mercurypollutionthrough coordinated voluntary actions. This partnership area,co-led by Natural Resources
Defense Council and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, gathers the major actors in the
sector, including governments, academia and civil society. The ASGM sector remains the largest demand
sector for mercury globally (best global estimates put mercury use by the sector in the range of 1400
tonne/year in 2011). Virtually all of the mercury introduced in the process is released to the environment. This
sector involves an estimated 10-20 million miners, and the numbers are likely increasing as the rising price of
gold attracts additional poverty-driven miners. Serious long-term environmental health hazards exist for
populations associated with or living downstream/wind from mining operations, often including indigenous
peoples. The objective of the ASGM Partnership area isto minimize and where possible eliminate mercury
uses and releases in artisanal and small scale gold mining. The presentation will outline the key challenges
associated with the ASGM sector and summarize the activities under the Partnership to address those
challenges.
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