Green Gold Mining in Artisanal small-scale gold mining is Climate Action Now to #MakeMercuryHistory

“Mercury is ubiquitous and persistent exposure can cause acute and chronic intoxication at low levels of exposure”

Elemental mercury is able to cross membranes including the blood–brain barrier and the blood‐placenta 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, “island territories around the world are drowning in mercury pollution that has leeched deep into their coastlines and could last generations”.

“Mercury intoxication” in ASG miners is a major, largely neglected global health problem”

“Studies have shown that ASG miners exposed to intoxicatingly high levels of mercury with 85% of them suffered neurological symptoms, such as tremors, and 44%–56% of them experienced restricted fields of vision, slow reflexes, sensory disturbances, unbalanced rigidity, and ataxia”.

“Despite numerous government pledges, #biodiversity loss is accelerating in all regions of the world”

🔥DID YOU KNOW THAT🔥

Jewelry demand for gold

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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

“Many children begin working with immediate contact to mercury from the very early age of seven {for that jewelry}”.

#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 (“JV”) underground gold mine MINA SAN JUAN situated on CODIGO:15 in the Bella Rica mining district western Azuay province, (Río 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

🔥DID YOU KNOW THAT🔥

Mercury Poisoning is a Global Public-Health Crisis “Island nations and territories are bearing the brunt of this ecological scourge from ASGM”.

“In 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 damage”

“Women 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 diets”

The development of the child in utero and early in life is at particular risk.

“Once 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 children”

“Once 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 vulnerable”.

Toxic deadly methylmercury-producing microbes more widespread than realized

According to Dr. Tadesse Amera, Co-Chair for IPEN “If 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 follow”

“Humans 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 average”

“Mercury pollution from Gold Rush may affect the Ecosystem for 10,000 years according to research from the University of California Santa Barbara” {1:05 mins.}