PRESS RELEASE: PeaceGold named Community Initiative of the Year at the Professional Jeweller Awards 2026

PeaceGold is dedicated to transforming gold into a source of peace and prosperity in the conflict-affected Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Much of DRC’s population is severely impacted by intersecting crises of ongoing armed conflict, mass displacement, severe food insecurity, an ongoing Ebola outbreak and frequent climate shocks.

PeaceGold’s ultimate goal is to break the historic link between artisanal gold mining and violent conflict in the east of the country, helping to convert the region’s significant mineral wealth into a tool for peace, community development and economic stability.

Through building a robust and legal supply chain for its partner mining cooperatives to export their gold, PeaceGold supports these cooperatives in actively eradicating child labour, promotes mercury-free mining, and facilitates a social development fund, demobilisation and reintegration of ex-militia, and community-based psycho-social support.

“Winning a community award for our work as PeaceGold is a great feeling. It is an award we can all be proud of, and a vindication of the thousands of hours of work, belief and dedication that everyone associated with PeaceGold has invested. In a world that seems intent on creating division, PeaceGold celebrates diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and of course the one human value we all crave. PEACE. Peace is a prerequisite for the human family to thrive. This is our heartbeat and our commitment,” says PeaceGold’s Founder Greg Valerio MBE.

This award follows a period of momentous progress in Ituri Province, the northeast of DRC where PeaceGold’s work is based. Earlier this year, specialised finance and gold offtake partner SigraFi signed a deal with PeaceGold Trading Limited, granting them a $500,000 trading facility which is now funding the Know Your Customer and due diligence work currently underway ahead of formal trading from Autumn 2026.

Five of PeaceGold's 11 partner gold-mining cooperatives in Ituri are preparing to take part in a first shipment of 7kg, with independent Mine Site Inspectors visiting from late August into September to confirm Blue Status with the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region - work carried out alongside PeaceGold’s long-standing partner Centre Résolution Conflits (CRC).

This month in DRC, PeaceGold has also officially established Zahabu Ya Amani SARL (ZAMA SARL) – Swahili for ‘gold for peace’ - to buy, smelt and export gold on the ground. Once trading begins, 80% of proceeds from each shipment will be returned directly to the DRC.

This progress continues even as Ituri Province - home to PeaceGold's partner cooperatives - remains the epicentre of DRC's ongoing Ebola outbreak, which is currently the second largest ever recorded. The epidemic is a reminder of the exceptionally difficult conditions under which this work continues for PeaceGold’s partners in DRC.

For Greg Valerio and the PeaceGold team, this year’s developments are the culmination of more than 15 years of peacebuilding, advocacy and nurturing partnerships in the DRC. For jewellers here in the UK, they mean traceable PeaceGold will very soon be available to buy.

In the historic market town of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, the PeaceGold Ethical Jewellery House has continued to grow as a hub for craft, retail and community education. The past year has brought a specialist wax-carving masterclass with master goldsmith Russell Lownsbrough, an expanded dedicated training space, and - in partnership with DurhamEnable - a new programme paving structured pathways into paid employment for local jobseekers with disabilities, neurodiversities, and long term health conditions.

A full and diverse programme of jewellery-making courses for Autumn 2026 has just been announced, introducing new techniques and formats for PeaceGold’s growing community of makers.

PeaceGold's work has drawn broader attention this year, including a feature by Maria Doulton in the July-August issue of Vanity Fair, with support from jewellery designer and PeaceGold advocate Arabel Lebrusan of Lebrusan Studio.

PeaceGold has also been shortlisted for Community Engagement of the Year at the NAJ Awards, with that ceremony to follow in October of this year.

About PeaceGold

PeaceGold is a community interest company founded by Greg Valerio MBE, working at the intersection of artisanal gold mining and ethical jewellery. Its cooperative network in Ituri Province, DRC supports peacebuilding, mercury elimination and community development among mining communities affected by conflict, while its Ethical Jewellery House in Bishop Auckland brings retail, training and craft education to the UK high street. Learn more at peace-gold.com.