Where The Gold Is Green, And So Are The Profits

But the wave of informal and often illegal mining is generating problems. In 2010, the United Nations said Colombia was one of the world’s top mercury polluters per capita from artisanal mining. There are areas where mercury levels are 1,000 times higher than World Health Organization guidelines. During a recent trip to Antioquia, miners were seen using open pits of cyanide to leech gold out of ore, and then dumping the toxic stew into rivers

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