planetGOLD Burkina Faso spoke to several people at our project site in Gnikpière, where we are working to establish a mercury-free processing plant. They shared their thoughts about the use of mercury in mining and their interest in transitioning to mercury-free technology.
This booklet highlights some tools and equipment that can be used in Guyana for mercury-free gold mining. These tools can be used in different combinations to increase gold production and still reduce the need for mercury in mining operations.
Meet Wilson, a gold miner from Piura, Peru. He shared some thoughts with planetGOLD about the dangers of mercury use in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector and a request for support in accessing mercury-free technologies.
One of the project’s strategies is to strengthen gender mainstreaming in the implementation of each activity to achieve justice and gender equality for artisanal and small-scale gold miners (ASGM). This book, the Guideline for Gender Mainstreaming (GM) in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector (ASGM) has been developed to serve as a reference in the implementation of ASGM governance and mentoring programs for gender-sensitive mining communities for implementing agents and parties related to ASGM at the national, provincial, district/city, and village levels in carrying out gender mainstreaming in the attempt to achieve mercury free
Consistent with project objectives to promote the elimination of mercury use in the ASGM sector, the planetGOLD Guyana project’s technology transfer approach included both demonstration of prospecting and exploration technologies for ASGM and establishing mercury-free demonstration sites. This report summarizes the technology transfer activities undertaken by the planetGOLD Guyana project.
The report is also available in French and Spanish.
This note shines light on the use and trade of toxic chemicals in ASGM in Burkina Faso. It argues that interventions to reduce the use of mercury in ASGM operations need to be designed keeping in mind the complexity of the sector, including the actors involved and the fluid arrangements that they strike to win gold. In fact, mercury and gold trade are closely interlinked. Moreover, mercury has become an integral part in the pre-financing arrangements, a dominant form of funding operations in return for gold. These networks of pre-financiers are involved in the smuggling of gold to avoid paying taxes.
Meet Sugiyanti. She lives with her husband and three children in Indonesia's Riau Province. In this video, she shares her experiences working as a gold panner, her thoughts on the use of mercury, and how planetGOLD Indonesia is helping families like Sugiyanti's move toward a mercury-free future.
The planetGOLD Guyana project is supporting Guyana with the move towards reducing and eliminating, where possible, the use of mercury in ASGM sector. Here we meet up with one small miner from Region 8 in Guyana, South America where he shares his knowledge on the dangers or mercury and his experience as a miner.
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