Overview

Mercury is widely used in ASGM due to its ability to efficiently bind with gold, forming an amalgam that can be easily separated from ore. However, mercury releases toxic mercury vapor, contaminates the environment, and can lead to severe health problems for miners and their communities.
This section provides a comprehensive range of solutions to address the unique challenges of mercury pollution from ASGM in Africa. We have outlined sustainable, innovative, and efficient solutions to reduce and ultimately eliminate mercury use in ASGM.

Solutions

Various techniques for mercury-free gold and mercury-reduced gold mining have emerged quite recently. These techniques are good alternatives to mercury in mining gold, although they have their distinct characteristics and disadvantages.

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One of the key factors found to foster sustainable and responsible ASGM practices is the formalization of the sector.

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Lack of access to formal financial services is a significant barrier to the formalization of the sector.

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