Developing a national action plan to reduce and, where feasible, eliminate mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining

This document represents an expansion of this original guidance document and is intended to reflect the language of the Convention and other advances in understanding of the ASGM sector. It is intended to provide guidance to countries in formulating ASGM National Action Plans (NAPs) that are compliant with the requirements of the Minamata Convention. The document also provides technical, legal and policy information on issues related to ASGM, which may be useful when preparing and implementing the NAP. This guidance is indicative – the use of this document is not mandatory or a requirement under the Convention. The mandate for the development of this document comes from the Final Act of the Minamata Convention, which called on the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Mercury (INC) to support the development of guidance to countries in preparing their NAPs.