Beech says the most prevalent type of activity occurs in old abandoned mines, where they are less likely to be detected. “What’s sad is that the people going underground and risking their lives are only doing so for minimal payments. The crime syndicates supporting them take the gold up the value chain after being mined. Typically in the smaller scale operations, the zama zamas will crush the rock underground by hand using basic tools, and some of them will try and extract the gold from the rock using mercury, which is highly dangerous,” says Beech.
The sourcing of mercury usually also comes from the shadow market, where old medical facilities and equipment are plundered for things like thermometers that hold the compound.
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