Salmon Gold, launched August 13, will focus on streams and fish habitats that have been impacted by historical tailings. The first phase of the endeavour included mining and restoring a portion of Jack Wade Creek, a tributary of Alaska's Fortymile River.

Other efforts will include habitats at Sulphur Creek in the Yukon territory of Canada, and Gold Creek, north of Talkeetna, Alaska. Additional sites throughout Alaska, the Yukon and British Columbia are now under consideration.

"Resolve worked with a local placer miner and government agencies to test restoration methods, process-recovered gold and establish a chain-of-custody for the first batch of Salmon Gold from the mine to manufacturers," the US group said, confirming that the first batch of sustainable Salmon Gold is entering the supply chains of Tiffany & Co and Apple.

"By producing gold that supports restoration, Salmon Gold meets the needs of manufacturing and retail companies that responsibly source minerals for their products."

Once the pilot phase has bee completed, Resolve will begin working with its partners to expand the impact of the initiative with the gold to evolve and scale it into a self-sustaining social enterprise.

For now, Resolve president Stephen D'Esposito is calling Salmon Gold a "restoration start-up", with each of its partners bringing a piece of the solution to the initiative.

"We're looking for innovative approaches to source gold responsibly," Apple supplier responsibility programme head Paula Pyers said.

"Our collaboration on Salmon Gold proves it is possible to protect our planet, restore ecosystems and fish habitats, and mine gold responsibly. The blockchain technology we are using with the project allows us to know exactly where the gold originated from as it works its way through our supply chain."