Green Gold Mining in Artisanal small-scale gold mining is Climate Action Now to #MakeMercuryHistory
đ„ DID YOU KNOW THAT đ„
Mercuryâdependent artisanal and smallâscale gold mining (âASGMâ)
is the #Planets largest #Anthropogenic [man-caused] source of deadly toxic #mercurypollution overtaking coal-fired plants #mercuryemissions?
The USA EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) "estimates" of annual global deadly toxic mercury emissions from both natural and #anthropogenic sources are in the range of 5,000 to 8,000 metric tons per yearâ.
Trump administration considers changes to Obama-era Mercury & Air Toxics rule (MATS rule) for restrictions on deadly toxic #mercuryemissions from coal-fired plants directly linked to developmental delays in children #MercuryKills
đ„DID YOU KNOW THATđ„
âThe UN Environment has classified Mercury, a neuro-, nephro-, and immunotoxic, as a âchemical of global concernâ owing to its long-range atmospheric transportation, its persistence in the environment once anthropogenically introduced, its ability to bio-accumulate in ecosystems and its significant negative effects on human health and the environmentâ?
The USA EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) âestimates of annual global deadly toxic mercury emissions from both natural and anthropogenic sources are in the range of 5,000 to 8,000 metric tons per yearâ.
Researchers sampled the hair of 757 women of childbearing age Across Three Oceans
âMost of the women screened showed an âelevated mercury body burden,â which exceeded the reference standard of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1 Part Per Million (ppm) âhigh enough to be associated with neurological damageâ.
The WHO (World Health Organization) considers Mercury as one of the top ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern on the Planet.
âWhen mercury used in gold mining enters the aquatic environment, micro-organisms can transform it into đ„methylmercury đ„ a powerful neurotoxin that is readily absorbed by biological tissue and is more toxic to humans and wildlife alike at low doses than elemental mercuryâ and which poses developmental, hormonal, and neurological threats to humans & wildlifeâ.
Mercury,
a chemical element with symbol Hg (âHgâ chemical symbol) and atomic number 80 commonly known as quicksilver, is added by ASG miners to their gold (âAuâ chemical symbol) ore slurry
coalescing the Au and Hg to create an Au-Hg amalgam in the slurry which is isolated by hand and rinsed in local creeks or rivers.
The liquid Au-Hg is poured through and captured in a fine porous cloth which is then squeezed by hand to isolate the Au-Hg amalgam as a pliable paste.
The Au-Hg amalgam is then subjected to firing
and retorting
vaporizing the mercury to the environment to separate and recover the gold.
The isolated gold will typically contain up to 5% mercury and is sold to household gold shops which will further refine the gold vaporizing the remaining mercury to the environment as well as exposing the goldsmith and surrounding community to toxic mercury vapor pollution.
The mercury-ore slurry is typically rinsed with sodium cyanide
to capture any remaining gold as a water soluble dicyanoaurate [Au(CN)2]-within the remaining now highly toxic deadly cyanide-gold-mercury ore slurry which is then discarded into the local creeks, contaminating the aquatics, wildlife and affecting farms and communities located downstreamâ.
Included in this deadly toxic mercury discarded precursor to methylmercury waste is mercury flour (small mercury droplets, < 1.0 millimeter in size unable to coalesce) with trapped gold that cyanide does not extract and is a major source of gold loss of up to 30%.
Miners donât know this that cyanide isnât effective in extracting gold from mercury flour!
The Artisanal Gold Mining Process Using Gold-Mercury Amalgamation from Start to Finish {3:49 mins.}
đ„DID YOU KNOW THATđ„
âMercury is ubiquitous and persistent exposure can cause acute and chronic intoxication at low levels of exposureâ
Elemental mercury is able to cross membranes including the bloodâbrain barrier and the bloodâplacenta barrier, posing a threat to neurological function and fetal development, respectively
~ 15 million ASG miners use mercury to mine for gold in over 70 countries making mercury pollution/poisoning a global issue.
According to new research by the environmental-health organization IPEN, âisland territories around the world are drowning in mercury pollution that has leeched deep into their coastlines and could last generationsâ.
âMercury intoxicationâ in ASG miners is a major, largely neglected global health problemâ
âStudies have shown that ASG miners exposed to intoxicatingly high levels of mercury with 85% of them suffered neurological symptoms, such as tremors, and 44%â56% of them experienced restricted fields of vision, slow reflexes, sensory disturbances, unbalanced rigidity, and ataxiaâ.
âDespite numerous government pledges, #biodiversity loss is accelerating in all regions of the worldâ
đ„DID YOU KNOW THATđ„
Jewelry demand for gold
is responsible for the release of the Planets largest anthropogenic source of deadly, toxic mercury emission with global forecasted jewelry growth of 5% per year through 2020 with China and India being the biggest consumers?
In 2017 jewelry was the single largest demand for gold more than all other sectors combined
statista The Statistics Portal - Distribution of global gold demand by industry in 2017
âMany children begin working with immediate contact to mercury from the very early age of seven {for that jewelry}â.
#GreenGoldMining #ASGM #ClimateAction solutions supports the objectives of the Minamata Convention on Mercury addressing both #Health & #Environmental issues of #MercuryPollution by promoting #Education, #GoldMillTolling aggregation of local ASG miners ore, and #BoraxFluxSmelting thereby developing an ethical, #sustainable chain of ore supply eliminating #cyanide chemical waste & #mercury use to
Under the GEF GOLD programme, UNDP and the Government of Peru will promote the adoption of sustainable production technologies and the development of sustainable supply chains in ASGM in the Regions of Puno, Arequipa and Piura.
#GreenGoldMining supports the objectives of the Minamata Convention on Mercury which was ratified by Ecuador on 29th of July 2016 and requires its Parties to adopt measures to reduce and, where feasible, eliminate the use of mercury, as well as emissions and releases of mercury into the environment to
Our Ecuador joint venture (âJVâ) underground gold mine MINA SAN JUAN situated on CODIGO:15 in the Bella Rica mining district western Azuay province, (RĂo de oro) Ecuador has been developed and artisanally mined and exploited by our JV partner since 2012.
This platform will headquarter our #GreenGoldMining operations in Bella Rica to promote and develop ethical and sustainable #GoldMillTolling supply chains with a clear commitment for present and future generations to encourage responsible development of ASGM operations employing #MercuryFreeProcessing to
đ„DID YOU KNOW THATđ„
Mercury Poisoning is a Global Public-Health Crisis âIsland nations and territories are bearing the brunt of this ecological scourge from ASGMâ.
âIn a third of the sites, nearly 90 percent of the women exceeded 1 ppm; in nearly half the sites, 90 percent of women reached the threshold for fetal damageâ
âWomen of childbearing age around the world from Alaska to Indonesia suffer from toxic levels of mercury due to gold mining which can seriously harm unborn children due to gold mining, industrial pollution & fish-rich dietsâ
The development of the child in utero and early in life is at particular risk.
âOnce methylmercury is in the environment, this deadly toxin becomes part of the food chain. Small aquatic organisms ingest it from their surrounding environment, and are, in turn, eaten by fish and other, larger aquatic organisms. As a result, the methylmercury biomagnifies, becoming increasingly concentrated as the pollutant works its way up the food chain, polluting marine mammals, birds, and other animals that consume fish resulting in a serious health hazard for childrenâ
âOnce methylmercury is in the food chain this deadly toxin causes major health problems, including brain and nervous system damage leading to the retardation of mental and physical development. Children and developing fetuses are particularly vulnerableâ.
Toxic deadly methylmercury-producing microbes more widespread than realized
According to Dr. Tadesse Amera, Co-Chair for IPEN âIf mercury emissions continue to rise at this rate, we are facing massive intensification of #ocean #pollution and rapid #contamination of global fish stocks. Many big fish species are already too toxic to safely eat, and more species will followâ
âHumans are most exposed to mercury through their diet. Tests have shown that mothers in Portugal and Spain - where fish consumption is high - had 5-7 times more mercury in their body than averageâ
âMercury pollution from Gold Rush may affect the Ecosystem for 10,000 years according to research from the University of California Santa Barbaraâ {1:05 mins.}
Much of this is unknown to the miners
as is the fact that mercury released into the environment remains there and is capable of harming generations to come.
Meet Tomoko Uemura
a fetal Minamata disease (Japanese) victim survivor.
âMinamata disease is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning 1st discovered in Minamata city in 1965 from the release of #methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporationâs chemical factory which continued from 1932 to 1968 poisoning and killing thousands of victims and deformed babiesâ.
July 1997, four decades after horrible cases of #MercuryPoisoning made #Minamata Bay synonymous with #environmental catastrophe, the Japanese regional government declared the fish in the bay to be safe to eat
MINAMATA: The Victims and Their World{1:55 mins.}
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a legally binding global treaty designed to protect human #health and the environment from #anthropogenic emissions and releases of #mercury and mercury compounds to #MakeMercuryHistory
The 2nd meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP2) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury hosted by UN Environment November 2018 more than one year after its historical entry into force, meet to address mercury as global toxic deadly mercury emissions surged 20% in 5 years
Minamata, The Victims and their World 1971 {3:07 mins.}
âMaking gold greener? GEF - Addressing mercury pollution from small scale, often illegal, gold mining. Global Opportunities for Long-term Development (GOLD) in the Artisanal Small Gold Mining Sector, is designed to help artisanal gold miners eliminate the use of mercury across several countries, and provides an example of concrete actionâ.
âThe GOLD programme is being managed by four implementing agencies: UN Environment, the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and Conservation International.
âGEF funding amounts to $45 million and is expected to attract co-financing of more than $135 million from governments, international financing institutions, and private sector companiesâ.
The first beneficiary countries are: Burkina Faso, Colombia, Guyana, Indonesia, Kenya, Peru, Mongolia and the Philippinesâ.
To finance our #GreenGoldMining #ASGM #ClimateAction #MercuryFree processing, and supporting the objectives of the gef Global Economic Facility, the @UNEnvironment, the COP @minamataMEA Convention on Mercury to #MakeMercuryHistory, we have created a Waves â AlchemyLGCoin© utility token digital currency listed for trading operating on Waves â (DEX)] decentralized exchange blockchain platform live for #Crowdfunding, Limited Edition asset backed collectable 1 oz. (95%+ purity) #GreenGoldMined coins to #MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain.
We are conducting an Initial Coin Offering (I.C.O.) in 3 Token Sales Events (âT.S.E.â) raising a collective total of 21,875.00 ETH* ($USD 4,375,000) or Waves-(DEX) listed and traded cryptocurrency equivalents
to:
*Resume, modernize gold production @ our Ecuador underground gold mine MINA SAN JUAN J/V operations in the Bella Rica mining area, western Azuay province, municipality of Camilo Ponce EnrĂquez
*Execute #ASGM #ClimateAction #GoldMillTolling operations purchasing and aggregating ore from government registered local ASG miners to ensure an ethical sustainable supply chain to eliminate both, #mercury use to #MakeMercuryHistory and #cyanide chemical waste to encourage responsible ASGM operations with a clear commitment for present and future generations together we can #MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain
*Initiate discussions, acquire/JV a Chilean #mercury processing facility, convert to #Borax flux smelting
*License EnviroLeach Technologies, Inc. patent pending, non-cyanide âHM X-Leachâ lixiviant proprietary formulation consisting of 5 nutritional supplements, medicines and food additives approved for human consumption by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for hydrometallurgical Au extraction
** ETH/$USD = $200.00 or prevailing ETH/$USD value @ time of the token sales transactions*
We acquired a 50% equity and board control of Alquimia y ExplotaciĂłn Minera San Juan Alquiexmi S.A., our joint venture Ecuador gold mining company with granted mineral rights on two gold mine concessions.
Our Bella Rica Codigo: 15 concession MINA SAN JUAN {8:39 mins.}
has been developed with buildings, equipment, operational facilities and artisanally mined and exploited by our joint venture partner blasting a 1.3 Km main underground tunnel with 2 extensions extracting ore rom 3 identified veins of 5 known veins producing gold balls and dores since 2012.
Responsible and sustainable #GreenGoldMining with mercury free processing begins with our Ecuador gold mine MINA SAN JUAN ore to promote and establish #GoldTollmilling operations with a clear commitment for present and future generations to encourage responsible development of ASGM operations to
The United Nations reported in 2009 that artisanal mining directly and indirectly employed a total of 100 million people worldwide, including 10-15 million miners (3 million woman & children), and produced 25% of the world's gold
The United Nations reported in 2012 Ecuador has 1,349 artisanal operations of which 1,069 are gold operations. In 2002, ASG mining generated 65% of the direct employment within the broader ASM sector in Ecuador (60,000 of 92,000 jobs).
âWe estimate that Ecuador produced 12 tons of gold in 2013, of which only 3 tons were from legal gold mines. Jaime JarrĂn, the Director General of Arcom, the Ecuadorian Agency of Regulation & Control of Mining, said in April 2013 that he believed true production was between 15 and 20 tons.
Other estimates suggest that only 30% of the gold produced in the last five years originated from legal gold mines and the remaining 70% came from illegal and oftentimes violent mining areas. There are some 10,000 illegal miners including children and many of the illegal gold mines within Ecuador are reportedly controlled by the FARCâ.
According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, Latin America leads the world in the illegal extraction of gold. Venezuela leads the ranking with about 90% of gold mined illegally, followed by Colombia with 80%, Ecuador with 77% and Bolivia and Peru, which hover around 30%.
Ecuadorian Deputy Mining Minister Henry Troy, stated July 31, 2018 âIllegal mining in Ecuador, a plague causing incalculable harmâ
âIncreasingly, miners bring their sacks of raw gold to one of the 100 processing plants that line the Puyango River. At these plants, gold is extracted using a more efficient, mechanized process that also relies on mercury. This process leaves behind a muddy sludge of tailings containing a mix of lead, mercury, manganese, and various cyanides.
These tailings are eventually flushed into the river system, poisoning the water and killing all aquatic life in the areaâ.
âASG mining in southern Ecuador is causing considerable environmental impacts, the most important of which are related to the discharge of metals, metalloids and cyanide into adjacent riversâ.
đ„DID YOU KNOW THATđ„
#GreenGoldMining promotes #GoldTollmilling aggregation of local ASG miners ore profiting the miners while developing ethical and sustainable supply chains, eliminating their use of #mercury and #cyanide chemical waste hence, enhancing the protection of human health, benefiting the community, #Environment and #Planet to
Join us in support of Shinobu Sakamoto,
a congenital Minamata disease fetus survivor call to end mercury poisoning globally speaking from the Minamata Convention on Mercury November 2018 hosted by UN Environment Geneva, Switzerland.
Our early participant Crowdfunding pre-launch T.S.E. is live. We are raising 1,875.00 *ETH ($USD 375,000) or Waves.Exchange listed cryptocurrency equivalents trading on the blockchain platform. 100% token bonus.
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DONATIONS
Your donations will contribute to our marketing and awareness campaign efforts and the continuation of our digital funding campaign to implement and execute our #GreenGoldMining ASGM #Mercury Solution using our MINA SAN JUAN gold mining operations in the Bella Rica mining district as our platform to promote #GoldMillTolling and mercury free ore processing in support of the COP Minamata Convention on Mercury to
ETH: 0x0a7C095B430742D96C723aFd5daE1Ef0F6ee3408
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According to GEF - GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACILITY âUsing mercury in mining is also very wasteful. It achieves only about 20-30 per cent efficiency in recovering gold compared to 60-90 per cent from alternative, much cleaner methodsâ.
Colombia bans the use of mercury in mining July 16, 2018 and prohibited it for industrial use by 2023
A new GEF program to reduce the use of mercury: "Global Opportunities for Long-term Development (GOLD) in the Artisanal Small Gold Mining Sector".(3:16 mins.)
A âLeaked map
reveals chronic mercury epidemic in Peru. People living upriver from gold-mining are the most contaminated, according to US-based scientistsâ
Under the GEF GOLD programme UNDP, GEF and the Government of Peru work together to reduce the use of mercury in ~ 200,000 ASG miners producing 38.7 tonnes of gold, or ~ one quarter of Peruâs total gold exports in 2016.
Introduction of Mercury-free Gold Extraction Methods to small-scale Miners and Education of Health Care Providers to Reduce the use of Mercury Sorata, Bolivia
Mercury Alternatives â Gravity Borax Method (GBM)
In a 2012 research and experimental study titled âThe Borax Method of Gold Extraction for Small-Scale Minersâ published in Journal of Health Pollution proved that more than twice as much and up to 10 times more gold was recovered from milled ore using Borax as a flux and without need of investment in new processing equipment and up to 30% faster than with mercury amalgamation.
Gold extraction with Borax for small-scale miners - Rather Rich & Healthy than Poor & Poisoned {9:49 mins.}
Gold extraction with BORAX for ASG miners has successfully been tested and operational in the Philippines, Indonesia, Tanzania, Bolivia and Zimbabwe for decades. ~ 15,000 ASG miners in a small area of Luzon, the main island in the northern portion of the Philippines, use this method exclusively.
Appel and JĂžnsson (2010) in Tanzania reported that borax could recover up to twice as much gold as when used in the amalgamation process, without any additional knowledge or equipment used.
Appel and Na-Oy (2012) in the northern Philippines reported that the borax method was almost three times more efficient in recovering gold compared to mercury amalgamation
ASGM Project Peru & Ecuador{8:08 mins.}
Peru (mercury processed)
Ecuador (Borax smelted)
ToxNet database shows Borax
is only a very mild lung irritant and causes no lasting damage. In addition, Borax does not penetrate the skin well, and is not considered to be bio-accumulative.
Material Safety Data Sheet lists borax as a health hazard of 1, the same as baking soda and salt. Borax is classified as non-carcinogenic and a mild skin irritant.
February 2006, the USDA, Forest Service reports âthe use of SporaxÂź (Borax) in the control of annosum root disease does not present a significant risk to humans or wildlife species under most conditions of normal use, even under the highest application rate.
Green Gold - in place of mercury, small-scale alluvial gold miners in TadĂł, Dept. ChocĂł, Colombia produce âgreen goldâ (oro verde) using locally available plant extracts. The leaves of Balso (Ochroma pyra-midale) and Malva (Hibiscus furcellatus) are mixed with water to make a foamy liquid
which is added to the gold pan. The plant juice-water mixture breaks the surface tension of the water and allows precipitation of the very fine-grained gold that would normally float away; and therefore, the green gold process increases gold productionâ
FORMALIZE â Restrict import of mercury. Implement disposal strategy and remediation. Cooperatives, concession owners and title holders be mandated to provide subsidies or credits to ASG miners to use #Borax for #MercuryFreeProcessing and #CyanideFreeProcessing to #MakeMercuryHistory
RESEARCH
âwe demonstrate that the composite Fe-BTC/PpPDA, is shown to rapidly extract trace amounts of gold from several complex water mixtures that include wastewater, fresh water, ocean water, and solutions used to leach gold from electronic waste and sewage sludge ash.
The material has an exceptional removal capacity, 934 mg gold/g of composite, and extracts gold from these complex mixtures at record-breaking rates, in as little as 2 min. effectively concentrating gold and yielding purities of 23.9 Kâ
"Green gold" extraction method replaces cyanide with starch
âLiu, the Scientist, was part of a team led by Sir Fraser Stoddart at Northwestern University, Illinois mixed two solutions together at room temperature in a beaker -- a gold-bromide solution, and a solution of sugary starches known as cyclodextrins, which are made up of rings of glucose molecules. Much to his (and everyone else's) surprise, what was formed wasn't cages, but "needles" of gold.â
âThe needles are easily harvested from the mixtureâ. âIt's an exciting discovery because of the implications for gold extraction on an industrial scaleâ
Thiosulfate as an Alternative Lixiviant to Cyanide for Gold Ores.
âThe effect of increasing pH value on gold extraction for various ore types greatly has a beneficial effect on gold extraction for both oxide and sulfide ores and stabilizes âŒpH 9.5â10.0, whereas for some carbonaceous ores, pH value has no apparent effectâ.
Jeffrey et al. (2008a,b) observed that increasing the pH value from 8.5 to 10.5 increased the gold leaching efficiency from 7% to 70% from a pressure-leach residue of a refractory gold ore after 1 h in 50 mmol/L (NH4)2S2O3 and 0.5â2 mmol/L CuSO4.
Make Mercury History- The Full Movie {33:04 mins.}
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