Gold mining causes mercury pollution in West Sumbawa

 a worker at a small-scale mine in Lamunga Atas village, West Sumbawa regency, West Nusa Tenggara, crushes gold-laden rocks with her son. Many residents of the village work at unlicensed mines in the area. (JP/Panca Nugraha)Small-scale gold mining has caused concerns in West Sumbawa regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), due to the massive use of mercury and cyanide, which can cause health and environmental problems.
read more... https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/01/31/gold-mining-causes-mercury-pollution-west-sumbawa.html

GSA, Western Region partner to add value to Ghana’s gold

In connection with this, the GSA has been appointed a strategic partner for the maiden Ghana Gold Expo, which seeks to promote zero mercury use in gold production and the promotion of best standards practice in the industry.
read more... https://africanminingmarket.com/gsa-western-region-partner-to-add-value-to-ghanas-gold/5438/

'Gold money' helps Sumbawa recover from earthquakes, but now it battles mercury poisoning

Small-scale gold mining has caused concerns in West Sumbawa regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), due to the massive use of mercury and cyanide that can cause health and environmental problems. Limited job opportunities and lower income from farming have caused residents to turn to illegal mining. “I have been working like this since 2014, since the gold mine has been here,” said Sahnip, 42, a resident of Lamunga Atas hamlet in Kayu Putih village, as she crushed rocks into smaller pieces using a hammer of some 5 kilograms in weight. 
read more... https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/01/29/gold-money-helps-sumbawa-recover-from-earthquakes-but-now-it-battles-mercury-poisoning.html

Despite U.S. sanctions, a South Florida businessman is linked to Venezuela’s gold industry

Using a rope, a miner prepares to descend into the earth in Tumeremo, Venezuela. The work is not only dirty and dangerous — thanks, in part, to the use of toxic mercury to separate gold from plain rock — but it endangers those in surrounding communities by poisoning rivers and the fish that inhabit them. 
read more... https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article239317143.html

Gold Prices Slip as Coronavirus Spreads Before Chinese New Year

GOLD PRICES slipped in London trade Tuesday, edging down as world stock markets fell amid the worsening outbreak of coronavirus in China.
read more... https://www.bullionvault.com/gold-news/gold-price-012120203

Government starts Community Mining Programme in Ashanti Region

There were assertions that the president
	was against mining that was why he banned it. That is not right rather he
	despised certain issues including the involvement of foreigners, use of
	mercury, which contaminated aquatic life,” he said. read more... https://ghananewsagency.org/science/government-starts-community-mining-programme-in-ashanti-region-163047

Defenders of the Colombian Amazon scared hills: the mining concession

 The Ombudsman's Office reported, in response to a right of petition sent by Agenda Propia, that the activity of gold mining companies in this municipality caused "damage to the integrity and unity of the indigenous communities". Gold has been exploited in Taraira for more than 25 years, partly by traditional miners and partly by illegal Colombian and Brazilian companies. The extraction has caused irreversible environmental damage, its rivers are contaminated with mercury and its people today see the terrible consequences.
read more... https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/defensores-de-los-cerros-sagrados-en-la-amazon%C3%ADa-colombiana-la-concesi%C3%B3n-minera-en/

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining, meandering tropical rivers, and geological heritage: Evidence from Brazil and Indonesia

A paradox is that illegal and mercury-releasing ASGM needs termination, but such an action will result in the loss of the noted geological heritage value. Solution to this paradox requires careful development of plans for local management. However, it is clear that the presence of the noted heritage requires turning more attention to ASGM and their natural (river valley) context.
read more... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720304174

The environmental price of illegal mining

Mr Mlilo said during gold rushes, cases of open defecation increase, resulting in water bodies being contaminated thereby exposing communities to diseases.

He said panners also use dangerous chemicals such as cyanide and mercury to process their gold which also affects the environment and is a health threat to communities.

read more... https://www.chronicle.co.zw/the-environmental-price-of-illegal-mining/

Government supports maiden Ghana Gold Expo

Dr Darko-Mensah stated that the historic event would showcase Ghana’s source of gold, its position as the first in gold production in Africa, refinery capacity and government policy to promote responsible gold as we eliminate mercury in gold extraction.

Mr Steven Blessing Ackah, the Convener of the Expo, said the event would serve as a platform in recognising Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Miners (ASGM) as stakeholders, and explore community engagement and social investment priorities as launched by President Akufo-Addo dubbed: ‘Community Mining Scheme’.

Mr Johan Zietsman, the Director of Gold Recovery Ghana, said the event was part of a vision to implement the Minamata Convention Guiding Principles on Mercury, which Ghana signed in 2014 and ratified in 2017.

read more... https://www.newsghana.com.gh/government-supports-maiden-ghana-gold-expo/

Gold miners dying for a better solution

It might be a relatively small slice of the mining industry, accounting for less than 20% of global gold production, but artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) operations are the biggest source of mercury pollution in the world.

The sector punches well above its weight producing almost 40% or nearly 830 tonnes of the 2,200 tonnes of total global mercury emissions released each year.

Although mercury is a natural element that has been used in gold mining for centuries, it is highly toxic to people and the environment. Its trade and use have been strictly regulated in recent years.

read more... https://www.cleanmining.co/2020/01/20/gold-miners-dying-for-a-better-solution/

Sex trade flourishes in Peru’s Amazon despite crackdown on illegal mining

The Madre de Dios gold rush destroyed large swathes of forest in one of Peru’s most biodiverse regions, leaving in its wake a desert-like landscape strewn with lifeless craters and rivers poisoned with mercury.
read more... https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2020/01/20/sex-trade-flourishes-in-perus-amazon-despite-crackdown-on-illegal-mining/1828679

Convention on Mercury Takes Steps on Compliance

Among these statements, Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), highlighted four areas needing action to reduce mercury exposure globally: artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM); stemming mercury trade; reducing emissions from coal burning, with linkages in climate policy; and e-waste.
read more... http://sdg.iisd.org/news/convention-on-mercury-takes-steps-on-compliance/

What is artisanal gold and why is it booming?

Artisanal and small-scale miners often operate "freelance," sometimes paying landowners to access a site, or handing bosses a share of their ore.

Many work with little more than pickaxes and shovels and carry what they dig on their backs. Others use diggers and crushers.

Often, miners use mercury to extract the gold, then turn it into semi-pure nuggets of dore (pronounced door-ray) to sell to traders.

read more... https://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/16/01/2020/What-is-artisanal-gold-and-why-is-it-booming

Gold Is Causing a River of Problems for the Amazon Rainforest

About 15 million–40 million [people] work in the global sector. Mercury is involved, which makes it even more serious. There are a lot of illicit activities associated with it. You’ve got the Mafia, you’ve got money laundering, child slavery, you have the whole shebang.
read more... https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-article/gold-river-amazon-rainforest/

Colombia's Amazon tribes tap into rainforest protection funds

"We need to recover the seeds and crops we once cultivated, ensure that our native languages are taught in our schools and train our young leaders," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Estrada said the biggest risks his tribe faced were illegal gold and cobalt mining and the use of mercury in mining that kills fish and pollutes rivers.

read more... http://news.trust.org//item/20200115222102-e4mhd/

Exploitation, Pollution and a Shadow Economy: What is Artisanal Gold Mining and Why is it Booming?

Artisanal and small-scale miners often operate "freelance," sometimes paying landowners to access a site, or handing bosses a share of their ore.

Many work with little more than pickaxes and shovels and carry what they dig on their backs. Others use diggers and crushers. Often, miners use mercury to extract the gold, then turn it into semi-pure nuggets of dore (pronounced door-ray) to sell to traders.

read more... https://www.news18.com/news/business/exploitation-pollution-and-a-shadow-economy-what-is-artisanal-gold-mining-and-why-is-it-booming-2459261.html

In Indonesia, deadly mercury poisoning isn’t enough to stop outlaw gold miners

The wildcat miner had something to prove: processing gold ore with liquid mercury was perfectly safe. So he drank some of the toxic chemical, choosing the promises of gold fever over the pain of mercury poisoning. “I have no worry about mercury,” brags the fast-talking Syarafuddin Iskandar. “I drank it. We gave it to the cows and the buffaloes. They drank it. Nothing happened. There’s no problem.”
read more... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/indonesia-deadly-mercury-poison-outlaw-gold-miners-a9274196.html

What Is Artisanal Gold and Why Is It Booming?

Many work with little more than pickaxes and shovels and carry what they dig on their backs. Others use diggers and crushers.

Often, miners use mercury to extract the gold, then turn it into semi-pure nuggets of dore (pronounced door-ray) to sell to traders.

read more... https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/01/15/business/15reuters-gold-mining-artisanal-explainer.html

Banten Collaborates with Police to Curb Illegal Gold Mines

The governor has also instructed Banten's environmental and forestry office to study possible mercury contamination in the area, following a report of the Mount Halimun Salak National Park that farm and fishery products in the region were contaminated with hazardous material used in gold mines.

The authority will also conduct surveillance over the spread of mercury in the province, Halim noted.

read more... https://en.tempo.co/read/1294796/banten-collaborates-with-police-to-curb-illegal-gold-mines

Zimbabwe: Mashurugwi -A Liability To The Nation

mercury a heavy metal that have inhibiting properties plus cyanide a serious poison. These chemicals have killed fish and other creatures which normally deal with the echo system in our waters. The absence of these creatures create an un purified waters. Our water cleaning system does not normally target this as the plants were designed to deal with fresh water sources.
read more... https://www.zimeye.net/2020/01/13/mashurugwi-a-liability-to-the-nation/

Banten collaborates closely with police to curb illegal gold mining

The governor has also instructed Banten's environmental and forestry office to study possible mercury contamination in the area, following a report of the Mount Halimun Salak National Park that farm and fishery products in the region were contaminated with hazardous material used in gold mines.

The authority will also conduct surveillance over the spread of mercury in the province, Halim noted.
read more... https://en.antaranews.com/news/139612/banten-collaborates-closely-with-police-to-curb-illegal-gold-mining

'Like a bomb going off': why Brazil's largest reserve is facing destruction

But garimpeiros bring malaria, prostitution and violence, indigenous leaders argue, while scientists say the mercury the miners use to separate gold particles from mud and silt enters rivers and the food chain. Their pits and barges upset ecosystems, scare away wildlife, and fill rivers with mud that distorts fish behaviour and breeding.
read more... https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/like-a-bomb-going-off-why-brazils-largest-reserve-is-facing-destruction-aoe

Man Dies Four Years After Eating Sandwich Poisoned By His Colleague

Sometimes you go to work with the sole aim of making your money and going back home to plan your life again. However, this is not the case for the 22-year-old German man that ate Sandwich mixed with Mercury by his colleague.

He has been in Coma for four years and his death was confirmed on Thursday by the state court in Bielefeld, which convicted the suspect in the case last year, which makes him 26-year-old as at the time of his death.

read more... https://guardian.ng/life/man-dies-four-years-after-eating-sandwich-poisoned-by-his-colleague/

Are some Venezuelan miners dealing in 'blood gold'?

The initiative has been criticised by environmental activists and rights groups for contaminating watersheds with mercury and fuelling massacres as gangs battle for territory.

In an interview with Reuters, Guaido said the EU should use a label to limit the trade of Venezuelan gold, the way the "blood diamond" campaign of the 1990s targeted diamond sales that financed armed conflict in Africa.

read more... https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/venezuelan-miners-dealing-blood-gold-200109221911542.html

Venezuela's Guaido Seeks EU 'Blood Gold' Designation for Informal Mining By Reuters

Maduro's government since 2016 has supported artesanal mining in the Venezuelan Amazon to bring in revenue amid an economic crisis, an effort that expanded as Washington increased sanctions meant to force the ruling Socialist Party from power.

The initiative has been criticized by environmental activists and rights groups for contaminating watersheds with mercury and fuelling massacres as gangs battle for territory.

read more... https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/01/10/world/americas/09reuters-venezuela-politics.html?auth=login-google

DOE Selects Mercury Storage Site, Sets Per-Ton Fee

The dangers of mercury and, particularly, methylmercury in the environment have been established science for many years and are explicitly recognized in the MEBA. Nonetheless, the act stated that the United States was a net exporter of mercury during the period from 2000 to 2004, exporting 506 MT of elemental mercury more than the nation imported. The MEBA also states that exported elemental mercury found its way into artisanal gold mining conducted in developing countries. In artisanal mining, mercury is mixed with gold-containing materials, forming a mercury-gold amalgam that is then heated, vaporizing the mercury to obtain the gold. The mercury vapors enter the atmosphere, and the methylmercury cycle begins.
read more... https://ehsdailyadvisor.blr.com/2020/01/doe-selects-mercury-storage-site-sets-per-ton-fee/

Venezuela's Guaido seeks EU 'blood gold' designation for informal mining

Maduro's government since 2016 has supported artesanal mining in the Venezuelan Amazon to bring in revenue amid an economic crisis, an effort that expanded as Washington increased sanctions meant to force the ruling Socialist Party from power.

The initiative has been criticized by environmental activists and rights groups for contaminating watersheds with mercury and fueling massacres as gangs battle for territory.

read more... https://kfgo.com/news/articles/2020/jan/09/venezuelas-guaido-seeks-eu-blood-gold-designation-for-informal-mining/973020/

Indigenous artists from the Amazon use art for environmental advocacy

Denilson also uses his art to criticize Bolsonaro’s position on environmental questions like mining on indigenous lands. In his video “Azougue 80,” the artist eats artificial fishing lures from a plate next to a glass full of mercury (called azougue in Portuguese), the poisonous metal used in gold prospecting that contaminates rivers, including those in the Yanomami indigenous territory. In the background, there’s a soundtrack of Bolsonaro chatting with someone, praising gold prospecting and comparing it to fishing.
read more... https://news.mongabay.com/2020/01/indigenous-artists-from-the-amazon-use-art-for-environmental-advocacy/

Busia miners use deadly chemical to extract gold

A section of gold miners in Busia District are using cyanide, a deadly chemical, to extract gold despite warnings from health and environment experts.
Previously, the artisanal miners had been using mercury to obtain the gold but of late, they have resorted to cyanide, which they say is more effective in the extraction of gold from ore.
However, health experts say cyanide contains carbon nitrogen and causes acute conditions among human beings due to its toxic nature.
read more... https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Busia-miners-use-deadly-chemical-extract-gold/688334-5408616-u60s19/index.html

In Indonesia, outlaw gold miners poison themselves to survive

The wildcat miner had something to prove: Processing gold ore with liquid mercury was perfectly safe. So he drank some of the toxic chemical, choosing the promises of gold fever over the pain of mercury poisoning.

“I have no worry about mercury,” bragged the fast-talking Syarafuddin Iskandar, 58. “I drank it. We gave it to the cows and the buffaloes. They drank it. Nothing happened. There’s no problem.”
Read more at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/world/asia/indonesia-gold-environment-mercury.html
read more... https://www.todayonline.com/world/indonesia-outlaw-gold-miners-poison-themselves-survive

Gold mining the largest contributor to squandering the shared inheritance that mineral wealth ought to represent

As for the future generation, their bequest from mining is more readily counted in terms of decimated forests and polluted rivers. Were the cost of environmental restoration factored into the above statistics, the cost to the society would double. Would the GGDMA consider funding an institute to promote alternative technology to the use of mercury or to finance a restoration programme? The “truth and nail” pledge would suggest not.
read more... https://www.stabroeknews.com/2020/01/03/opinion/letters/gold-mining-the-largest-contributor-to-squandering-the-shared-inheritance-that-mineral-wealth-ought-to-represent/

What Would Improve Gold’s Tarnished Image?

The cost to local communities is often devastating. When mining for gold, mercury is mixed with the precious metal to help remove any natural impurities. The two elements react and emit noxious fumes into the air, while leftover mercury seeps into soil and local waterways. Exposure has been linked to cancer, neurological damage, shock — and even death. 
read more... http://www.brinknews.com/what-would-improve-golds-tarnished-image/

MINING’S HUMAN ELEMENTS: ANTHROPOLOGIST SEEKS TO BRIDGE DIVIDE BETWEEN INDUSTRY, SMALL-SCALE OPERATIONS

One challenge is formalizing the sector. “Small-scale mining generally occurs in the informal economic sector, but if it’s banned, thousands would be out of work,” Smith said. “We’re looking at the history and impacts of formalization to inform policies that better reflect the reality on the ground.”

Another challenge is reducing the use of mercury to refine gold, which poses health and environmental risks. “It means so much more than just giving engineered technologies to people,” Smith said. 

read more... https://agenparl.eu/minings-human-elements-anthropologist-seeks-to-bridge-divide-between-industry-small-scale-operations/

Machete-wielding gangs hold Zimbabwe gold mines hostage

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) warned this week that the rise of gangs fighting over the spoils of artisanal gold mining threaten to destablise the country. 

Violence perpetrated by machete-wielding artisanal miners is on the rise in Zimbabwe with hundreds of people killed in 2019 in battles to control small-scale mines.

read more... https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2020-01-02-machete-wielding-gangs-hold-zimbabwe-gold-mines-hostage/

Amazonian chief Raoni Metuktire: 'Bolsonaro has been the worst for us'

In an interview with the Guardian, the Kayapó chief said he wanted to speak out about the far-right administration’s plans to allow mining in indigenous territory and he warned that Brazil’s Amazon policies threatened global efforts to protect nature and address the climate emergency.
read more... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/02/amazonian-chief-raoni-metuktire-bolsonaro-has-been-the-worst-for-us