Yet, there are other dimensions of the non-renewable extraction that deserve some attention: the externalities generated from it, and also the dependence of such extractions of millions of people This chapter is published in Resources Policy.
in the world using artisanal techniques. A clear example of it is the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in which miners who want to maximize private profits employ the cheapest technological alternative for the recovery process: mercury amalgamation. This technique leads to environmental and health problems in the long run due to the mercury pollution it generates.
With the end of solving the pollution problem generated by the recovery process better production technologies, which are generally more expensive for acquiring and harder to operate, must be employed. Therefore, miners face the dilemma related to the pollution resulting from the gold recovery process; i.e., a public-good dilemma in which private benefits are apparently higher when using mercury amalgamation and social welfare is improved by using a cleaner technology.
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