In a bid to make the occupation safer, University of Victoria earth sciences professor Kevin Telmer, who heads the Artisanal Gold Council, is pushing for mining methods that would use far less mercury.
But mercury is not the only hazard. In the Zamfara region of northern Nigeria, about 400 children have died of lead poisoning from the lead-laden rock that they pulverize in search of gold, and thousands of other children need urgent medical care, according to reports by Human Rights Watch and Médecins sans frontières (Doctors Without Borders).
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