Evaluation of mercury content in amalgams from Munhena mine, Mozambique

Kiefer, Adam M.; Drace, Kevin; Gottlieb, Samuel J.; Coursey, Stephen; Veiga, Marcello M.; Marrumbe, Prudêncio Noélio da Cruz; Chapo, Micaela Arlete Jose

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.09.039

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…ASGM employs an estimated 16 million people in developing countries throughout Asia, Africa, and South America . Miners often use mercury to separate gold and silver from gangue, , and recently, ASGM activities have been recognized by the United Nations as being the largest contributor to mercury emissions in air and water . In addition to the environmental damages ASGM practices cause, artisanal and small-scale gold miners often endure hazardous working conditions and heavy metal intoxication in order to provide for themselves and their families. − Although it is impractical to demonstrate many aspects of ASGM in the lecture or laboratory, the chemistry related to carbide lamps allows instructors to introduce students to a global issue and provides real-world examples of safety hazards and use of technology in developing nations.…”

Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ASGM employs an estimated 16 million people in developing countries throughout Asia, Africa, and South America. 13 Miners often use mercury to separate gold and silver from gangue, 14,15 and recently, ASGM activities have been recognized by the United Nations as being the largest contributor to mercury emissions in air and water. 16 In addition to the environmental damages ASGM practices cause, artisanal and small-scale gold miners often endure hazardous working conditions and heavy metal intoxication in order to provide for themselves and their families.…”

Section: −mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using a Carbide Lantern To Illustrate General Chemistry Concepts and Introduce Students to Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining

Crawford

Kiefer

2016

J. Chem. Educ.

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Carbide lanterns were once the preferred lighting source for mining operations and are still utilized today in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM). These lanterns can be used to demonstrate a wide variety of chemical principles. To this end, an activity was developed to highlight the chemistry of a traditional carbide lamp used by miners. After a brief introduction to the lantern, students were challenged to complete problems that integrate multiple concepts such as balancing equations, unit conversions, limiting reactants, and thermochemistry. Although the activity as written serves as a review of General Chemistry I, the use of these lanterns in ASGM provides an additional opportunity to introduce students to a topic that encourages global engagement and cultural consideration. To make the activity accessible to a wide variety of audiences, a video is provided demonstrating the operation of a carbide lantern and a brief introduction to ASGM.

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Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: −mentioning

confidence: 99%

Using a Carbide Lantern To Illustrate General Chemistry Concepts and Introduce Students to Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining

Crawford

Kiefer

2016

J. Chem. Educ.

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“…On the other hand, we note a dominance of organic mercury in the soil. Kiefer et al (2014) evaluated mercury content in amalgams from the Munhena mine in Mozambique. The percentages of mercury in these amalgams varied from 38.55 to 64.16%.…”

Section: Mercury In the Atmosphere And In The Terrestrial Ecosystemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury pollution in Africa: A review

Abdoul¹,

Alassane²,

Alphonse³

et al. 2022

J. Environ. Chem. Ecotoxicol.

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Since the Minamata conference, the scientific and professional worlds (gold industry, metal extraction, health) have come together to conduct research and raise awareness of the effects of mercury (Hg) in the environment, particularly on public health. Africa has not remained on the sidelines of these events, which have a planetary scope due to the long-range transport of various anthropogenic and natural sources of mercury. Since then, scientific data has been produced both in Africa and other continents in the world on the knowledge of the properties of mercury (Hg) as a poison that can migrate through all the links in the food chain. This scientific article is an analysis of mercury (Hg), its sources, its distribution, its health and environmental impacts (terrestrial, aquatic, atmospheric ecosystems, etc.) in Africa. It also aims to present the recent development in this field in the form of a general analysis and to present the measures taken at the political level to control mercury flows in developing countries while highlighting the shortcomings of these policies at the national level in some African countries.

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“…A few miners who were familiar with the use of retorts stated that no mercury was captured when the retort was used. In 2014, we published a paper on mercury content in amalgams purchased directly from miners at Munhena and demonstrated that the amalgams contained between 40-60% mercury by mass (67). This number translated to less than 0.63 g of mercury evolved from the most mercury-rich amalgam.…”

Section: Figure 6 A) Miners Crush Ore At Upper Munhena In a Jaw Crusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges Associated with Using Retorts To Limit Mercury Exposure in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining: Case Studies from Mozambique, Ecuador, and Guyana

Kiefer

Drace

Seney

et al. 2015

ACS Symposium Series

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Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is recognized as the number one source of anthropogenic mercury pollution in the world. Miners use mercury to amalgamate gold, then heat the amalgam to evaporate the mercury. This process, referred to by miners as burning, releases large quantities of mercury vapor that affects the health of miners and community members. A retort is a mercury capture device that provides a simple solution to reduce human exposure to mercury vapor during the burning process. In spite of the low cost, ease of use and numerous outreach programs that have introduced miners to this technology, miners have been reluctant to use retorts. This chapter provides a review of ASGM processes involving mercury, discusses the health effects of mercury vapor, and provides case studies on retort use in Mozambique, Ecuador and Guyana. The chapter concludes with a discussion on reasons why retorts have not been widely adopted in these countries, and it provides potential solutions to address miners concerns with the use of retorts.

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Evaluation of mercury content in amalgams from Munhena mine, Mozambique

Cited by 9 publications

References 13 publications

Using a Carbide Lantern To Illustrate General Chemistry Concepts and Introduce Students to Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining

Using a Carbide Lantern To Illustrate General Chemistry Concepts and Introduce Students to Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining

Mercury pollution in Africa: A review

Challenges Associated with Using Retorts To Limit Mercury Exposure in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining: Case Studies from Mozambique, Ecuador, and Guyana

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