The rise of cyanide alternatives and lixiviation of mercury contaminated tailings are simultaneously the most pernicious challenges and greatest opportunities in mercury free ASGM. This webinar will take on both issues in the hopes of presenting practical pathways to more responsible ASGM production.
Miners worldwide are turning to cyanide and alternative lixiviants as the preferred alternatives to mercury, yet little is known about some of these novel and sometimes proprietary chemicals and the associated risks. The first part of this webinar will take a deep dive into how alternative lixiviants are being used in ASGM and the advantages and challenges in doing so. Practical considerations for ASGM producers looking for sustainable and responsible alternatives to conventional cyanidation methods will be presented.
Removing mercury from tailings before lixiviation is imperative under the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Yet removing mercury contamination before lixiviation in the ASGM context if often a technical and economic challenge. The second part of this webinar will address these issues by reviewing the state of the art in mercury removal as it is being practiced in the ASGM context today as well as potential future solutions for capturing mercury from tailings and processing streams. Methods will be compared in terms of cost, accessibility, complexity and deployment readiness in the ASGM context, among others.
Live interpretation will be provided in French, Spanish and English.
Speakers:
Kirsten Dales
Kirsten is Chief Technical Adviser to the UNDP planetGOLD Global Programme and a senior expert with more than 15 years of experience in artisanal and small-scale mining across over 50 countries. Her work spans mercury elimination and Minamata Convention implementation, alternative lixiviants, responsible sourcing, environmental governance and human rights with expertise in 3TG and critical minerals. She is lead author of the alternative (non-CN) lixiviants, co-author of Best Management Practices for Cyanide Use in the Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector (planetGOLD, 2021) and has supported the planetGOLD program in Ghana, Honduras, Suriname, Ecuador and Mozambique.
Paul Cordy
Paul is a geoscientist with over 20 years of experience in mining, evaluation of international development projects, geology, policy development, risk mitigation, stakeholder engagement, project management and design, modelling, and analysis of complex geophysical datasets. He has worked to assess and reduce environmental impacts by artisanal miners with USAID, the GEF, UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO, Global Affairs Canada, and various NGOs in more than 20 countries. Cordy has direct experience with all aspects of international development project management from proposal to planning, implementation, monitoring, as well as mid-term and terminal project evaluations. He has helped UNDP plan planetGOLD projects in Indonesia, Peru, Kenya, Colombia, Honduras, Uganda, and Ecuador, earning a deep understanding of the contexts in which the planetGOLD projects operate and the progression of the program leading up to and following its inception. Most recently, Cordy authored UNEP’s Cross-Programmatic Assessment of the planetGOLD Programme; Phase 1 (2018-2025), in which he analyzed and summarized the activities and outcomes of the first 9 planetGOLD mercury abatement projects. In the past three years Cordy has also worked on creating or evaluating the Minamata National Action Plans for Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Madagascar, Rwanda and Angola, and on implementation of mercury free gold recovery in the Peru Amazon. Cordy also authored Peru’s mercury storage, handling, and transport guidelines and delivered hands-on multimedia training in Spanish, French, and English in mercury and gold inventories, national action planning, chemical free mineral processing, and hazardous materials management.
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