Artisanal Gold Mining: A Dangerous Pollution Problem

Widely under-reported, artisanal gold mining is one of the most significant sources of mercury releases into the global environment. In general, artisanal mining refers to mining activities that use rudimentary methods to extract and process minerals and metals within a community, as opposed to a large scale industrial operation. Artisanal miners also frequently use toxic materials in their attempts to recover metals and gems. Such miners work in difficult and often very hazardous conditions and, in the absence of knowledge or any regulations or standards, toxic materials can be released into the environment, posing large health risks to the miners, their families and surrounding communities[1]. In this context, gold mining operations are particularly dangerous, as they often use the mercury amalgamation process to extract gold from ores.
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