The Blacksmith Institute, a New York-based environmental nonprofit organization, said that the process for extracting gold using mercury involves mixing elemental mercury with silt or ore dust that contain tiny pieces of gold, often by hand. Once added, the mercury sticks to any gold that might be present, and the mercury-gold amalgamation is removed by washing the silt with water. The amalgam is then heated, often in a private home, and the mercury evaporates, leaving the gold and exposing anyone in the vicinity to mercury vapors.
The countries where this type of “artisanal” mining is most common include Malaysia and Indonesia, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania and Mali.
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