Mercury falling

Jan 13, 2009 Editorial

The Porkknocker is an iconic figure in our country for very good reason. Not long after the abolition of slavery, the discovery of gold in the interior lured thousands of ex-slaves in a quest to seek their fortune. The initial investment was not too large – a pickaxe to loosen the soil, a battel with some mercury or quicksilver to separate the gold by amalgamation, and fire to later burn off the mercury and leave the pure gold.
We developed what is called an “artisanal” gold mining industry, in which many fortunes were made – and lost – and as many legends were created.
In the last few decades, gold operations have become larger. The recently departed Omai Gold Mines Limited extracted millions of ounces of gold, and used a very different technology involving cyanide for extracting the gold.
However, most of our operations have remained artisanal, and even though most have gone past the battle, there remained a role for the porkknocker – and mercury.
According to some, about 10,000 persons are employed in gold mining. Recent developments, however, may seriously threaten this figure.
Environmentalists and NGO’s from across the globe have worked (World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Guyana) assiduously to place mercury as one of the pollutants to the environment that must be eradicated. In many countries, such as neighbouring Brazil and Venezuela, mercury pollution has been used by some segments of the society as a useful villain, and affected communities have been ignored.
Myths and taboos about mercury pollution have created hysteria and promoted hidden interests of economic groups. This enlarged the gap between artisanal miners and organised society, and created more illegality as miners found a way around the reflexive governmental legal reaction of simply banning the use of the substance without seeking to deal with the social problems precipitated.
We cannot afford to duplicate this experience in Guyana.
The problem can not be ignored, but it also cannot be approached with exaggeration. True facts are the only way to create a trustworthy environment to implement, together with miners, effective solutions for mercury pollution.
First and foremost, there is the question of costs. After all is said and done, mercury remains as the simplest and most inexpensive reagent to extract gold. One kilogram of mercury is equal in cost to a gram of gold — when it is used correctly. This is especially true with regard to the size of the gold particles that are mostly found in Guyana. Responding to the heightened sensitisation precipitated by the NGOs, the European Union agreed last year to ban mercury exports from 2011, with the US following suit in 2013. However, the processing (most mercury is recovered by recycling products that legitimately use the substance) and exportation will simply switch to other countries. Once there is a market for a product, it will be supplied – albeit at a higher price — with all the new hurdles that will have to be surmounted. In Brazil, even at five times the international price, mercury has a cost equivalent to 0.012 g of gold per ton of ore processed, and continues to be supplied and used. The near-term solution has to be focused on reducing the amount of mercury that is released in the process to release the gold from the amalgam formed after panning.
Amalgam decomposition is generally done by nitric acid and by burning in open pans, or by retorting.
Unfortunately, burning is the preferred method used by artisanal miners. In this process, mercury released to the atmosphere represents as much as 50 per cent of that introduced into the amalgamation process.
However, when amalgamation is conducted properly and retorts are used, very little mercury is lost to the environment (as low as 0.05%). This recycling practice suggests one of the first attack points for providing relief for the environment; and, to its credit, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has already recommended and facilitated retorting to the mining fraternity.
A homemade retort built with standard plumbing water pipes can be easily assembled, and use of this type of retort is easily understood and accepted by miners because it is inexpensive. All materials are familiar and accessible to the miners. Education is a prerequisite for long-term solutions for the mercury emission problem, and not hysterical reactions to NGO’s pressure. Long live porkknocking.

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