Improper mercury use by gold panners a major hazard

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Metcalf says in the report that knowledge is badly needed to improve the working conditions of small-scale miners in Kadoma-Chakari region, the GMP area and in Zimbabwe as a whole.
The Global Mercury Project is being conducted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in collaboration with UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Metcalf, who recently visited Zimbabwe accompanied by UNIDO expert, Dennis Shoko, provided training on safe use of mercury and efficient mineral processing.
Between 20 000 and 30 000 people are reported to be directly involved in gold extraction in the Kadoma – Chakari region selected by the GMP to implement demonstration units. These constitute miners, millers and panners. Panners are nomads and can represent a contingent of 15 000 to 25 000 people in the region. The report says that in the project area the amount of mercury (Hg) lost in the milling centres is equivalent to the amount of gold being produced – between 2 and 3 kgs a month. It says that when copper plates are used to amalgamate the whole ground ore, the miners estimate that they lose twice as much as mercury.
“Assuming that all 70 milling centres in the project region are losing between 2 and 4 kgs of mercury a month, something around 1.7 to 3.4 tonnes of mercury is being emitted to the environment,” the report notes.
Artisanal and small-scale mining in Zimbabwe is extremely widespread across the entire country. The bulk of the activities tends to be concentrated within the country’s greenstone belts, which nevertheless extend over about 600 km in length and up to 100km wide range from north east to south west Zimbabwe. It is estimated that mercury loses in the region must be between 3 and 5 tonnes a month.
“The mercury is used in a careless way, contaminating the miners families, neighbors and the environment,” says the UNIDO report. Mercury poisoning in humans takes many forms, most of them extremely debilitating, and can be fatal.