Mercury amalgamation is a very common form of gold extraction. Artisanal and small-scale gold miners combine mercury with gold-bearing ore to form a hardened amalgam that contains most of the gold metal from the silt. This amalgam is then heated with blowtorches or over an open flame to evaporate the mercury, leaving gold behind. This burning process releases mercury vapors into the surrounding air. The gaseous mercury is inhaled by the miners, and often by their immediate family as well. Mercury that is not burned settles into the surrounding environment or is washed away with unwanted tailings or sediments into local water bodies. It also circulates globally for future deposition far from the site and is absorbed by a variety of living organisms.
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