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. The ASGM sector is the primary source of mercury contamination globally, impacting millions of lives. 

IPEN Participating Organizations conducted research on the situation around ASGM in their countries for the reports below.

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