The minerals sector can be an important source of economic growth, local employment and skills development. However, the sector is prone to corruption risks.

Soaring gold prices have triggered a surge in illegal mining, driving deforestation and mercury contamination across vulnerable ecosystems. Transnational organised crime, state- and non-state armed groups have abused precious metals and stones supply chains for the purpose of money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion.

In addition, the global race for critical minerals – including nickel, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements – is intensifying as nations compete to secure supplies for the energy transition, the defence sector and the tech industry. But as demand surges, so does the environmental, social and governance cost. Without stronger governance, the expansion of the minerals sector threatens to replicate – and amplify – the failures of past resource booms.

The challenge is urgent: Corruption remains a defining feature of mineral extraction worldwide – undermining regulations, enabling environmental destruction and diverting revenues away from national economies. How do we break this cycle and ensure that mineral extraction benefits societies without inflicting irreversible environmental damage?

The Minerals Corruption Working Group addresses this challenge head-on. We advance transparency, accountability and good governance in the minerals sector through concrete actions. Our working group serves as a peer-learning platform, connecting anti-corruption practitioners and extractive resources experts to share experiences, confront common challenges and build collaborative solutions.

About the Minerals Corruption Working Group

The Minerals Corruption working group brings together practitioners interested in understanding and addressing corruption challenges across the mineral value chain. It offers a space for peer learning, experience sharing and networking. Members will be invited to discuss good practices and tools and explore new ideas and collaborations.

The Minerals Corruption Working Group is convened by the Basel Institute on Governance, in coordination with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) and the Centre for Responsible Business Conduct of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

Sessions are held under the Chatham House rule and convened virtually. Key updates, including member-recommended case studies and resources, are shared in the monthly newsletter of the Practitioners Forum and on our LinkedIn Group.

The sessions of the Working Group are open to any professional. There is no fee to become a member.

To join this Working Group, join the Practitioners Forum and select the Working Group when submitting the form. Existing members can update their profile.

What does “minerals corruption” look like?

Mineral corruption refers to the abuse of power for private gain at any stage of the minerals value chain. It can take many forms, including:

• Bribery or undue influence to obtain mining licences
• Bribery or undue influence to avoid oversight in environmental and social impact processes
• Document fraud and manipulation of data along the supply chain
• Conflict of interest, directly or indirectly, involving Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs)
• Diversion of public money and laundering of illicit streams
• Creation of “front” and shell companies dedicated to tax evasion, tax avoidance and legalisation of illegally extracted minerals
• Business-to-business bribery to secure favourable social and environmental audit outcomes.

Such corruption patterns undermine the good governance and sustainable use of natural resources, fuel inequality and impact the environment.

Why join the Working Group?

This Working Group enables members to:

• Connect with peers tackling the same issue.
• Stay informed about new approaches, tools and policy developments.
• Get insight into concrete patterns and corruption risks, and discuss case studies that exemplify the different issues worldwide.
• Learn about concrete anti-corruption actions and experiences from other practitioners and share their own perspectives.
• Explore collaborations and joint actions.

Recommended readings and tools

• “From Mine to Market: Using Traceability to Fight Mineral Sector Corruption”: a short explainer developed Expert Group on Preventing Corruption in Transition Minerals (November 2025)
• “Guide to using EITI data for due diligence”: This guide outlines how data disclosed through the EITI can support companies in identifying and assessing corruption and governance-related risks in their mineral supply chains as part of due diligence efforts (October 2025)
• “Ten Red Flags for Corruption Risk in Transition Minerals Licensing and Contracting”: The report guides stakeholders in recognising opaque award processes, undue influence, and governance gaps that threaten equitable benefits and environmental safeguards (December 2024)
• “Digging Into the Problem: How corruption facilitates socioenvironmental, human rights, and Indigenous Peoples’ rights harms in the mining sector”: An analytical briefing exposing how corruption acts as a catalyst for socio-environmental damage, human rights abuses and violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights within mining value chains (February 2025)
• “Extractive Sector Corruption Diagnostic Tool”: A practical toolkit developed to help governments, civil society and industry map corruption vulnerabilities across extractive sector value chains, prioritise risk areas and design evidence-based interventions (December 2023)
• “Preventing Corruption in Energy Transition Mineral Supply Chains”: A thematic guide that explores corruption risks specific to energy-transition mineral supply chains and recommends integrity-enhancing measures for governments, firms and development actors (December 2022)
• “FAQ: How to address bribery and corruption risks in mineral supply chains”: A frequently-asked-questions style booklet, produced by the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD), detailing how companies can identify, prevent, mitigate and report corruption risks in their mineral sourcing (2021)
• “Unpacking Supply Chain Due Diligence for Integrity”: An OECD explainer demystifying supply-chain due diligence practices with a focus on integrity, outlining risk pathways, key concepts and practical entry points for embedding anti-corruption into responsible business conduct (2024)