Alluvial miners like Ms Meara use mercury to separate the gold from the river sand.
The bush alchemy is done on the riverbank, without protective equipment.
Silver globules of mercury are poured into a panning dish. They attract the heavy gold particles, which are later filtered, then burned away to leave 90 per cent pure gold dust.
It is a process Denis Kikari has seen many times..........
"It is very risky, especially for the women who are pregnant and also for small children who are still at the stage of growing, because mercury is dangerous to the nervous system,"
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