South Africa experienced a gold rush following gold discovery in Lyndenburg, Witwatersrand and other localities. Similarly, Hg amalgamation was the method of choice for gold extraction. ... L. Influence of illegal gold mining …

Gold mining operations in South Africa mainly use the MacArthur Forrest process that uses cyanide instead of mercury amalgamation for extraction (Naicker et al., 2003). However, there are traces of Hg in the ore that could be released during processing but the overall emission is considered small ( Leaner et al., 2009 ).

While Western countries, including the United States, have largely phased out mercury, more than 10 million people in 70 countries — mostly poorer nations across Asia, Africa and Latin America ...

While lead exposure continues to claim lives in Namibia and Zambia, mercury plagues the gold-diggers and artisanal miners of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. At room …

elemental mercury is used particularly in the artisanal small scale gold mining (ASGM) sector and also enters into the sub-region in a variety of products including batteries, compact fluorescent …

OBJECTIVES: To establish whether a specific community in a gold mining area, with potentially associated small-scale gold mining activities, was exposed to mercury. METHODS: The …

The extent of mercury contamination in soils and sediments of an artisanal gold mining community (Mpatasie) was found and the inhabitants' awareness of the risks posed by mercury was determined using a structured questionnaire. The mean concentration of mercury in soil from the community and mining fields was 0.26 mg/kg and 6.80 mg/kg in hotspots while …

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is present in over 80 countries, employing about 15 million miners and serving as source of livelihood for millions more. The sector is estimated to be the largest emitter of mercury globally. The Minamata Convention on Mercury seeks to reduce and, where feasible, eliminate mercury use in the ASGM. However, …

Historical mercury (Hg) discharged into the environment as a result of gold mining activities plotted as a function of selected geographical locations and time of mining activities.

Mercury is used in the gold mining process, and in artisanal or illicit gold mining, often without necessary protection. Here we describe the cases of two artisanal gold miners from western Johannesburg, South Africa, who presented with atypical neurological manifestations of mercury toxicity.

One of the most important aquifers in South Africa (SA) is the dolomitic aquifer of the West Rand and Far West Rand area which commence south of Johannesburg and pass beyond Carletonville to Orkney in the West (McCarthy and Rubidge 2005; Lusilao et al. 2014).Although gold mining industry is still considered as the basis of the economy and socio …

Gold mining in South Africa over the centuries has resulted in the ... The burning of the amalgam leads to vaporization of the elemental mercury into a toxic plume leaving the gold behind. Mercury amalgamation was the initial method used for centuries to process gold and is still in use today by artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM ...

Gold mining is one of the major minerals mined globally and it is one of the major sources via which Hg gets into the environment, particularly when Hg amalgam is used during the recovery of gold from its ores [4].Hg amalgam was widely used in the past to recover gold from its ores until about 1920 in the Witwatersrand basin, South Africa [5].This method has since been …

Long-range effect of cyanide on mercury methylation in a gold mining area in southern Ecuador. Sci. Total Environ., 409 (23) (2011), pp. 5026-5033. View in Scopus ... Institutional gaps and challenges in artisanal and small-scale mining in South Africa. Resour. Policy, 56 (2018), pp. 141-148, 10.1016/j.resourpol.2017.11.010. View in Scopus ...

By Ayele Addis Ambelu (News and Program producer) +251918718307 "In many African small-scale gold mining communities, the reliance on mercury for gold extraction poses severe environmental and health challenges. According to recent reports by researchers and community experiences, mercury pollution has contaminated water sources, posing risks to …

mercury sources in South Africa Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element that is present in air, water and soil. It exists in three main forms namely elemental ... (2015), the value of illegal gold mining is up to 10% of annual South African gold production which in 2013 was over R72 billion. However, in line with the global trend, the ...

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) plays a crucial role in global gold production. However, the adoption of poor mining practices or the use of mercury (Hg) in gold recovery processes has generated serious …

The emission of mercury from gold-reduction works in South Africa by H. H. E. SCHRODER*, Ph.D., M.Se., A. VAN DER LlNDE*, B.Se. (Hons.), and N. B. STRYDOM*, Ph.D., M.Se., …

Total mercury (HgTOT) concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP MS) for South African Highveld coals. The distribution of Hg in coals was investigated using a four-stage sequential leaching protocol and isotope dilution/gas chromatography coupled to ICP MS (ID-GC-ICP MS). The results show that HgTOT ranged …

The seasonal speciation of mercury (Hg) was determined in water, soil, and sediments from watersheds located in the North-West province of South Africa. The study area is known to have a long history of mining activities which also include the recovery of gold from old tailings. Both inorganic (IHg) and methyl mercury (MHg) were detected at high concentrations …

Mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining produces about 20% of all the gold sold on the world market. The process is far from environmentally ...

South africa relies mainly on coal for its energy needs. In addition, the country is one of the main producers of gold. Both coal combustion and gold mining are sources of mercury pollution, contributing to South africa being one of the leading countries in terms of mercury emissions to the environment1. The human

Small-scale gold mining is the key driver of global mercury demand, according to a U.N. report on the highly toxic metal, with South America accounting for 39% of this demand.

The amount of mercury lost to the atmosphere by this mechanism appears to be less than 200 kg per year throughout the gold-mining industry in South Africa. Virtually no mercury vapour could …

A study of gold (Au) mining areas in Tanzania is being undertaken to assess environmental impacts arising from the use of mercury (Hg) in gold extraction. Initial results already indicated the presence of elevated Hg concentrations in environmental samples from the mining areas. The mean Hg concentration in river sediments in 4.19 µg/l. soils within gold mining and processing …

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), unregulated artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) contributes up to 20% of global gold production and uses 205–496 tonnes/yr of Hg.

Coal combustion and gold mining are sources of mercury pollution. 1,2 Estimates suggest that South Africa is second only to China in terms of mercury emissions to the environment. 1 However, refined estimates indicate that lower levels emanate from coal combustion in power plants. 3 More than 90% of electricity generated in South Africa is from coal-fired power plants …

Although mining is a cornerstone of the South African economy (), it generates copious amounts of dust. 1 The dusts may be toxic since they may also be contaminated with various toxic metals.For this reason, the prevalence …

Total mercury (TotHg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations were determined in various environmental compartments collected from water resources of three Water Management Areas (WMAs) - viz. Olifants, Upper Vaal and Inkomati WMAs, potentially impacted by major anthropogenic mercury (Hg) sources (i.e coal-fired power stations and artisanal gold mining …

USA, South Africa is ranked second.3 South Africa is also a major producer of gold but production has declined from between 600 and 700 t in 1985 to between 300 and 400 t in 2004.4 Since 2007, China has surpassed South Africa as the world's largest gold producer.5 It is estimated that gold production from large and small-scale mining in Africa