22 April 2010 | Luca Del Buono
Biodiversity, Chemical, Forestry and wood products, ICT, Australia, South America

 

Gold is lovely. However, toxic mercury is not.

In Peru and throughout the Amazon River Basin, wildcat miners defy governments' environmental protocols and use mercury to extract gold from dirt and sand, creating a pollution hazard.

Wildcat miners are dependent on clinging to mercury to extract gold, and cannot afford the government approved cyanide pools that large gold companies utilise. Just two weeks ago, a scuffle with Peruvian police and miners left 4 miners and 2 bystanders dead; 29 miners and police officers injured.

At least 20% of Peru's gold is produced by small-scale mercurial miners. Mercury threatens the health of humans and the Amazonian environment. The toxic chemical bioaccumulates as it moves along the food chain-first passing into plants and algae, then into herbivorous fish-herbivorous fish are in turn consumed by piscivorous (fish-eating) fish that are eaten by locals. Mercury toxicity causes skin discolouration, high-blood pressure, kidney dysfunction, and weakness. Miners put their own health at risk; the combination of deforestation and mining is the greatest source of mercury pollution.

But a Peruvian engineer has perfected a technique that will extract gold without negative human and environmental consequences. Carlos Villachica has developed a technique 95% as effective as mercury, that will save water and pollution.

It will be a challenge to distribute the new and relative obscure technology, but Valencia has reportedly received requests for information from as far away as Australia.

The technology relies upon a small, cylindrical machine. Mineralised and gold-enriched dirt combines with jets of pressurized air, water and biodegradable chemicals. The machine swirls the mixture like a centrifuge and specs of gold pellets rise to the surface of the cylinder.

In a Reuter's interview Valencia said:

"This is ethical gold, because it's not using mercury. Small scale mining is a big employer, and the machine's cost of operation is cheap.

Carlos Valencia developed the green gold machine in a small lab outside of the Peruvian capital of Lima.

Author: Michael Good | Climate Action Image provided by:
onoko41 | Flickr

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