12/01/2026 | News
Both Soleil Metals processing plants declared compliant with Swiss Better Gold Step 1
Soleil Metals, the Peruvian subsidiary of the OCIM Group, announces that its two processing plants,
Soleil Metals
Lima, Peru (April 2026). With more than fifteen years of experience in responsible artisanal mining in Peru, including five years as National Coordinator of the planetGOLD program of the UNDP, Franco Arista joins Soleil Metals as Commercial Manager, based in Lima. He reports to Ivan Salas, Country Manager.
Specifically, he supervises the procurement of gold ore coming from artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM), consolidates partnerships with formalized producers in southern Peru, and contributes to the operational growth of the integrated chain of the OCIM group.
Agricultural Engineer with a postgraduate degree in Environmental Sciences from the National Agrarian University La Molina (UNALM, Lima), Franco Arista also holds an International Diploma in Mining Business Management from ESAN and a Tech MBA from UTEC. In 2024, he completed the executive program “Leading Digital Transformation” at IE Business School (Madrid).
Between 2019 and 2024, he coordinated at the national level the planetGOLD program of the UNDP, implemented on behalf of the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Peru. The program enabled the elimination of 16.8 tons of mercury from the artisanal gold sector, the formalization of six small-scale mining companies, and the granting of 2.5 million soles in loans to artisanal miners within the framework of a financial inclusion program. Likewise, he led the development of “Qori”, an application for real-time recording of gold transactions, doubly awarded in the global Innovation X Labs competition (USAID, Moore Foundation, Microsoft, ESRI).
Previously, as Specialist in Mineral Commercialization and Traceability in the DGFM of the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Peru, he designed the national prototype of the information system for the control and traceability of artisanal gold. Between 2011 and 2018, he directed the Mining Program of Solidaridad Network in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia, supporting the formalization and certification of several companies, among them Minera Yanaquihua, the first Peruvian and South American gold producer to obtain RJC certification. He joins Soleil Metals after serving as Deputy Manager of Sustainability and Corporate Development at Veta Dorada.
“At a time when recruiting and retaining artisanal miners is our operational priority, Franco has managed to build over fifteen years, at the UNDP and then at Solidaridad, a relationship of trust with this audience in the field, in the regions where we operate. His experience will help us achieve our production objectives and, more broadly, to bring our model to the scale of a true responsible ASM value chain of critical mass,” highlights Ivan Salas, Country Manager of Soleil Metals.
