Small-scale mining, big-scale problems

For instance, the use of mercury—one of the most toxic substances—is common among small-scale miners. Unconfined tailings from such operation remain concentrated with mercury, which in turn are in danger of eventually spilling to oceans, where it could become methyl mercury and cause mercury poisoning. This doesn’t even account for the hazard that this poses on the miners themselves, who are often used to employing dangerous, accident-prone methods.
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