Artisanal mining: A continued environmental menace

The artisanal miners are concerned about panning and pocketing money more than the sustainable expropriation of minerals. Whenever they discover a lucrative panning area, they cut off trees and burn grass to pave way for the illegal mining activities. Such practices have adverse effects on the ecological system.
Rampant deforestation and land degradation have contributed to the siltation of rivers whilst animals and birds have suffered from the burns arising from veld fires.
Some miners also use mercury and cyanide to recover gold and rarely would they pay any attention to mercury or cyanide contamination of the river’s ecosystems.
This has had a negative effect of poisoning the aquatic life dependant on the river system.
https://www.newsday.co.zw/2014/07/02/artisanal-mining-continued-environmental-menace/