Ask where a sheet of sterling silver was mined, and you rarely get an answer. Fairever ASM Silver is artisanal silver from three small-scale gold mines in Peru, with the source mine named on the label. Here is what our ASM silver is, where it comes from, why it is scarce – and what you can tell your customers about it.
Key insights
- Fairever ASM Silver is a product line, not a certification. It is silver from artisanal and small-scale mining that we buy with a documented origin in a single mine. The mine is declared on the product label.
- It comes from three small-scale gold mines in Peru. When we bought their silver, SOTRAMI was accredited under Swiss Better Gold, while CECOMSAP and Nueva Teresita were Fairtrade certified for their gold.
- The silver comes out of the ground with the gold. It is mined under the conditions each mine's program checks, but it is traded outside these programs and carries no seal of its own.
- Artisanal silver is scarce. At our partner mines, one kilogram of fine gold comes with only around 80–150 grams of silver.
- It is in our gold alloys, too. Our alloys made with Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold use Fairever ASM Silver as the alloy silver, although neither standard requires certified silver there.
What Fairever ASM Silver is – and isn't
Fairever ASM Silver is silver from responsible artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), traceable to a single named mine. We buy it from small-scale gold mines in Peru and sell it as a product line of its own, with the source mine on every label.1 How the sector works, and why it matters: artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
Every lot has to meet a minimum requirement. At the time we buy it, the mine is certified under Fairtrade or Fairmined for its gold, or accredited under Swiss Better Gold. On top of that, we buy according to our own sourcing policy, a voluntary commitment based on the OECD Due Diligence Guidance and the LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance.1
A product line, not a certification
"Fairever ASM Silver" is the name of our product line. It is not a standard, a certification or a seal, and it does not carry the Fairtrade or Fairmined label. What stands behind this artisanal silver is a documented supply chain back to the mine, the programs that check the mines, and our own due diligence.1
We don't certify anything ourselves; that job belongs to independent auditors. We document, verify and disclose. What makes small-scale mining responsible: responsible small-scale gold mining.
Why artisanal silver is so scarce
Silver from small-scale gold mines is rare because it only comes along with the gold. At our partner mines, one kilogram of fine gold comes with only around 80–150 grams of silver.1 Nobody at these mines digs for silver. It is recovered together with the gold and separated from it during refining.
Being a by-product is typical for silver. In 2025, only 26 % of the world's mined silver came from primary silver mines. The rest was a by-product of mining for lead and zinc (29 %), copper (28 %) and gold (16 %).2 What sets our artisanal silver apart is not that it is a by-product. It is that we know the mine.
Certified silver is scarcer still. Fairtrade and Fairmined Silver can only be certified as a by-product of certified gold. Going by the figures of the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), no more than around 30 kilograms of physical Fairmined Silver were sold worldwide in 2025.3 Fairtrade and Fairmined Silver are regularly sold out.1
What scarcity means for price and availability
Scarcity shapes both. Small quantities, higher production costs than in industrial silver mining and the effort of refining small lots separately make Fairever ASM Silver more expensive than conventional silver.1 For the same reasons, the volumes we can offer are limited.
Where our artisanal silver comes from
Fairever ASM Silver currently comes from three small-scale gold mines in southern Peru, by two different routes. Which route applies to a lot is recorded in our delivery documentation.1
SOTRAMI: accredited under Swiss Better Gold
SOTRAMI (Sociedad de Trabajadores Mineros) mines gold near the village of Santa Filomena, in Peru's Ayacucho region. Around 300 people worked there in 2022.4 Miners founded the company in 1987 and took over a concession that a US company had left behind. According to a 2015 report, SOTRAMI works underground, uses no mercury and recovers its gold with cyanide in a circuit that recycles the solution.5
SOTRAMI has been a pioneer for a long time. In 2011, it became the first mine in Peru with Fairtrade certification, which it held for several years.41 In 2013, it became the first partner mine of Swiss Better Gold (SBG) and has been accredited under the program's criteria ever since. SBG's 2025 impact report lists it as fully accredited.16
Swiss Better Gold accredits small-scale gold mines against 27 criteria aligned with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance and the LBMA's responsible sourcing program. Mines climb a three-step "Continuous Improvement Escalator," and independent verifiers confirm their progress.7
The association itself says SBG "is not a certification nor a standard."8 It does have consequences, though: in 2025, it suspended 10 operations.6 The program covers gold, so SOTRAMI's silver is traded outside it.8 More in our profile of the SOTRAMI gold mine and in what is Swiss Better Gold?
CECOMSAP and Nueva Teresita: Fairtrade Gold mines
CECOMSAP and Nueva Teresita were certified under the Fairtrade Gold Standard for their gold when we bought their silver. Both are cooperative organizations in Peru's Puno region.19
CECOMSAP is an umbrella organization of ten cooperatives in Ananea, high in the Andes. It has been Fairtrade certified since 2017, with the FLO ID 38864, and all ten cooperatives have recovered their gold without mercury since 2023.1 The full story: the CECOMSAP gold mine. Nueva Teresita is a mining cooperative in the same region; more in our profile of the Nueva Teresita gold mine.
FLOCERT audits Fairtrade mines against binding rules. The Fairtrade Gold Standard requires, among other things:10
- Protective equipment for all miners, paid for by the employer.
- A committee for health and safety at work.
- No employment of children under 15, or under the higher age set by national mining law – checked in the mine by independent auditors.
- No mercury from the third year of certification, wherever gold can be recovered without it commercially and technically.
Why this silver is not Fairtrade Silver
The Fairtrade standard allows silver to be certified when it is "found and produced as by-products alongside certified gold."10 The Fairmined Standard has the same option.11 Neither mine used it. For the small amounts of silver in small-scale mining, the extra effort and cost of certifying it hardly pay off.1 So the silver is mined under the same audited conditions as the certified gold – but traded outside the Fairtrade system.
How we trace our ASM silver to the mine
Every lot of Fairever ASM Silver can be traced back to its mine, and we name the mine on the product label.1 We document the supply chain from the mine to our products and disclose the evidence on request.
The programs' checks are one layer. Our own due diligence is the second: visits, conversations with managers and miners, and reports from jewelers and journalists who have been to the mines. I have visited SOTRAMI myself, and Desirée Binternagel, our managing director, has been to CECOMSAP.1
That is what we mean by traceable: not a known refiner, but a known mine. Why that matters: traceable gold and silver.
ASM silver vs Fairmined, Fairtrade and AgAIN
Fairever offers silver with different strengths, for different needs. Fairever ASM Silver is for jewelers to whom a known small-scale mining origin matters more than a seal. Here is how it compares:
| Criterion | Fairever ASM Silver | Fairmined Silver | Fairtrade Silver | AgAIN Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source | By-product of small-scale gold mining | By-product of certified small-scale gold mining | By-product of certified small-scale gold mining | Post-consumer recycling of medical X-ray film, UK |
| Origin known | Single named mine | Certified mines | Certified mines | Single known source, mine unknown |
| Rules for the silver | None of its own; mine certified for gold or accredited under SBG | Fairmined Standard | Fairtrade Gold Standard | None; recycled material |
| Independent checks | At the mine, by its program's auditors or verifiers | Certification bodies recognized by ARM | FLOCERT | Not applicable |
| Seal on your product | No | Fairmined label | FAIRTRADE Mark | No |
Sources: Fairtrade and Fairmined standards, Swiss Better Gold, Fairever.101171
Fairmined and Fairtrade Silver come with certification and a label, but they are rarely available. AgAIN Silver is post-consumer recycled silver from a single known source. More in what is Fairmined Silver?, what is Fairtrade Silver? and our AgAIN recycled silver explained.
Our Fairever ASM Silver products
We supply Fairever ASM Silver as semi-finished products for jewelry makers:1
- Casting grain in 999.9 fine silver.
- Wire, sheet and casting pieces in 935 sterling silver.
In the sterling alloys, the contained fine silver is Fairever ASM Silver; the rest is copper. Every label names the source mine.
In our gold alloys, too
We also use Fairever ASM Silver as the alloy silver in our gold alloys made with Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold.1 Neither standard requires this. The Fairmined Standard leaves certified silver in gold alloys "voluntary and at the discretion of the manufacturer."11 The Fairtrade standard allows non-certified metal for "solder and alloys."10 For you, that means the silver in your gold comes from a known small-scale mine as well.
What you can tell your customers
You can tell your customers where the silver in their piece was mined – as long as you say it precisely. Fairever ASM Silver is not a seal, so the claims that work are factual ones. For example:
- "Made with artisanal silver from small-scale mining in Peru."
- "The silver is traceable to its mine: [mine name from the label]."
- "The silver was mined as a by-product of gold at [mine], which was [Fairtrade certified for its gold / accredited under Swiss Better Gold] when the silver was bought."
What to avoid:
- "Fair," "fairly traded," "Fairtrade Silver," "Fairmined Silver" or "certified silver" – the silver is traded outside these systems.
- Fairtrade or Fairmined logos next to the product – they only apply to certified metal.
- "Sustainable silver" or "saves mining" – the silver comes out of the ground with the gold, whoever buys it.
"Responsible" and "ethical" work if you say what they mean: name the mine and what its program required. In the EU, environmental claims now need to be specific; our article on the EmpCo directive and gold explains what that means for jewelry. For the gold in the same piece, see Fairtrade Gold product claims and Fairmined product claims.
FAQs: Fairever ASM Silver explained
What is Fairever ASM Silver?
Fairever ASM Silver is artisanal silver from small-scale gold mines in Peru, traceable to a single named mine. It is a product line of Fairever, a supplier of responsible precious metals in Leipzig, Germany. The mine is declared on every label.
Is Fairever ASM Silver certified?
No. It is a product line, not a certification or a seal. When we bought the silver, its mines were certified for their gold under Fairtrade or accredited under Swiss Better Gold. The silver itself is traded outside these programs.
Where does Fairever ASM Silver come from?
From three small-scale gold mines in southern Peru: SOTRAMI in the Ayacucho region, accredited under Swiss Better Gold, and CECOMSAP and Nueva Teresita in the Puno region, both Fairtrade certified for their gold at the time of purchase.
Why isn't this silver Fairtrade Silver?
Fairtrade allows silver to be certified as a by-product of certified gold, but CECOMSAP and Nueva Teresita did not use this option, because the small amounts hardly justify the cost. The silver is traded outside the Fairtrade system.
Why does artisanal silver cost more?
Small-scale gold mines yield only around 80–150 grams of silver per kilogram of gold. Production costs are higher than in industrial silver mining, and small lots are refined separately.
Which Fairever ASM Silver products are available?
Casting grain in 999.9 fine silver, and wire, sheet and casting pieces in 935 sterling silver. Fairever also uses it as the alloy silver in its gold alloys made with Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold.
Key takeaways
In a nutshell ...
- Artisanal silver with a known mine. Fairever ASM Silver comes from three small-scale gold mines in Peru, and every label names its mine.
- Two routes, never mixed up. SOTRAMI was accredited under Swiss Better Gold; CECOMSAP and Nueva Teresita were Fairtrade certified for their gold. Either way, the silver is traded outside these programs.
- By-product is normal, a known mine is not. Around three-quarters of the world's mined silver is a by-product of other mining. What sets our ASM silver apart is its documented mine.
- The silver in your gold counts, too. Our Fairtrade and Fairmined gold alloys use Fairever ASM Silver, beyond what either standard requires.
- Name the mine, leave out the seal. Tell your customers where their silver was mined – and keep "fair" and "certified" for certified silver.
Get active, be the change!
Fairever ASM Silver is available as casting grain, wire, sheet and casting pieces.
Looking for silver with a known mine for your next collection? Take a look at our Fairever ASM Silver.
Further reading
- Certified silver from the Fairmined system: what is Fairmined Silver?
- One of the mines behind our ASM silver, high in the Andes: the CECOMSAP gold mine, Peru.
- Why a known mine matters more than a known refiner: traceable gold and silver.
Sources
- Fairever, internal information, September 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- The Silver Institute, World Silver Survey 2026, prepared by Metals Focus, April 2026, pp. 10 and 32. Shares of 2025 mine production of 846.6 million ounces: primary silver 26.1 %, lead/zinc 29.4 %, copper 28.0 %, gold 15.9 %, other 0.6 %; rounded. ↩
- Alliance for Responsible Mining, ARM Annual Report 2025, 2026, p. 13. Our own calculation: Fairmined Premium for silver in 2025 of 2,989.11 US dollars ÷ 100 US dollars per kilogram of Fairmined Silver (Fairmined Standard, requirement 5.2.5; footnote 11) ≈ 29.9 kilograms. Fairmined Ecological Silver carries an additional 50 US dollars per kilogram (requirement 5.2.6), so the actual quantity may be lower. Silver covered by Fairmined Credits (23.4 kilograms) is not physical Fairmined Silver and is not included. ↩
- Desirée Binternagel, SOTRAMI, Peru – a Fairtrade Certified Mine, Fairever, November 5, 2022. ↩ ↩
- John Crabtree and Judith Condor-Vidal, Fair Trade gold mining in the highlands of Peru, The Ecologist, January 14, 2015. ↩
- Swiss Better Gold Association, Impact Report 2025, 2026, pp. 16–20. ↩ ↩
- Swiss Better Gold Association, Our approach, accessed September 2026. ↩ ↩
- Swiss Better Gold Association, Swiss Better Gold Frequently Asked Questions, 2026, section I.B. ↩ ↩
- Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Peru, Minera Nueva Teresita prepara su primera exportación de oro responsable a Suiza, Cooperación Suiza en Perú, August 26, 2020. ↩
- Fairtrade International, Fairtrade Standard for Gold and Associated Precious Metals for Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining, version 1.2 (in force until June 30, 2027; version 2.0 applies from July 1, 2027), chapter 2 and requirements 2.2.4, 3.2.1, 3.3.14, 3.3.47 and 3.3.50. Certification and audits by FLOCERT. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- Alliance for Responsible Mining, Fairmined Standard for Gold from Artisanal and Small-scale Mining, including Associated Precious Metals, version 2.0, April 5, 2014, section "By-products" and requirements 2.2.7, 5.2.5 and 5.2.6. ↩ ↩ ↩
