It is not just the weather that drives herders into town. Some are mining refugees, fleeing environmental devastation. Besides the licence-holders Mongolia has tens of thousands of illegal gold prospectors, known as “ninja” miners because the green plastic bowls they carry on their backs to sift for specks of the metal make them look like mutant turtles. Their use of mercury and cyanide has poisoned rivers.
But the translator sees ruin: “You can’t drink copper; you can’t drink gold.”
http://www.mad-mongolia.com/news/mongolia-news/mine-all-mine-8834/
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