Gold rush an ecological disaster for Peruvian Amazon

A lush expanse of Amazon rainforest known as the "Mother of God" is steadily being destroyed in Peru, with the jungle giving way to mercury-filled tailing ponds used to extract the gold hidden underground. Locals describe the area as a tropical Wild West where tens of thousands of desperate fortune-hunters have set up camp around improvised mines that operate around the clock, use heavy machinery to rake open the land and leech toxic chemicals into the ground.
http://www.brecorder.com/articles-a-letters/187/1246616/

Australian mining is poisoning El Salvador. It could soon send it broke, too

The stream that leads into the San Sebastian River in the poor and tiny Central American country of El Salvador runs bright yellow, not for the gold in the mine nearby but for the chemical byproducts which leach into the water. That stream is emblematic in a fight between an Australian mining company and the El Salvador government, over whether there should be gold mining in the country.

If El Salvador wins this fight, it will preserve a bipartisan policy on mining, a country’s right to make policy generally, and to protect its main water supply in particular.

If it loses, then a foreign mining company will be able to ride roughshod over the country’s democratic process and prosecute a financial claim that could send its government broke.

http://robinwestenra.blogspot.com/2014/11/austrelia-ripping-off-el-savador.html 

Ghana: Licensing and regulatory authorities must bear the blame

Despite the disparities in knowledge of the distinction between small scale mining and illegal mining, small scale mining has become synonymous with ‘galamsey’ (artisanal gold mining in Ghana) due to the way they both go about with their work.  ‘Galamsey’ is the term used to describe the aspect of mining that is not licensed, regulated or supervised by any authority in Ghana.
This study which was conducted in the Denkyira, Nsutam and Osino townships where there are heavy presences of small scale miners.
A scan through the communities and the environments of these areas, showed that the Offin and Birem rivers, the main sources of water for household chores and other activities by the inhabitants, which flow through the areas, are heavily polluted through the activities of both small scale and galamsey gold miners. Some mining sites have also turned into ‘deserts’ as the vegetation cover in those areas has been removed.
http://www.spyghana.com/licensing-regulatory-authorities-must-bear-blame/

Gold rush an ecological disaster for Peruvian Amazon

Illegal mines dump an estimated 30 to 40 tons of mercury into the region's rivers every year, contaminating them and their fish, according to the Peruvian government.

A Stanford University study found that the region's indigenous people had up to five times the internationally accepted level of mercury in their bodies.

"It's an extraction economy here. People survive on what they remove from nature," said Eduardo Salhuana, the head of the Madre de Dios Miners' Federation.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/gold-rush-an-ecological-disaster-for-peruvian-amazon/articleshow/45304541.cms

Paeroa drinking water fears

Anti-mining activists have the backing of a retired Waikato University Professor who believes mining operations in the Karangahake Gorge would lead to contamination of the area's drinking water.
Around 80 people marched to the Hauraki District Council offices in Paeroa yesterday to oppose plans that allow New Talisman Gold Mines Ltd to reopen mines without public consultation.
http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/88016-paeroa-drinking-water-fears.html 

Tiffany CEO Turning to Environmental Activism Upon Retirement

Tiffany & Co. chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalski plans to become an environmental activist when he retires next year, according to a New York Times report. 
The longtime exec “will seek to push the green agenda to the forefront of the luxury industry discussion,” the article said.
Under Kowalski, the retailer has been surprisingly public in its opposition to the proposed Pebble gold and copper mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Kowalski considers the Environmental Protection Agency’s move to block the mine one of his “most satisfying moments” of the past year, according to the Times.
Kowalski will retire on March 1, 2015, and be replaced by current president Frederic Cumenal.
http://www.jckonline.com/2014/11/26/tiffany-ceo-turning-to-environmental-activism-upon-retirement

GÜLEN MOVEMENT-LINKED BUSINESSMAN ACCUSED IN CYANIDE DUMP INCIDENT

Five-hundred tons of cyanide-containing waste from the highly disputed Ovacık gold mine was discharged into a small stream in the Bergama district in the western Turkish province of İzmir. The mine is operated by Koza İpek Holding, one of the largest conglomerates in Turkey and run by Akın İpek, a businessman who acquired the mine in 2005 and known for his close ties with the controversial Gülen Movement.
http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2014/11/26/cyanide-containing-waste-discharged-from-kozas-ovacik-mine

Peru crackdown on illegal gold leads to new smuggling routes

Nearly all of Bolivia's exported gold was shipped to the United States, government data shows.
Peruvian President Ollanta Humala launched a clampdown late last year to tackle a decade-long boom in wildcat gold mining that has destroyed swathes of Peru's Amazon forest and laced its rivers with mercury.
But the proliferation of smugglers' routes into Bolivia shows how difficult it is to eradicate illegal mining without better coordination across frontiers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/25/us-peru-gold-idUSKCN0J90E720141125

Jewellery Industry Takes Steps to Eliminate “Conflict Gold”

Major U.S. jewellery companies and retailers have started to take substantive steps to eliminate the presence of “conflict gold” from their supply chains, according to the results of a year-long investigation published Monday.
Rights advocates, backed by the United Nations, have been warning for years that mining revenues are funding warlords and militia groups operating in the Great Lakes region of Africa, particularly in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In 2010, such concerns resulted in landmark legislation here in the United States aimed at halting this trade, and those laws have since spurred similar legislative proposals in the European Union and Canada.
http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/11/jewellery-industry-takes-steps-to-eliminate-conflict-gold/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jewellery-industry-takes-steps-to-eliminate-conflict-gold

Spring thaw may threaten Mount Polley tailings-pond cleanup, minister warns

“The scale of the initial disaster is tremendous,” she said. “Full remediation is going to be a matter of years, not months.”
Steve Robertson, spokesman for Imperial Metals, said the company hopes to repair the breach in the dam in the coming months in order to contain the coming spring runoff.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/mining-company-must-act-quickly-on-tailings-breach-to-mitigate-risks-ministry-says/article21728555/

What "Free Trade" Has Done to Central America

In contrast to their Central American neighbors, El Salvador and Costa Rica have imposed regulations to defend their environments from destructive mining practices. Community pressure to protect the scarce watersheds of El Salvador—which are deeply vulnerable to toxic mining runoff—has so far prevented companies from successfully extracting minerals like gold on a large scale, and the Salvadoran government has put a moratorium on mining. In Costa Rica, after a long campaign of awareness and national mobilization, the legislature voted unanimously in 2010 to prohibit open-pit mining and ban the use of cyanide and mercury in mining activities.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/27618-what-free-trade-has-done-to-central-america#

What “Free Trade” Has Done to Central America

In contrast to their Central American neighbors, El Salvador and Costa Rica have imposed regulations to defend their environments from destructive mining practices. Community pressure to protect the scarce watersheds of El Salvador—which are deeply vulnerable to toxic mining runoff—has so far prevented companies from successfully extracting minerals like gold on a large scale, and the Salvadoran government has put a moratorium on mining. In Costa Rica, after a long campaign of awareness and national mobilization, the legislature voted unanimously in 2010 to prohibit open-pit mining and ban the use of cyanide and mercury in mining activities.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2014/11/21/what-free-trade-has-done-central-america

Dentists selling mercury to miners

A Filipino congressman reveals some dentists are selling mercury to miners who use the chemical for gold processing.
In a statement, Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said he filed House Resolution 1590 urging the House Committee on Health to conduct an inquiry into this illegal practice of some dentists in the country.
Rodriguez said Filipino dentists who are still allowed to use mercury as dental amalgam in their profession are selling mercury to miners for P18,000 to P30,000 per kilo.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/11/24/14/dentists-selling-mercury-miners-lawmaker

Gold Rush's Poisonous Legacy: Mercury Will Linger for 10,000 Years

It was previously thought that most of the mercury from this mining, much of which took place more than 150 years ago, had already exited the river system, Singer said. But a study by Singer and colleagues published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed this isn't the case. Instead, the study found that there is enough mercury-contaminated sediment to significantly add to levels of the heavy metal downriver and in the San Francisco Bay for the next 10,000 years. The sediment is washed away by large floods but also by the meandering of the river, which curves back and forth within its valley and exposes long-buried, polluted dirt, he added.
http://www.livescience.com/40794-gold-rush-mercury-pollution.html

Sovereign Wealth Fund Divestment as an Environmental Protection Strategy

The Norwegian government in particular has taken some promising steps toward including environmental concerns as an important consideration when determining in which companies its sovereign wealth fund should invest over the past decade. In 2004, the Norwegian government established the Council on Ethics to ensure that investments are consistent with ethical guidelines. The Council on Ethics obtains risk data from RepRisk Business Intelligence, which monitors companies in the Fund’s portfolio for issues involving severe human rights violations, environmental degradation or corruption. Recommendations made by the Council are then considered by the Ministry of Finance in making decisions about which companies to exclude from the fund.
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/11/22/sovereign-wealth-fund-divestment-as-an-environmental-protection-strategy/

Red Chris mine failure would eclipse Mount Polley damage

The results of a third-party review into the design of a northwestern B.C. gold and copper mine says it has the potential to cause significantly more environmental damage than the recent collapse of the Mount Polley tailings pond.
Engineering firm Klohn Crippen Berger made 22 recommendations for the owner of the mine, Imperial Metals, to improve the tailings dam of the Red Chris mine, 500 kilometres north of Terrace.
The review found the design of the dam is feasible, but that there are issues that must be addressed. The three-phased review looks at the tailings pond design, water quality predictions and geohazards at the mine site.
http://www.republicofmining.com/2014/11/20/red-chris-mine-failure-would-eclipse-mount-polley-damage-report-by-by-cara-mckenna-cbc-news-british-columbia-november-19-2014/#more-37081

Artisanal gold mining and its health risks

Mercury is a toxic element that can cause neurological disorders when is continuously in contact with the organism, either through elemental mercury by inhalation or consumption of fish contaminated with mercury. Mercury from artisanal gold mining is used to concentrate gold in an amalgam of both elements. Later, it is burned in order to rid of the mercury and to recover the gold. During this amalgamation process, accidental and intentional discharges of mercury can occur.
http://phys.org/news/2014-11-artisanal-gold-health.html

Zimbabwe: Kasukuwere Warns Poachers

He said to have "stopped the madness" at Mazowe River, where alluvial gold miners poisoned the water with harmful chemicals such as mercury, but "we now have to contend with our planners".
"We are moving to ensure that they comply with environmental requirements and are being taught as such by EMA," the minister said.
Water pollution remains one of the biggest environmental ills in Zimbabwe, constantly disrupting the provision of clean, safe and reliable drinking water.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201411171249.html

How Canada Can Help Combat the 'Resource Curse'

Recently, Canada's Parliament introduced the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act, which could have a huge impact on people around the world experiencing the "resource curse."
More than 60 per cent of the world's poorest people live in countries rich in natural resources -- but they rarely share in the wealth. Too often, poor communities have no say in the extraction of resources from their land and receive little information about the scope of these projects, the revenues they generate, their timelines and potential impacts.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/lina-holguin/resource-curse_b_6194378.html

Radically increased threat to environment

As a frequent visitor to Palerang Shire and ratepayer in Eurobodalla Shire I was appalled to read the news that Unity Mining is now seeking approval for a processing plant involving the use of cyanide at its gold mine at Majors Creek.
Approval was originally given for a mine where processing would be undertaken off site and
where the contents of the on site tailings dam would have been inert.
This new proposal totally reverses this situation and radically increases the threat to the local and down stream environments. Additionally, my understanding is that the present proposal is for a cyanide processing plant that would be large enough to enable processing of ore from other mines thereby increasing the processing dangers.
http://www.braidwoodtimes.com.au/story/2712898/radically-increased-threat-to-environment/

Mine cyanide proposal ‘terrifying’ for Eurobodalla

The potential use of cyanide at a goldmine in the headwaters of the Eurobodalla’s water
supply has been labelled “terrifying”.
Earlier this week, Unity Mining suggested building a plant for cyanide processing at the Majors Creek goldmine.
Unity Mining’s announcement has already alarmed downstream food producers in the Eurobodalla, who want to keep the shire’s water catchment for up to 140,000 people in summer in pristine condition.
http://www.batemansbaypost.com.au/story/2710921/mine-cyanide-proposal-terrifying-for-eurobodalla/?cs=4057

Caution issued over misuse of mercury in smallscale mining

Misuse of mercury in mineral processing is very dangerous to the environment and humans living close to the mines.

The warning was raised by the Environmental Engineer, Emmanuel Shija from the Ministry of Energy and Minerals during his presentation on the challenges of managing environments in small scale mining at the ongoing five day workshop for District Environmental Management Officers (DEMOs) held at the Office of Controller and Auditor-General (CAG) in Mbeya.
http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=74407

Say No to Lead and Cyanide

The devastation from a cyanide spill on the steep site at Major's Creek may be less than the risk of lead pollution.  Can we risk tailings dams containing lead and other heavy metals on the steep slope above a major catchment?
What of the risk of lead from the smelter and from dust?
Ask the families at Mt Isa and Lithgow about the horror of lead pollution their children's health and brain development.
http://www.braidwoodtimes.com.au/story/2712917/say-no-to-lead-and-cyanide/?cs=741

Tanzania: Mercury Abuse 'Detrimental to Environment'

Shija reiterated that some miners have been using mercury in gold processing in areas which are very close to water sources, leading to possible pollution of water sources used by residents living near the mines.
"The effects of using mercury for gold processing near water sources leads to the possibility of contamination of the same, and that may destroy the ecosystem and affect the health of people who use these sources," Shija said.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201411210548.html

UPM Researchers Characterize Environmental, Health Risks from Mercury Usage in Artisanal Gold Mining

Mercury is a toxic element that can cause neurological disorders when is continuously in contact with the organism, either through elemental mercury by inhalation or consumption of fish contaminated with mercury. Mercury from artisanal gold mining is used to concentrate gold in an amalgam of both elements. Later, it is burned in order to rid of the mercury and to recover the gold. During this amalgamation process, accidental and intentional discharges of mercury can occur.
http://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=21031

Colombia’s illegal gold mining “bigger than cocaine”

General Luis Martinez a senior police official said, “this is the biggest source of funding at the moment for illegal armed groups, bigger than cocaine… the (criminal) economy this is generating is extremely worrying”.
In the Colombian market, gold is worth over 20 times more than cocaine gram-for-gram according to police.
Colonel Wilson Chaparro, the man in charge of policing illegal rural mining said, “these people are also bringing technology that’s not permitted and damages the environment, they’re teaching Colombians to extract gold. It’s a perverse and illegal knowledge transfer.”
The mining techniques in practise are reportedly damaging the environment with the deposit of cyanide and mercury as a by-product of the gold extraction. Whilst Colombia’s own organised crime groups are believed to be using the trade as a source of funding, police also believe that much of the gold is exported illicitly abroad.
http://www.mininginnovationnews.com/2014/11/19/columbias-illegal-gold-mining-bigger-than-cocaine/

Peru attacks illegal mining ahead of climate talks

Peru first criminalized unlicensed gold mining in 2012 but only began enforcing the law vigorously this year with serious manpower and explosives. The operations have displaced thousands of the estimated 40,000 people who authorities say moved to the jungle to mine gold.

In addition to contributing to deforestation, which scientists blame for between 12 and 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the illegal alluvial gold mining contaminates the jungle with tons of mercury.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/latest-news/ap/peru-attacks-illegal-mining-ahead-of-climate-talks/article_37f234c0-0c6a-57be-8386-ec496c07dae9.html 

Opposition mounts to Cyanide use at Dargues

Since Unity Mining announced last week that it proposes to use Cyanide to process gold on site at the Dargues Gold Mine at Majors Creek, concern in the community has been mounting.

The public meeting in Majors Creek last Tuesday night was attended by about 40 people, however many commented that it would have been overflowing if the actual proposal had been known earlier.
The main concerns brought up at the meeting took issue were the key agreements from the current approvals including the length of the project, processing and the use of cyanide.
http://www.braidwoodtimes.com.au/story/2706975/opposition-mounts-to-cyanide-use-at-dargues/?cs=743

Foreigners flock to mine gold illegally in Colombia, police say

"These people are also bringing technology that’s not permitted and damages the environment," Chaparro said during the joint interview. "They’re teaching Colombians to extract gold. It’s a perverse and illegal knowledge transfer."

The mining frequently involves large dredges that suck up mud from riverbeds, from which gold is extracted using mercury and cyanide before the contaminated sediment is returned to the river, Chaparro said.

http://www.sltrib.com/home/1843009-155/colombia-illegal-gold-mining-police-chaparro 

Peru attacks illegal mining ahead of climate talks

Peru first criminalized unlicensed gold mining in 2012 but only began enforcing the law vigorously this year with serious manpower and explosives. The operations have displaced thousands of the estimated 40,000 people who authorities say moved to the jungle to mine gold.
In addition to contributing to deforestation, which scientists blame for between 12 and 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the illegal alluvial gold mining contaminates the jungle with tons of mercury.
Mercury is a toxin and has already contaminated the food chain, including fish, the local population's main protein source.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/11/19/5326233/peru-attacks-illegal-mining-ahead.html#.VGyNvcmOKP8

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/11/19/5326233/peru-attacks-illegal-mining-ahead.html#storylink=cpy

FAIRTRADE GOLD - HELPING MINERS TAKE THE MERCURY OUT OF GOLD JEWELLERY

The unregulated 'artisanal' gold mining sector is a massive source of mercury pollution and other environmental damage, writes Greg Valerio. But now the Fairtrade Gold initiative is helping miners to reform their practices with equipment, training and a hefty gold price premium. All it needs now is for consumers to demand Fairtrade Gold in all their jewellery purchases.

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2626690/fairtrade_gold_helping_miners_take_the_mercury_out_of_gold_jewellery.html

Philippines: Department of Health seminar-Mercury use with ASGM

Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) is one of the most significant sources of mercury release into the environment in the developing world and accounts for about 15% of the world's production. Mercury is often used in ASGM to help separate gold from sediments using crude processing method and to form an amalgam.

Recognizing the impact of ASGM to the health and environment, the Philippine Government through the Department of Health (DOH) Regional Office XI, conducted a seminar on Alternative Method and Basic Management of Mercury last November 5-7, 2014 at The Royal Mandaya Hotel, Davao City.

http://www.ro11.doh.gov.ph/index.php/20-press/152-seminar-workshop-on-alternative-method-for-gold-mining-and-mercury-management-for-small-scale-miners-of-mt-diwata 

MERCURY – French Guiana: A failure of the French government

For the past several decades, French Guiana has been the victim of illegal gold mining practices. The use of environmentally unsafe processes, particularly excessive mercury use, is a veritable catastrophe with regards to the environment (e.g., contaminated water and soil), public health (e.g., cardiovascular problems) and society (e.g., violence stemming from illegal miners). Practically inexistent oversight by the local authorities has continued, despite numerous warnings through civil petitions and a 2001 complaint lodged with the regional court of Cayenne.

http://www.asso-sherpa.org/mercury-french-guiana-failure-of-the-french-government/#.VGs9-MmOKP8 

Mercury poisoning and Artisanal gold mining

Researchers from the UPM have characterized the health risks derived from the usage of mercury in artisanal gold mining in Colombia through probabilistic models.

Artisanal gold mining is common in Latin-American regions, Africa and Southeast Asia where there are large socio-economic inequalities and active or abandoned goldfields.
http://mqworld.com/article.php?id=17123 

Indonesia: Environmentalist Calls On Jokowi To Address a Health Emergency

Mercury contamination is a “public health emergency,” according to a prominent Indonesian environmentalist, and the new government of President Joko Widodo should move quickly to halt trade in the toxic heavy metal.
Yuyun Ismawati, a 2009 winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize for her work on sustainable waste management, called on Mr. Widodo to halt the illegal smuggling of hundreds of tons of mercury into Indonesia, most of which is used in small-scale gold mining operations.
http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.culture.region.indonesia.ppi-india/120246

Close to 200,000 Ghanaians in modern slavery

The group’s Global Slavery Index indicates that among 167 countries surveyed, Ghana ranked 21st representing a drop by three places from last year’s 18th position.

According to the global slavery index, sectors in Ghana most affected by modern slavery are small scale fishing, small scale mining, domestic service and agriculture.

Poverty is a push factor forcing parents to send their young children away from home to work and be trained elsewhere. Trafficked children often engage in mining, especially illegal artisanal gold mining locally known as galamsey.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=335444

Environmentalist Calls On Jokowi To Address a Health Emergency

Mercury contamination is a “public health emergency,” according to a prominent Indonesian environmentalist, and the new government of President Joko Widodo should move quickly to halt trade in the toxic heavy metal.
Yuyun Ismawati, a 2009 winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize for her work on sustainable waste management, called on Mr. Widodo to halt the illegal smuggling of hundreds of tons of mercury into Indonesia, most of which is used in small-scale gold mining operations.
http://blogs.wsj.com/indonesiarealtime/2014/11/17/environmentalist-calls-on-jokowi-to-address-a-health-emergency/

EBRD’s Environmental Policy Under Scrutiny in Kyrgyzstan

Central Asia’s top producing gold mine Kumtor is back in the spotlight, after its major shareholder, Canadian company Centerra Gold’s environmental record was questioned by the Kyrgyz public, domestic activists, and international experts. The controversy surrounding Kumtor has translated into a highly politicized backlash in Kyrgyzstan over a lack of transparency and Centerra’s unwillingness to disclose information on the harmful effect of the mining operations on glaciers. In light of the growing public pressure on Centerra Gold in the republic, one of the Kumtor project’s creditors, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has come under scrutiny.
http://thediplomat.com/2014/11/ebrds-environmental-policy-under-scrutiny-in-kyrgyzstan/

Hit by tailings breach costs, Imperial Metals swings to loss in Q3

A catastrophic tailings dam breach at its Mount Polley mine in British Columbia has taken a toll on Imperial Metals' (TSX:III) bottom line.
Reporting its third-quarter results on Friday, the Vancouver-based company said it suffered a $49.2 million quarterly loss, compared to net income of $14.7 million in the third quarter of 2013.
In early August, the tailings dam at the Mount Polley copper and gold mine northeast of Williams Lake collapsed, plugging local creeks and nearby Quesnel Lake with million of cubic metres of water and tailings. The mine has ceased operations since the breach on Aug. 4.
http://www.mining.com/hit-by-tailings-breach-costs-imperial-metals-swings-to-loss-in-q3-93127/?utm_source=digest-en-au-141116&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digest

Dangers of mercury: VIDEO

On January 19, 2013, governments around the world agreed to a new treaty on mercury, a highly toxic substance that attacks the central nervous system and is particularly harmful to children. Despite some flaws, this global treaty could be a huge step forward in protecting the right to health. 
http://www.hrw.org/dangers-of-mercury 

How mercury poisons gold miners and enters the food chain

Although mercury use in small-scale gold mining in Indonesia is illegal, miners still use it to extract gold from the rock or soil.
Fahrul isn't a miner, but he has a gold shop in Kereng Pangi. Every day miners bring him the fruits of their labour - usually a pea-sized piece of amalgam that is mercury mixed with gold.
Fahrul burns it, and the mercury evaporates leaving the gold behind. But the fumes are highly toxic, which is why smelters like Fahrul often show more severe signs of mercury poisoning than miners who use it in the field.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24127661

‘Zero Mercury’ Group: Governments Must Do More to Curb Supply and Trade; Gives governments ‘C-’ grade since mercury treaty approved

While the report praised the good progress made in the development and implementation of Nation Action Plans to address small-scale gold mining, achieving mercury use and emissions reductions for this sector will require better performance on supply and trade.
“Recently, there have been disturbing international developments pointing to increased mercury production at a time when production should start declining,” said David Lennett, Senior Attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.  “Also, much of the mercury trade is for small-scale gold mining, a highly polluting activity.  This reinforces the critical importance for more nations to take decisive actions to reduce production and/or ban mercury exports.”
http://www.zeromercury.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=281:zero-mercury-group-governments-must-do-more-to-curb-supply-and-trade-gives-governments-c-grade-since-mercury-treaty-approved-&catid=70:press-releases-2014&Itemid=82

Mercury Pollution: An End in Sight?

Another significant source of mercury pollution is metallic mercury, used in a number of commercial products and industrial processes. The largest uses of metallic mercury globally are artisanal and small-scale gold mining, the production of chlorine and/or caustic soda at chlor-alkali facilities and PVC production where mercury is used as a catalyst. Other significant uses include the manufacture of various products such as switches and relays, button cell batteries, measuring devices (such as thermometers and blood pressure cuffs) and lamps.
http://www.nrdc.org/international/ftoxic.asp

U pollution bead research nabs gold at national competition

Environmentally unfriendly and expensive chemicals are one of the few methods for cleaning up pollution caused by mining operations — like those in northern Minnesota — that can let harmful substances into the earth.
But thanks to University of Minnesota student research, efforts to undo mercury pollution in waters contaminated by mining might have a new tool. A 24-person team of mostly undergraduates has developed tiny beads filled with genetically engineered bacteria that can clean up mercury and other poisonous heavy metals, said team leader and microbiology senior Basem Al-Shayeb.
http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2014/11/03/u-pollution-bead-research-nabs-gold-national-competition

Outrage at Cyanide proposal for Majors Creek gold mine

The proposed Dargues Gold Mine near Braidwood has ignited another controversy over a new proposal to use cyanide on site to process the extracted ore............

A cyanide extraction process is used to extract gold, and silver, from low grade ore.
As cyanide is highly poisonous its use is highly controversial and banned in many instances.
The mine is located at the headwaters of the Deua River which provides 60 percent of the water supply to the coastal shire of Eurobodalla.
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/11/14/4128691.htm?site=southeastnsw

Blood for Gold: The Human Cost of Canada’s ‘Free Trade’ With Honduras

Rodolfo Arteaga says he understands what people in Azacualpa are going through. “I experienced it firsthand,” he says. Arteaga’s home community of Palo Ralo was displaced in 1999 to make way for Vancouver-based Goldcorp’s San Martin open-pit gold mine in the Siria Valley, 100 kilometers north of Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. His new home in New Palo Ralo is less than two kilometers from the mine’s cyanide-leaching facilities. Production ended in 2008, but the mine’s impacts persist.
Thousands of kilometers away from the company offices where corporate social responsibility promotional materials are drawn up with photos of smiling Central Americans, Arteaga and countless other Siria Valley residents suffer from serious health problems. Blood and hair tests have consistently revealed high levels of arsenic, mercury and lead in both children and adults. Water resources and the local agricultural sector have not recovered.
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/honduras-archives-46/5123-blood-for-gold-the-human-cost-of-canadas-free-trade-with-honduras 

Informality and formalisation in the artisanal and small-scale mining sector

In a worst case scenario, the social problems caused by an underrepresented ASM industry look like a pregnant woman with her four-year-old son hauling rocks (PDF) and being exposed to mercury fumes through the processing of gold from ore. Or a nine-year-old boy, slight enough to reach the deepest and darkest corners of a badly constructed tunnel, working in a space that is liable to collapse at any time.
http://www.iied.org/informality-formalisation-artisanal-small-scale-mining-sector

Fate of preserved lake in the storied Kaz Mountains entrusted to gold miners

Meanwhile, the local administration in Çanakkale has warned that the mine will contaminate the water resources of 24 villages, leaving the water unusable. The company has promised to build an artificial pond, but it is unknown whether this will be enough to solve the water problem that will arise from contamination.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/fate-of-preserved-lake-in-the-storied-kaz-mountains-entrusted-to-gold-miners.aspx?pageID=238&nID=74275&NewsCatID=340

Fairtrade Gold - helping miners take the mercury out of gold jewellery

The unregulated 'artisanal' gold mining sector is a massive source of mercury pollution and other environmental damage, writes Greg Valerio. But now the Fairtrade Gold initiative is helping miners to reform their practices with equipment, training and a hefty gold price premium. All it needs now is for consumers to demand Fairtrade Gold in all their jewellery purchases. The challenge is clear. Over the 20 odd years that I have worked as an ethical jeweller, I can honestly say that the most disturbing practice I have continually witnessed has been the use of liquid mercury by small-scale miners to extract the tiny particles of gold that can be found in crushed rock.
http://www.bullionbulletin.in/more_mining_refining.aspx?pageid=DtGold23_111314

Artisanal gold mining and its health risks

Artisanal gold mining is common in Latin-American regions, Africa and Southeast Asia where there are large socio-economic inequalities and active or abandoned goldfields.  This activity is performed outside of the workplace health and safety regulations. Therefore, miners can be at risk due to possible accidents during the exploitation of deposits and due to chronic exposure to mercury. This risk of mercury poisoning is not just limited to workers but also the entire population of the mining communities.
http://www.noodls.com/view/C11168460F182E126B14F72051342C9F88C781EE?4778xxx1415960854

Children Mining Gold in Mali -VIDEO

At least 20,000 children work in Malian artisanal gold mines under extremely harsh and dangerous conditions. These children literally risk life and limb. They carry loads heavier than their own weight, climb into unstable shafts, and touch and inhale mercury, one of the most toxic substances on earth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLpHQGExt68

Toxic Gold - Mercury and Artisanal Gold Mining-VIDEO

A quarter of the world's supply of gold comes from artisanal gold mining, which leads to the release of approximately 1000 tons of toxic mercury a year. Of the 20 million artisanal gold miners, an estimated 2.5 million are women and over 600,000 are children
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK31kob6ei8

Reducing Mercury Pollution in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) -VIDEO

Mercury, once released, persists in the environment. It circulates and gets absorbed by various organisms, impacting biodiversity and poisoning rivers and fish. It is transformed to methyl mercury and spreads its way to the food chain. Mercury is also bioaccumulative. Once it enters the human body, mercury slowly poisons it and causes major health problems such as neurological damage, respiratory problems, musculoskeletal illnesses and worst, death. Unfortunately, women and developing foetuses, infants and children are more susceptible to the effects of mercury, thus, affecting their neurological development.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzhcMq_1BwE

Mercury in mining: Poison versus profit

Today, it is almost unimaginable for an artisanal miner to run a mining operation without the aid of this silver magic portion. In fact, those miners that are new to this business cannot imagine how their colleagues managed to do without it.
But, with this lucrative practice also comes dreadful health consequences.
According to Dr. Gyagenda Joseph Ogavu, a physician at Nsambya hospital, mercury is a heavy metal that is not easily absorbed by living organisms, including humans.
“This mercury will accumulate in the kidney, liver, skin and lungs causing permanent mental disability and a range of other conditions,” he told Oil in Uganda. “If it gets to the lungs, it is very dangerous because it can get to the blood and easily destroy the covering of the nerves.”
Studies have also associated human exposure to mercury with emotional instability, insomnia, neuromuscular problems, infertility, headaches and a host of other sicknesses.
http://goxi.org/profiles/blogs/mercury-in-mining-poison-versus-profit

Peru: Police Operation Frees Area of Illegal Mining

The area occupied by the police is now called “La Pampa” or “The Praire” since few tress are left nowadays, which once was dense forest. This area was supposed to serve as a buffer zone for the national forest reserve of Tamboata. The La Pampa zone is now the largest illegal mining camp in the Madre de Dios region of Peru.
The last visit by authorities to the area was five months ago, but the attempt was not successful in eradicating mining in the area. Since then, thousands of miners have come back to the area to continue mining with heavy equipment and vehicles.
The police also found dozens of holes on the ground, dredges and mercury stockpiles. The illegal miners had also set up a mini town with clubs, bars, prostitution tents, hotels and even money exchange posts build out of plastic.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Peru-Police-Operation-Frees-Area-of-Illegal-Mining-20141112-0045.html

Unity Mining proposes cyanide processing at Majors Creek Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/unity-mining-proposes-cyanide-processing-at-majors-creek-20141112-11kwkk.html#ixzz3IsGRe38g

A goldminer fined for polluting water-catchment creeks three times last year wants to use cyanide at its new underground goldmine near Majors Creek, east of Canberra......................

Unity originally said ore would be trucked off site and processed at Parkes, but this week suggested building a plant for cyanide processing near Majors Creek to separate gold from ore.
The announcement has alarmed downstream food producers and Eurobodalla Shire, which wants to keep its water catchment for 140,000 people in summer in pristine condition.
Downstream landholder Jackie French said final processing of ore at Majors Creek introduced a new risk from lead, cadmium, zinc and dust, which was potentially worse than cyanide.
Araluen Valley Protection and Producers Coalition president Penny Hayman said she was stunned.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/unity-mining-proposes-cyanide-processing-at-majors-creek-20141112-11kwkk.html

Fairtrade Gold - helping miners take the mercury out of gold jewellery

There are severe risks to health from daily contact with toxic chemicals used to process gold, such as mercury, cyanide and nitric acid. Exposure to mercury vapours and ingestion from contaminated water and food can lead to colic, vomiting, gastroenteritis, kidney complaints, muscular tremors and ulceration of gums.
Chronic mercury poisoning can result in speech disturbances, lack of concentration, depression, muscular atrophy and seizures. In simple terms it destroys life.
But many miners feel they have no choice but to go on using mercury. As one artisanal gold-miner in the Congo told me: "I will die of starvation before I die of mercury poisoning."
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2626690/fairtrade_gold_helping_miners_take_the_mercury_out_of_gold_jewellery.html 

FACT SHEET: APEC Leaders Commit to Protect the Environment

APEC Ministers met in 2014 to discuss the significance of sustainable development in mining.  They called on all APEC economies to take necessary domestic measures to meet the requirements of the Convention. The Minamata Convention on Mercury has implications for the protection of human health and the environment, as it calls for parties to control and reduce mercury emissions to the air from a number of industrial sources, reduce or eliminate the use of mercury in certain products and industrial processes as well as in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), and reduce the supply of mercury. The ministers also recognized the important role of corporate social responsibility efforts towards establishing responsible mining practices.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/11/fact-sheet-apec-leaders-commit-protect-environment

Venezuela’s Indigenous Pemon are Caught in Time on Land Too Valuable for Numbers

Thankfully, the largest goldmines nearby are downriver of Wonken, meaning there’s no danger of mercury poisoning in their water supply. For those communities downriver of the mines, however, there have been reports of grotesque skin diseases and fetal deformations from the contaminated water.
But the mines have brought other evils to Wonken, including drugs, alcohol, and firearms, which has led to a significant increase in crime. And since the death of Hugo Chavez last year, Santiago claims the GNB have settled deeper into corruption.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2014/10/venezuelas-indigenous-pemon-are-caught-in-time-on-land-too-valuable-for-numbers/

El Salvador's gold mine dilemma

“What will happen with the water? To separate the gold and silver, they’ll use cyanide. This will either filter into the water table or go into the river,” said Pineda, who is an internationally known environmental activist.
The mine is located near the source of the Lempa River, the nation’s most important waterway.
https://newsela.com/articles/elsalvador-gold/id/5771/

Study shows three times more mercury in upper ocean since Industrial Revolution

Researchers led by Carl Lamborg at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found that mercury from human activity (primarily atmospheric emissions produced by coal burning and cement production, as well as gold mining) have resulted in ocean waters down to 100 meters depth being enriched in the toxic element up to 3.5 times the background level caused by the natural breakdown, or weathering, of rocks on land. (Illustration by Jack Cook, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
http://www.shamskm.com/blogs/?p=23789 

El Salvador: Citizens who are no strangers to revolution take on the mining firms

"They know what riches we have, but they don't care about our health," says Zaila Arely Menjivar, a local resident. "We know [mining] is a process that comes and destroys our territory, and we are in defence of life. We're fighting for pure air and clean water, for the life of our children."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/el-salvador-citizens-who-are-no-strangers-to-revolution-take-on-the-mining-firms-9849251.html

Chief of Party, Colombia - Artisanal Gold Mining, Environmental Impact Reduction Program

Reporting to the Country Director, the Chief of Party is responsible for leading a five-year USAID-funded program to support the Government of Colombia (GOC) in reducing the environmental impacts of artisanal and small scale mining (ASM), with special emphasis on eliminating the use of mercury and recuperating degraded areas left by gold mining. Objectives will focus on improving law-abiding mining operations in the target geographies, increasing access by small-scale miners to legal support and additional economic opportunities and supporting the transformation of degraded areas into productive areas with a focus on commercial forestry plantations.
http://reliefweb.int/job/714576/chief-party-colombia-artisanal-gold-mining-environmental-impact-reduction-program

More Mine Waste Spills in Mexico: Where’s the Oversight?

Almost 11,000 tons of mine pollution flowed into a nearby stream from the Two Gentleman's gold and silver mine in the town of Concordia.

Officials from Propefa, the environmental investigation agency, are currently examining the composition of the spill and its potential impacts. Meanwhile, state officials urged area residents to refrain from swimming or eating fish from the nearby river. The National Human Rights commission has launched its own investigation to determine whether human rights have been violated due to the spill.

Mining companies often tout their tailings dams and containment structures to be fail proof, but just this year we have seen several river spills from defects in tailings pondsfrom rainfall
http://www.earthworksaction.org/earthblog/detail/more_mine_waste_spills_in_mexico_wheres_the_oversight

Lack of cleanup money a big issue in Montana

When Pegasus Gold filed for bankruptcy and abandoned Beal Mountain in 1999, the company left a contaminated, leak-prone mine that’s been a financial strain on taxpayers ever since.
So far, cleaning up pollution from the Beal Mountain gold mine has cost the public about $13 million, but the tab to fully restore the land could cost another $39 million.
“We just don’t have enough money,” said Mary Beth Marks, a federal employee who is coordinating the cleanup.
The lack of money illustrates what happens when private companies fail to leave adequate funding to clean up when they finish mining. Gold mines use toxic chemicals, such as cyanide, and unearth enough rock to release hazardous metals into rivers and groundwater.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2014/10/13/4536680_lack-of-cleanup-money-a-big-issue.html?rh=1

Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2014/10/13/4536680_lack-of-cleanup-money-a-big-issue.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

At Alaska mining conference, talk of Pebble and Mount Polley

The Aug. 4 dam failure, though unprecedented for British Columbia, undercut confidence in the safety of mining in the province and around the world, Bennett told an audience at the Alaska Miners Association annual convention in Anchorage.
“If it could happen there, where else can it happen? And that’s a question that’s on all of our minds, I think,” he said.
The Mount Polley dam breach has been cited by opponents of the controversial Pebble mine as a harbinger of risks that project poses to Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay region. Mount Polley is considered a moderate-sized mine for British Columbia; the proposed Pebble copper and gold project would be much bigger, with a much bigger tailings dam and much bigger potential damages, critics say.
http://www.adn.com/article/20141106/alaska-mining-conference-talk-pebble-and-mount-polley

Mercury Pollution from Gold Rush Might Affect Ecosystem for 10,000 Years

According to data from researchers at the University of California in Santa Barbara,mercury left over from gold mining operations could poison the ecosystem for up to 10 thousand years into the future.
http://www.cambio.com/videos/cambio-on-aol/mercury-pollution-from-gold-rush-might-affect-ecosystem-for-10-0--517994382/

‘Zero Mercury’ Group: Governments Must Do More to Curb Supply and Trade; Gives governments ‘C-’ grade since mercury treaty approved

Governments around the world are not doing enough to reduce the global supply and trade of mercury, according to a new report released today by the Zero Mercury Working Group (‘Zero Mercury.’). But they are showing progress in other areas such as developing plans to reduce mercury use in small scale gold mining and phasing out mercury-based chlorine plants.
The 95-member international coalition of public interest, environmental and health groups graded governments based on an initial assessment of global mercury reduction activities to promote rapid implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury adopted a year ago.
http://www.eeb.org/EEB/index.cfm/news-events/news/e28098zero-mercurye28099-group-governments-must-do-more-to-curb-supply-and-trade-gives-governments-e28098c-e28099-grade-since-mercury-treaty-approved/

African governments asked to support artisanal and small scale mining

Maponga said the negative impact of an improperly regulated ASM had dire consequences for both the people and the environment and urged governments to support the sector. He said: “Artisanal and small scale mining is an area that requires support. The role of the state is to support small scale mining to be sustainable. The state should play a major role in assisting the sector.” Some of the consequences he noted include negative environmental impacts such as mercury contamination, deforestation, siltation; unreclaimed mine sites, child labor and gender inequality challenges and non-decent employment including poor working conditions
http://www.spyghana.com/african-governments-asked-support-artisanal-small-scale-mining/

Small-scale Gold Mining in the Puyango River Basin

A household survey was undertaken, and individuals were assessed for lead (blood samples), and for mercury (urine and hair samples). River water samples had high concentrations of particulate matter (700 mg/L). Mercury and lead levels in water at the gold... processing plants were very high in both seasons (250 ng Hg/L and 160?μg Pb/L). Mercury and lead, there was a downstream gradient with the areas adjacent to the gold processing plants having the highest levels.
http://www.ghorany.net/Small-scale_Gold_Mining_in_the_Puyango_River_Basin.html 

The Stealth Element: How Mercury Became a Global Environmental Problem

Small-scale gold mining is now the largest source of mercury released into the environment, being responsible for 37% of all global emissions. Mercury readily dissolves gold to form an amalgam, and as such is used for extracting the precious metal from gold bearing ores and sediments. When miners apply heat to the amalgam, mercury vaporizes, leaving behind pure gold. This process is employed daily by hundreds of thousands of small scale miners in developing countries, endangering their lives and polluting rivers and streams.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gustavo-a-b-da-fonseca/the-stealth-element-how-mercury-became-a-global-environmental-problem_b_6063108.html?utm_hp_ref=green

Governments urged to ratify mercury convention

The new United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and toxic waste, Baskut Tuncak, has urged governments around the world to quicken the ratification process of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
The convention is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of the toxic heavy metal. It must be ratified by 50 countries to be legally binding.
While 128 countries had signed the agreement one year after it was opened for signature and ratification, only seven had ratified it, jeopardising its chances of being in force by the agreed target of 2020.
http://www.enviroinfo.com.au/governments-urged-ratify-mercury-convention/#.VFd8rRbKhuk

Small scale gold mining exposes thousands to mercury poisoning-VIDEO

The dangers of mercury in artisanal communities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUolmq5EVzE

Australian company sues El Salvador for its right to pillage

The livelihoods of people living along the river, and the safety of the entire country's water supply, are under threat by the damage already caused by the mine.
A water quality study by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources in 2010 found that only 2% of the country's surface water was suitable for human use. Levels of cyanide in the water near El Dorado mine ― used to extract gold ― are nine times higher than the allowable limit. Tests also found levels of iron more than 1000 times above the limit.
With such dire effects, it is no wonder protests have been so fierce. Nine people have already been murdered protesting against the mine.
https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/57675

Larry Price documents child labor in 'The Cost of Gold'

What Price saw were children doing such back-breaking labor as digging, crushing and hauling rock in the most dangerous conditions, as well as being exposed to mercury and other toxic materials. Some of the children even were used for compressor mining, diving into deep narrow pits filled with water and working in total darkness with only a breathing tube feeding them air from a compressor on the surface. Sometimes, the pit walls collapse, burying them alive.
http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/arts/mc-invision-photo-festival-larry-price-artsquest-20141101-story.html#page=1

'Crops' or 'Carats'? Interaction between gold mining and cocoa production and the livelihood dilemma in Amansie Central District of Ghana

The co-existence of mining and farming is not a simple win-win situation: there is acute competition over land and water resources. Farmers lose their land and farms to activities of mostly informal (illegal) ASM. Hilson (2002: 21) contends that there is "perhaps no single industry that has precipitated more disputes over land-use than mining." In communities visited during the author’s fieldwork, there were contestations regarding loss and destruction of land and farms, and pollution of water bodies.
http://goxi.org/profiles/blogs/crops-or-carats-interaction-between-gold-mining-and-cocoa 

One year on, UN expert urges ratification of treaty to phase out mercury use

The new United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and toxic waste, Baskut Tuncak, urged governments around the world today to expedite the ratification process of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of the toxic heavy metal.
The Convention, hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), must be ratified by 50 countries to be legally binding. While 128 countries have signed the agreement one year after it was opened for signature and ratification, only seven have ratified it, jeopardizing its chances of being in force by the agreed-upon target of 2020, the expert noted in a press release.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49217#.VFTRAxbKhuk