Mercury and Gold Mining (ASGM)

Mercury is used by miners in small-scale gold mining (sometimes called "artisanal" and small-scale gold mining or ASGM) in a process called amalgamation. Mercury binds naturally with gold, and it acts as a glue that separates gold from other materials through the formation of a mercury-gold amalgam. This amalgam is subjected to heat, resulting in the vaporisation of mercury. The ASGM sector is the primary source of mercury contamination globally, impacting millions of lives. 

IPEN Participating Organizations developed the reports below on the situation around ASGM in their countries. 

Also, see IPEN's study on high levels of mercury in women from Indigenous communities in Peru and Nicaragua here.