Aladdin Separation Technologies : At 30, Brazil’s Yanomami reserve is beset by mining, malaria and mercury

Then there’s the mercury. Used by the miners to separate the gold from the ore, mercury is a silent killer. It latches onto the gold, and is then burned off, evaporating into the air before descending again to settle on plants or sink in water. Fish consume this mercury-tainted material, and from there, the element works its way up the food chain.