Building Capacity to Counter Illegal Mining | SFOP0006949

Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0006949

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), offered a discretionary grant opportunity called "Building Capacity to Counter Illegal Mining" (Funding Opportunity Number SFOP0006949). The program was designed to support targeted efforts in West Africa, Southeast Asia, and/or Mongolia, with the central goal of strengthening how governments confront illegal or criminal mining. INL framed the problem as one that involves organized criminal groups and individuals exploiting the mining sector, often with cross-border links and associated financial crimes, and it emphasized that any supported work should align with international best practices and human rights standards.

At its core, the grant aimed to improve both the willingness and the practical ability of authorities to take criminal mining cases from investigation all the way through sentencing. That includes building capacity for investigators, police, prosecutors, and courts to identify criminal networks tied to illicit extraction and trade of minerals, to gather and preserve evidence, to make arrests that stand up in court, and to prosecute and secure convictions that lead to appropriate sentencing. A notable feature of the program is its explicit attention to financial aspects of illegal mining, particularly money laundering connected to gold and other minerals. In other words, the opportunity was not only about stopping illicit digging and trafficking, but also about disrupting the financial flows that make these operations profitable and resilient.

INL described a two-part approach that projects were expected to reflect. The first part focuses on operational law enforcement and justice-sector improvements: enhancing investigative and prosecutorial skills, improving coordination among agencies, and strengthening the ability to cooperate internationally when cases, suspects, supply chains, or financial transactions cross borders. This could reasonably encompass training, specialized mentoring, interagency protocols, case-building support, and mechanisms that help authorities share information with counterparts in other countries while respecting due process and rights protections. The second part addresses structural vulnerabilities that allow transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and other illicit actors to exploit gaps in governance. INL signaled interest in helping governments close legal and regulatory loopholes in the mining sector by improving mining-related legislation and strengthening institutional capacity to administer and enforce it.

A significant policy element in the description is the emphasis on building a legal and legitimate artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. Illegal mining often overlaps with informal ASM activity, and the opportunity highlights assisting government agencies to develop legitimate pathways for small-scale miners, which can reduce the space that criminal networks use to hide within or prey upon informal mining communities. In practice, this part of the work would generally relate to licensing and permitting systems, oversight and compliance frameworks, clearer rules around mineral buying and exporting, and measures that encourage lawful participation in the mineral economy rather than forcing livelihoods entirely outside the formal system.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity was issued under CFDA 19.705 in the Law, Justice, and Legal Services activity category. The funding instrument was a grant, with an announced award ceiling of $2,000,000 and an expectation of making one award. The opportunity was posted on May 14, 2020, with an original closing date of July 14, 2020. Eligibility was listed broadly as "Others," with details intended to be clarified in the opportunity's additional eligibility information, indicating that the applicant pool likely extended beyond only national governments to include certain types of organizations capable of implementing justice-sector and governance programming.

Overall, this grant opportunity targeted the intersection of natural resource crime, organized crime, and rule-of-law capacity building. It prioritized practical criminal justice outcomes (stronger investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing), financial crime disruption (including laundering through mineral supply chains), cross-border cooperation, and longer-term governance fixes (legal reforms and stronger institutions), while also supporting the development of legitimate artisanal and small-scale mining systems to reduce the conditions that enable illegal mining to thrive.

• The Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics-Law Enforcement in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Building Capacity to Counter Illegal Mining" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.705.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 14, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 14, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for SFOP0006949

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