Getting rid of mercury in Gold Jewelry

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. To imagine the horror that is mercury and gold, is to travel to a world driven by poverty, exploitation, desperation, ecological trauma and depressingly, political corruption and un-transparent business practice. Readers of The Ecologist may already know of some of the impacts on animal, vegetable and human life, when ingested in regular quantities. Yet its relationship with gold jewellery is often overlooked.
http://blog.gregvalerio.com/2014/11/30/getting-rid-of-mercury-in-gold-jewellery/