Mercury and Gold

Apr 27, 2014 Editorial

In Boa Vista just across the Brazilian border there is a statue in the town centre in honour of the garimpero (the Brazilian equivalent of our porkknocker) because of his role in opening up northern Brazil. In our country, our porkknockers did not make an equivalent impact but they left a tradition that is finally bearing fruit – or ‘gold’ if you will. The initial investment for what was called ‘artisinal’ gold mining, 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.
In the last few decades, gold operations have become tremendously larger and last year we produced a record 438,000 ounces of the valued commodity. It is conservatively estimated that some 50,000 persons are employed in gold mining. But recent developments might threaten our quest for even higher production.
Environmentalists and NGO’s from across the globe have worked assiduously to place mercury as one of the pollutants to the environment that must be eradicated. In many countries, such as neighboring 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 organized 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 duplicate this experience in Guyana.
The problem cannot 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 most simple and very inexpensive reagent to extract gold – 1kg of Hg costs 1g of Au – when it is used correctly. This is especially true with regard to the size of the gold particles that is mostly found in Guyana. Responding to the heightened sensitization precipitated by the NGO’s the European Union banned 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 simply switched 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. On January 13 of this year, under the auspices of the UN, 140 countries signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury. This will be opened for signature by governments at a Diplomatic Conference in October 2013 in Japan. It will enter into force once 50 countries have ratified it or otherwise agreed to be bound. This can spell doom for our gold industry.
Unfortunately, burning is still the preferred method used by artisanal miners in which mercury released to the atmosphere represents as much as 50% 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 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. In the meantime, Guyana has to intensify efforts to have Guyana become an exception once the Minaamata Convention becomes ratified.

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Mercury and Gold

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