“We put 15 kilograms of gold ore and water into each ball, and we use
100 grams of mercury per ball,” or 3.5 ounces for 33 pounds of ore, said
David, who runs the family’s workshop. Workers then purify the nuggets
using an open flame, burning off the mercury in sites among residential
areas throughout the village.
Yuyun Ismawati, an environmental campaigner based in Britain, says the
scope of the problem is evident in the amount of mercury being exported
from around the world to Indonesia, her home country. Most of it, she
says, is brought in illegally.
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