Abstract

Background.The majority of small-scale gold miners worldwide, including those in Mozambique, use mercury to extract gold. Over the last fifty years, gold production from small-scale mining has been accelerating and consequently the amount of mercury released to the environment has increased dramatically, causing major global health problems. In 2018, a team from the Danish non-governmental organization Diálogos introduced the mercury-free gold extraction method in the Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique in the villages of Waqueia and Nanlia.Objectives.The objective of this project was to teach local miners this method to reduce mercury pollution. An additional objective was to compare the local gold extraction method and the mercury-free gold extraction method in terms of gold recovery. The hypothesis was that the level of gold recovery would be higher with the mercury-free method compared to the locally used amalgamation method.Materials and Methods.An experimental study comparing the two gold extraction methods was carried out where local miners processed gold-bearing ore using their standard procedures with the amalgamation method and the Diálogos team processed an equivalent amount of gold-bearing ore with the mercury-free gold extraction method. The tests were carried out once at each mining site.Results.Under even circumstances in a controlled setting, the mercury-free method yielded up to 78% more gold than the amalgamation method normally used by the miners.Conclusions.The strengths of the mercury-free gold extraction method include low costs, higher gold yield, benign environmental impact, legality and needed chemicals are more readily available compared with the amalgamation method. However, the mercury-free method may be more time consuming than the amalgamation method, especially for beginners. Borax is typically available in developed urban areas, as it is commonly used in the welding industry and by jewelers, but can be hard to find in more remote villages.Competing Interests.The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Highlights

  • Introduction of MercuryFree Gold Extraction to Small-Scale Miners in the Cabo Delgado Province in MozambiqueBirgitte Stoffersen,[1] Peter WU Appel,[1] Leoncio D Na-Oy,[1,2] Asta Selloane Sekamane,[1] Ivan Zahinos Ruiz,[3] Rasmus Køster-Rasmussen[4]

  • An experimental study comparing the two gold extraction methods was carried out where local miners processed gold-bearing ore using their standard procedures with the amalgamation method and the Diálogos team processed an equivalent amount of gold-bearing ore with the mercury-free gold extraction method

  • The strengths of the mercury-free gold extraction method include low costs, higher gold yield, benign environmental impact, legality and needed chemicals are more readily available compared with the amalgamation method

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Summary

Introduction

Introduction of MercuryFree Gold Extraction to Small-Scale Miners in the Cabo Delgado Province in MozambiqueBirgitte Stoffersen,[1] Peter WU Appel,[1] Leoncio D Na-Oy,[1,2] Asta Selloane Sekamane,[1] Ivan Zahinos Ruiz,[3] Rasmus Køster-Rasmussen[4]. Free Gold Extraction to Small-Scale Miners in the Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique. The mercuryfree gold extraction method was implemented in the mining community Gaang in Northern Benguet in 2015.4 The community includes around 1800 small-scale miners that were formerly using the amalgamation method. In February 2018, members of the Danish non-governmental organization (NGO) Diálogos and the Spanish NGO Medicus Mundi (funded by the European Union) carried out a project introducing the mercury-free gold extraction method by training a group of miners from the Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique. In 2018, a team from the Danish non-governmental organization Diálogos introduced the mercury-free gold extraction method in the Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique in the villages of Waqueia and Nanlia. An additional objective was to compare the local gold extraction method and the mercury-free gold extraction method in terms of gold recovery. J Health Pollution 18: 180909 (2018) © Pure Earth countries have signed the Minamata convention aimed at reducing global mercury pollution

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