Gold, mercury and the next Minamata.
21/06/2014
Globally, UNEP stated that as of 2013 smallscale gold mining was being practiced in more than 70 countries, involving between 10 and 15 million miners including as many as five million women and children. The small-scale sector produces between 12 percent and 15 percent of the world’s gold, and releases about 1,400 metric tons of mercury per year into the environment, causing harmful and irreversible health and environmental effects. The latest finding identified the ASGM sector as the largest single source of mercury emissions from intentional use.
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