The SOTRAMI mining cooperative is located in Santa Filomena, a small village in the Atacama desert in southern Peru. In the 1980s, as a result of an economic crisis, the region was increasingly populated by miners who tried their luck prospecting for gold in abandoned mine shafts.

The EmpCo Directive and Gold:
“Sustainable gold.” “Green gold.” “Eco-certified.” Phrases like these have shown up for years in the jewelry industry’s product descriptions, websites, and collection names as if



