Characterization, mapping, and mitigation of mercury vapour emissions from artisanal mining gold shops

Cordy, Paul; Veiga, Marcello M.; Crawford, Ben; García, Oseas; González, Víctor H.; Moraga, Daniel; Roeser, Monika; Wip, Dennis

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2012.10.015

Cited by 54 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Gold is always heated or melted inside the gold shop to release any residual mercury that might be left over from the amalgamation and evaporation processes (amalgam can contain 50% or more mercury (Cordy et al 2011(Cordy et al , 2013). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Successful airborne mercury reductions in Colombia

Cordy¹,

Veiga

Bernaudat

et al. 2015

Journal of Cleaner Production

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Successful airborne mercury reductions in Colombia

Cordy¹,

Veiga

Bernaudat

et al. 2015

Journal of Cleaner Production

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“…There are no premises to capture and dump waters and there is a scarcity of technical studies and infrastructure for environmental control [25]. Several research show that the departments of Chocó, Córdoba, Antioquia and Bolívar have high level pollution by mercury in their rivers [11,13,42,43]. This has triggered several issues in these regions.…”

Section: Review Of Improving the Water Management For The Informal Gomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Artisanal and small scale gold miners use mercury to extract gold in developing nations worldwide, contributing an estimated 25% of global gold production and 30% of global mercury emissions annually. Mercury is used by miners to recover free gold through amalgamation where it is released to the air by burning or is left in tailings which pollute soils, water and air [11].…”

Section: Water Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mercury vapour impacts public health most directly, causing problems with the respiratory tract in short-term exposure to high levels of mercury vapour. Symptoms include chest pains, dyspnoea, cough, haemoptysis, impairment of pulmonary function and interstitial pneumonitis [11,18,19]. The mercury contamination in Colombia by artisanal gold mining has been recognized by a number of researchers and local authorities for over a decade.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, many groups of investors have started to set up mining projects in areas that are recognized for being rich in gold [7,10]. For example; in Antioquia Department, mining has greatly influenced the development of the region, where between 65 and 70% of the population dependent directly of the mining, generating between 20 and 25 thousand direct jobs [11,12]. Whereas that gold production figures for the Chocó deparment increased, according to official sources, over 265% between April and December 2009.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Review of improving the water management for the informal gold mining in Colombia

Bustamante¹,

Danoucaras²,

McIntyre³

et al. 2016

Rev. Fac. Ing. Antioquia

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Colombia is one of the largest producers of gold in Latin America and it has recently increased its production, especially in the Departments of Antioquia, Chocó, Bolívar and Córdoba, which in 2014 produced 90% of Colombia's gold. Most of this production comes from artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM). Parallel with this boost in production, there is concern about the health of rivers, since many local mines discharge untreated waters and tailings directly to waterways. This situation has awakened awareness in the communities of Colombia. Water is essential to carry out daily activities and for their society and economy. This article review displays three current challenges in Colombia that have been identified with local government, universities, environmental authorities, consultants and mining industry. These challenges are: water pollution; aquifer protection; and changes in natural sedimentation in rivers. Based on previous work done in the region, this paper suggests new research directions to create opportunities for more sustainable practices. In particular, this paper identifies the opportunity to implement a series of practices to manage water and tailings at informal mining sites. The paper also highlights the importance of engaging communities, informal and formal miners, government and researchers in order to create consciousness of the importance of water in Colombia. This is an opportunity to create discussions that help miners to manage water and tailings, adapting these practices to their specific needs and through simple technologies. RESUMEN:Colombia es uno de los mayores productores de oro en América Latina, y recientemente ha aumentado su producción, especialmente en los departamentos de Antioquia, Chocó, Bolívar y Córdoba, los cuales en 2014 tuvieron una participación del 90% en la producción total de oro del país. La mayor parte de esta producción proviene de la Minería Aurífera Artesanal y de Pequeña Escala (ASGM, por sus siglas en ingles). Simultáneamente a este aumento en la producción, existe una preocupación por la contaminación que se genera sobre los recursos hídricos del país, debido a que la mayoría de minas artesanales e informales arrojan los relaves o desechos del proceso de recuperación de oro a los afluentes hídricos sin recibir ningún tipo de tratamiento previo. Esta situación ha despertado preocupación en las comunidades cuya economía se ha visto afectada, pues el agua que proviene de los ríos no solo es utilizada para satisfacer sus necesidades, sino también en la agricultura para el riego de los cultivos. En este trabajo se exponen tres desafíos actuales que posee el país frente a la utilización del agua en la mineria de oro tradicional, estos retos fueron identificados gracias a la colaboración del gobierno local, entes académicos, las autoridades ambientales, consultores y la industria minera. Estos desafíos son: la contaminación de los ríos producto de los desechos o relaves de la mineria artesanal de oro, la protección de los acuíferos y los cambios ...

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The Mercury Problem in Artisanal and Small‐Scale Gold Mining

Esdaile

Chalker

2018

Chemistry A European J

317

177

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Mercury‐dependent artisanal and small‐scale gold mining (ASGM) is the largest source of mercury pollution on Earth. In this practice, elemental mercury is used to extract gold from ore as an amalgam. The amalgam is typically isolated by hand and then heated—often with a torch or over a stove—to distill the mercury and isolate the gold. Mercury release from tailings and vaporized mercury exceed 1000 tonnes each year from ASGM. The health effects on the miners are dire, with inhaled mercury leading to neurological damage and other health issues. The communities near these mines are also affected due to mercury contamination of water and soil and subsequent accumulation in food staples, such as fish—a major source of dietary protein in many ASGM regions. The risks to children are also substantial, with mercury emissions from ASGM resulting in both physical and mental disabilities and compromised development. Between 10 and 19 million people use mercury to mine for gold in more than 70 countries, making mercury pollution from ASGM a global issue. With the Minamata Convention on Mercury entering force this year, there is political motivation to help overcome the problem of mercury in ASGM. In this effort, chemists can play a central role. Here, the problem of mercury in ASGM is reviewed with a discussion on how the chemistry community can contribute solutions. Introducing portable and low‐cost mercury sensors, inexpensive and scalable remediation technologies, novel methods to prevent mercury uptake in fish and food crops, and efficient and easy‐to‐use mercury‐free mining techniques are all ways in which the chemistry community can help. To meet these challenges, it is critical that new technologies or techniques are low‐cost and adaptable to the remote and under‐resourced areas in which ASGM is most common. The problem of mercury pollution in ASGM is inherently a chemistry problem. We therefore encourage the chemistry community to consider and address this issue that affects the health of millions of people.

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Characterization, mapping, and mitigation of mercury vapour emissions from artisanal mining gold shops

Cited by 54 publications

References 19 publications

Successful airborne mercury reductions in Colombia

Successful airborne mercury reductions in Colombia

Review of improving the water management for the informal gold mining in Colombia

The Mercury Problem in Artisanal and Small‐Scale Gold Mining

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