by gram.7 The certified gold stays physical wherever you can get it, and credits fill the rest.
Your customer's own gold
Goldsmiths often rework gold that customers bring in: an old ring, a chain from a grandparent. Melting it down keeps the gold in use, but it does nothing for the mines. With one credit per gram of fine gold, the new piece also pays a premium to certified small-scale miners.7
Your total gold use
Brands can also cover a share of their annual gold purchases, or all of it, and report this at company level, for example in a sustainability report.5 Fairever has been a Fairmined Authorized Supplier since 2017 and is an ARM member.8 In our shop, business customers such as jewelers, goldsmiths and manufacturers find Fairmined Credits as Fairmined Impact Credits.7
What a credit costs and who gets the money
A Fairmined Credit costs 5 US dollars at Fairever, and 4 dollars of that go to the mining organization as Fairmined Premium.7
| Share | Amount per credit | Goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Fairmined Premium | 4.00 US dollars | Fairmined-certified mining organization |
| Fairmined Development Fee | 0.70 US dollars | Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) |
| Administrative fee | 0.30 US dollars | Fairever |
| Total per credit (1 g) | 5.00 US dollars |
The premium is the same 4,000 US dollars per kilogram that buyers of physical Fairmined Gold pay.1 The development fee helps ARM run the Fairmined system, from supporting the miners to building the brand.2
What does that mean for a single piece? A wedding ring of 8 grams in 18-karat gold contains 6 grams of fine gold. Covering it takes 6 Fairmined Credits: 30 US dollars in total, of which 24 US dollars go to the mine.
What the premium changes in the mines
The mining organizations decide themselves what the premium from Fairmined Credits pays for. A premium committee that represents all groups in the mine, including women miners, sets the priorities.1 In 2025, credits for 22.6 kg of gold generated 90,512 US dollars in Fairmined Premium – on top of the premium from physical sales.3
Three examples:
- Care for children: in Iquira, Colombia, premium from Fairmined Credits kept the care center Corazones de Oro running for six months in 2025. 13 children and young people with disabilities received specialized care, and teachers from the community were hired. The cooperative had set up the center with the Fairmined Premium.3 The full story: Corazones de Oro.
- Education: in Ananea, Peru, CECOMIP funded a scholarship program with premium from credits that prepared 32 young people for higher education.3
- Solar power: at Chede in Colombia, credits paid for solar panels – 86 photovoltaic panels, according to ARM.92
How certified mines spend the premium overall: what the Fairmined Premium is used for.
What you can claim with Fairmined Credits
You can claim what you paid for: a volume of certified gold production covered and a premium paid to certified mines. ARM's rules distinguish two levels:52
- Company claims are possible for any volume. Example: "In 2026, we bought Fairmined Credits for 2 kg of gold. 8,000 US dollars in Fairmined Premium went to Fairmined-certified small-scale mining organizations."
- Product claims require credits for 100 % of the gold in the product, and the product must still state where its gold actually comes from. Example: "The 6 grams of fine gold in this ring are covered by Fairmined Credits: 24 US dollars in Fairmined Premium went to Fairmined-certified small-scale mines. The ring itself is made from [your actual gold source]."
ARM's rules do not allow you to call a product made with Fairmined Gold or Fairmined Ecological Gold.5 Just as misleading: "contains certified gold" or "traceable gold." As with all Fairmined licensees and members, ARM reviews credit claims before publication and every year after.28
Under the EU's new rules on green claims, two habits help: use numbers instead of terms like "sustainable," and say your gold is "covered" by credits, not "offset" or "compensated." More on this in Fairmined product claims.
Fairmined Credits or physical Fairmined Gold?
Fairmined Credits and physical Fairmined Gold pay the same premium, but only physical gold guarantees the mine a minimum price. Only segregated Fairmined Gold also gives your customers a product traceable to the mine.
| Fairmined Gold (Labeled) | Fairmined Incorporated | Fairmined Credits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In your product | Fairmined Gold, segregated from the mine | Fairmined Gold, blended with other gold | Your usual gold |
| Traceable | From the mine to the finished piece | From the mine to the refinery | No |
| Price for the mine | At least 95 % of the LBMA price | At least 95 % of the LBMA price | Local market price |
| Fairmined Premium | 4,000 US dollars per kg | 4,000 US dollars per kg | 4,000 US dollars per kg |
| Claims | Product label "made with Fairmined Gold" | Company claims only | Company claims; product claims at 100 % coverage |
| Supply chain change | Segregated sourcing | Certified sourcing, no segregation in production | None |
The minimum price makes the difference. Under the Fairmined Standard, buyers of physical Fairmined Gold pay the mine at least 95 % of the LBMA gold price at the export point.1 Fairever pays 96–99 %.8 With credits, the mine sells at the local market price and receives the premium on top.
For the premium itself, ARM sees no difference: "the impact on responsible ASM is exactly the same."2 What a credit cannot add is the trade relationship – contracts, pre-financing, a buyer who knows the mine. So we see credits as a bridge: physical Fairmined Gold wherever you can get it, credits where you cannot. More on the metal itself: What is Fairmined Gold?
Is book and claim greenwashing?
Not if the claim matches what the credit is: a premium paid for certified production that took place. The gram behind each credit was mined by a certified organization, sold to a formal buyer and documented by invoice before ARM released it.2 The premium reaches the mines: 90,512 US dollars in 2025.3
Greenwashing starts where the claim outgrows the mechanism. Fairmined Credits do not change the gold in your product. They do not make it traceable gold, and they do not turn it into Fairmined Gold. Say what you paid, to whom and where your gold comes from. Then Fairmined Credits are an honest way to support artisanal and small-scale gold mining without physical certified gold.
FAQs: Fairmined credits explained
What are Fairmined Credits?
Fairmined Credits are a book-and-claim model of the Alliance for Responsible Mining. Each credit stands for one gram of gold that a Fairmined-certified mine produced and sold outside the certified supply chain. The buyer pays the Fairmined Premium for that gram, 4 US dollars per credit.
How much does a Fairmined Credit cost?
At Fairever, a Fairmined Credit costs 5 US dollars: 4 dollars in Fairmined Premium for the mine, 0.70 dollars for ARM and 0.30 dollars for our administration.
Does jewelry covered by credits contain Fairmined Gold?
No. The gold in the jewelry stays what it was. You may say that its gold use is covered by Fairmined Credits and how much premium went to certified mines, but not that it is made with Fairmined Gold or contains certified gold.
Are Fairmined Credits the same as carbon offsets?
No. Fairmined Credits do not compensate for emissions or any other damage. They pay the Fairmined Premium for gold that certified small-scale mines produced under the Fairmined Standard and sold without that premium.
Who can buy Fairmined Impact Credits at Fairever?
Business customers such as jewelers, goldsmiths and manufacturers can buy Fairmined Impact Credits in our shop, with documentation of the credits purchased. One credit covers one gram of fine gold.
Are there Fairmined Credits for silver?
Yes, ARM also offers silver credits: 23.4 kg were sold in 2025, generating 2,340 US dollars in premium. At Fairever, we currently offer Fairmined Credits for gold only.
Key takeaways
In a nutshell ...
- Fairmined Credits turn gold you already use into premium for certified mines. One credit per gram of fine gold, 4 US dollars of it for the mine – with no change to your supply chain.
- They fit where physical Fairmined Gold does not. Chains and findings not available in certified gold, and gold that customers bring in, are the typical cases.
- Claim the premium, not the metal. Company claims work for any volume; product claims need 100 % coverage and still name the actual source of the gold.
- Start with physical gold and cover the rest with credits. Physical Fairmined Gold adds a minimum price and traceability; credits make sure the remaining parts still pay a premium.
Get active, be the change!
Fairmined Credits are available for business customers in our shop as Fairmined Impact Credits.
How many credits would your collection or workshop need – and which parts could you switch to physical Fairmined Gold instead? Get in touch with us, and we will work it out with you.
Further reading
- How credits keep a care center open in Iquira: Corazones de Oro.
- The certified metal, from the mine to your jewelry: What is Fairmined Gold?
- What you can safely tell your customers: Fairmined product claims.
Sources
- Alliance for Responsible Mining, Fairmined Standard for Gold from Artisanal and Small-scale Mining, including Associated Precious Metals, version 2.0, April 5, 2014. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- Alliance for Responsible Mining, Fairmined Credits – Communications and Mine Profiles, 2025 (not publicly available). ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- Alliance for Responsible Mining, ARM Annual Report 2025, 2026, pp. 40–42. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- Fairmined, Fairmined Credits, accessed September 2026. ↩
- Alliance for Responsible Mining, Pilot Amendment: Fairmined Credits, approved November 18, 2022. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- Fairmined, ARM presents new model to support responsible mining: "Fairmined Credits" at the OECD Forum, April 2023. ↩
- Fairever, Fairmined Impact Credits – Book & Claim Model, product page, accessed September 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- Fairever, internal information, September 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩
- Alliance for Responsible Mining, ARM Annual Report 2024, 2025, p. 30. ↩
