Best Management Practices for Cyanide Use in the Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector
D. Stapper, K. Dales, P. Velasquez, and S. Keane EnglishFrenchSpanish
The gap in applicable guidance for cyanide management in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector requires urgent attention, especially considering cyanide’s accessibility and effectiveness at gold extraction, and in light of the trend in uptake of cyanidation in the small-scale gold mining sector worldwide. This document addresses this gap by providing written guidance for ASGM stakeholders on managing the risks of cyanidation where national legal and regulatory frameworks permit its use, in the context of the ASGM sector’s transition from mercury use.
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Uso Responsable del Cianuro en la Minería
Programa Nacional de Gestión de Químicos (PNGQ) Spanish
Guía para practicar correctamente el uso del cianuro en las operaciones mineras.
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Chemical hazards in the artisanal gold sector: Impacts of mercury, cyanide and silica dust on human health and environment
Artisnal Gold Council English
This brochure provides a brief overview on the health and environmental impacts of mercury, cyanide and silica dust in the sector. Chemical risks do not only affect miners, but also their communities. Mercury and cyanide are both highly toxic to human health. However, only mercury persists in the environment and can travel long distances in the environment. Exposure to very fine silica dust is a common hazard in hard rock mining, but one that can easily be prevented
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Mercury and Cyanide Contaminations in Gold Mine Environment and Possible Solution of Cleaning Up by Using Phytoextraction
NURIL HIDAYATI, TITI JUHAETI, FAUZIA SYARIF English
Surveys of heavy metal contamination over two gold mine areas in West Jawa, Indonesia were conducted and indigenous plants for phytoremediation were studied as possible solutions. Some plant species that grew in the contaminated sites showed high tolerance and were potentially effective in accumulating cyanide or mercury in their roots and above ground portions.
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Mineral Policy Center Fact Sheet: Cyanide
Mineral Policy Center English
Brief fact sheet around cyanide.
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