best practices - united nations environment programme
TRANSCRIPT
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Lao PDR, 2003
Best Practices
Ludovic BernaudatWater Management Unit
United Nations Industrial
Development Organization
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The term artisanal & small-scale miners (ASM)
encompasses all small, medium, informal, legal and
illegal miners who use rudimentary processes to extract
gold and other minerals from secondary and primary ores
Zimbabwe, 2003
Definitions
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About 30 million artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM)
extracting more than 30 minerals from secondary and
primary ores in virtually all developing countries
Lao PDR, 2000Venezuela, 2003
Numbers
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Tanzania, 2000
In the world as many as 9 million women and
2 million children directly employed in mining
(50% involved in gold mining)
Numbers
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This is the biggest gold
rush the world has ever
seen
• 15 million artisanal miners
producing 300-400 tonnes
Au/a in 70 countries
• About 50 million people
directly and indirectly
involved in artisanal gold
mining
Guinea, 2006
Definitions
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• Disorganisation & Transience
• No technical assistance
• Lack of education
• Inadequate Regulations
• Financial Barriers
• Lack of Support from
Mainstreams of Society
• POVERTY
Tanzania, 2000
Causes of poor practices
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• Water siltation
• Landscape degradation
• Destruction of habitats
• Loss of organic soil
• Deforestation
• Mercury pollution
Environmental Problems
Caused by Artisanal
Gold Mining
Zimbabwe, 2003
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Why Mercury in ASM is
a Problem?
• Worldwide >1,000 t/a Hg is used and lost by artisanal
miners or 1/3 of the global Hg consumption for all
uses (total Hg use for chlorine, batteries, catalyst,
dental, lightning, etc. = 3,290 tonnes/a)
Indonesia, 2005
• Miners who use mercury
and community members
suffer severe
neurological problems
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• Mercury is freely
available, used in the
miners’ backyard
Miners Are Not Aware
of the Dangers of Hg
Galangan, Kalimantan, Indonesia
• Water is also used for
fish farming, drinking,
bathing.
Zimbabwe, 2005
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Solutions Being Introduced
Replacement for
Amalgamation
Reduction of
Hg Use and
Emissions
Long-termShort-term
Use other
process (e.g.
Cyanidation)
Avoid bad
practices and Hg
exposure
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Ore Processing
Bad practices
• Whole ore amalgamation
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Ore Processing
Bad practices
• Copper plate amalgamation
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Ore Processing
More efficient and better practices
• Concentration of the ore
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Ore Processing
More efficient and better practices
• Controlled amalgamation
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Amalgam burning
Bad practices
• Open air retorting
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Amalgam burning
Good practices
• Locally made retorts (1)
wet sand
is added
to seal
Gold comes yellow as amalgam
has contact with enameled dish
Lao PDR, 2003
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Amalgam burning
Good practices
• Locally made retorts (2)
Lao PDR, 2005
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• Miners cannot afford to stop their activities to
“be educated”
• Miners learn by example
• Miners must decide what is good or not for
themselves…not us
• Miners move from one site to another
• We need to spend more time with the miners
Education/Training is not Trivial
Problems faced
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mineral processing
and amalgamation
equipment
container, truck or
trailer
classroom
audio-
visual
tent
Hg Lab
with
LUMEX
brochures
personal
protective
equipment
technical
trainer
What is a TDU ?
health
trainer/nurse
hands-on
training
educational
theater
Reaching out to the miners is essential
Solutions
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Training the Trainers
Brazil, 2005
Lao PDR, 2005Sudan, 2006
Indonesia, 2005
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Awareness
Campaign
Focused on
Groups at Risk
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Conclusions
• Important to introduce
immediate MEASURES to reduce
mercury exposure and
emissions
• Actions must be bottom-up and
top-down
Brazil, 2007
US EPA fume hood for gold shops