Human ring of gold boosts campaign

Until recently, groups in eastern Uganda seeking Fairtrade accreditation were sluicing the ore using toxic mercury to bind the specks of gold together in local rivers, where people bathe, livestock drinks and fish are caught for food.
The gold and mercury "amalgam" was then burnt in the open air, or even in people's kitchens, to produce the gold, giving off toxic fumes, while children were being washed in the same basins used for sluicing - leaving them with significant sight problems.
Now they have been given a piece of kit, a "retort" to burn mercury without giving off fumes, educated about the effects of the metal and been helped to construct concrete-lined ponds for sluicing which will prevent it escaping into the environment.
http://www.shropshirestar.com/shropshire-business/city-news/2015/01/14/ring-of-gold-in-fairtrade-campaign/