Artisanal mining for the extraction of gold through the use of mercury: State of the art of environmental impact in water, air and soil media
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Abstract
Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), as a subsistence economy, has had an important growth in recent years due to the increase in the price of gold, generating environmental and socioeconomic impacts. The use of the technique of gold extraction with amalgams of mercury and thermal decomposition for the purification of the metal; generates at least five environmental problems: land degradation, deforestation, pollution and sedimentation of water courses, atmospheric pollution and degradation of wildlife and humans health. The organic form of mercury is the most toxic, it can bioaccumulate and biomagnify through the trophic chain. In the present study, a description of the state of the art of the ASM at a global level is presented, as well as its socio-economic and environmental implications. It was determined that innovation in the techniques used by the ASM; would help reduce and further eliminate the use of mercury; as well as the generation of regulations or laws that guarantee environmental sustainability and an adequate socioeconomic development of artisanal and small-scale miners.
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