Mercury binds particles of gold together, forming an amalgam of metals that miners are then able to burn to remove the extraneous mercury. The process works well, but what Esrum and his fellow small-scale miners did not know was that this deadly toxin can enter the air, water and ground, poisoning the fish they eat, the water they drink and the air they breathe.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/indonesias-poisonous-river-of-gold-the-mercury-dilemma/507928
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