Peru Gold Mining Mercury
According to countrys environment minister as many as 50000 people or 41 of the population of the gold rich madre de dios region bordering brazil has been exposed to mercury contamination.
Peru gold mining mercury. The mixture of gold and mercury is then heated to a temperature that will vaporize the mercury leaving behind the gold. 40000 in the andes is one of the highest cities in the world at 17020 feet above sea level and is one of the most productive artisanal gold mining sites in peru. Notably we found an important reduction in gold mining deforestation in la pampa perus worst gold mining area following the governments launch of operation mercury in february 2019.
Currently the prevailing method of asgm in the country involves using large amounts of mercury to extract gold. Artisanal and small scale gold mining asgm is a traditional livelihood in peru providing much needed income for many impoverished communities. All of the gold is produced through mercury amalgamation with open mercury use.
Given that at least 50 of the mercury used in these operations is lost to the environment we estimate that artisanal gold mining in peru alone releases nearly 50000 pounds of mercury annually. A mercury gold amalgam then is formed because gold will dissolve in the mercury while other impurities will not. These activities result in the release of tons of mercury each year causing significant air soil and water contamination and severe health impacts on local communities.
The past two decades have seen a sharp increase in illegal and informal gold mining in perus southern amazon region of madre de dios. Environmental activists have been particularly critical of the introduction of mercury into bodies of water as it has long standing effects on the environment and the health of organisms that consume it. Small scale gold mining in the peruvian amazon poses a health hazard not only to the miners and communities near where mercury is used to extract gold from ore but also to downstream communities.
According to us based scientists the people living upriver from gold mining in perus madre de dios region are the most contaminated by mercury. The town of la rinconada pop. The worst affected areas are shaded in red the.
First mercury is mixed with the materials containing gold. These small scale operations typically involve cutting down.