The
artisanal and small scale gold mining provides employment at local and national
levels, and the sector is an important source for the inflow of foreign
exchange into rural communities. However, small scale mining activities are
associated with sensitive health and environmental issues.
The
process of recovering gold by retorting and heating the amalgam over an open
fire is a dangerous practice. The open fire could be in houses or at river
banks and thus a whole family could be exposed to poisonous mercury fumes.
Concentrate from
sluicing near streams is usually mixed with mercury and a considerable amount
of mercury is lost to the streams. Apart from direct inhaling of mercury fumes
by miners, aquatic life also feeds on mercury lost into the river, which are
then eaten by the locals through the food chain. The Watut and Bulolo Rivers
has been subject to prolonged mercury contamination and discharges of
hydrocarbon wastes. The Watut people depend on the river for fishing, washing
and farming on the river banks.
Some miners in old
shafts and adits and they are consequently exposed to the trapped noxious gases
such H2S. Locals have been reported that they are buried alive when they burrow
through soft oxidized lodes or vein systems.
Some operators
locate their sluice boxes in streams, thus polluting the water. Silting and
stream discolouration are very common. Farmlands are usually destroyed by
mining activities. Locals even uproot big trees along structurally defined thin
gold deposits. Sometimes, the narrow gullies are not rehabilitated and are left
to be taken care of by nature.
Exposed and
disturbed lands are subject to soil creep widening the flow channels, and
debris avalanches are common along rivers at the active mining areas. The loss
of fertile land due to small scale mining puts socio-economic pressure on the
local society. Old gravel pits are usually abandoned without reafforestation.
Pits filled with stagnant water are common.
Education and training
Small-scale
mining technology in most developing countries is simple and attracts many
unskilled people. The desire for economic and social survival has attracted
many people to the industry. The law expects the licensed small-scale miner to
mine using effective and efficient methods, and observe good mining practices,
health and safety and protect the environment.
The Small Scale
Mining Branch of PNG Mineral Resources Authority (Formerly Department of
Mining) in Wau, Morobe Provine has created education and training materials for
the miners. The Department has produced seven booklets and DVDs on
•
Simple Gold Mining;
• Basic Mining Practice;
• Advanced Mining practice;
• Handling of Mercury;
• Occupational Health and Safety;
• Environmental Issues; and
• Economics of Mining.
The major focus
of the training resources is to ensure that small scale operations are safe,
environmentally friendly and economically viable.
Small-scale
mining operations in most developing countries have serious negative environmental
impacts. One of the major factors is the implementation of the associated
mining Acts which are lacking.
