Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has been experienced in Tanzania for more than 100 years. The use of mercury in gold recovery is widely being practiced by ASGM in the country with serious long-term environmental and health risks. Who cares to salvage the communities from such atrocity?
According to data available the national mercury consumption is about 13.2 to 24.4 tons per year. A total of about 1.2 million people are engaged in ASGM activities with an estimate of 7.2 million people (equivalent to 13% of the total national population) depending their livelihood directly on ASGM.
What are health problems mercury can cause? Human health effects of mercury and its compounds affect the central nervous system, kidneys, and liver and can disturb immune processes; cause tremors, impaired vision and hearing, paralysis, insomnia and emotional instability. Neurological and behavioral disorders may be observed after inhalation, ingestion or dermal exposure of different mercury compounds. Symptoms include tremors, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular effects, motor dysfunction, headaches and cognitive, to mention but a few.
Health specialists concur that parts of the human body can be damaged by mercury including brain parts and nervous system. “Mercury may cause damage to the nervous system, especially the brain, ears – trouble hearing, eyes – red eyes, mouth disrupting tasting metal and swollen gums.
Headache, sore throat, high blood pressure and fast heart rate and lungs – cough and pain when breathing,” coincides Engineer Dr Befrina Igulu the NEMC’s mercury use control project manager.
If so hazardous like that, why the government and stakeholders remain
muted for the past 100 years? Why artisanal small-scale mining is widely
operated in various regions serving as a livelihood to many rural communities,
yet not well addressed?
Tanzania realizes that inadequate capacity to control, unsafe use and poor management of mercury pose significant health, environmental and socio-economic risks to miners and neighboring communities.
Thus, the ministry responsible with mining sector has designed the national action plan (NAP) on ASGM (2020 -2025) to meet the requirements of the Minamata Convention and serves as a national framework for fostering sound management of mercury in ASGM and where feasible eliminate its use and associated emissions and releases. “The strategic plan in place has the major role to address environmental, health and socio-economic challenges faced by ASGM,” explains Engineer Dr Befrina Igulu.
Engineer Dr Befrina Igulu noted that the strategies undertaken by government to implement Minamata convention aims at complying in reduction of the mercury use all over the world particularly the ASGMs.
According to Dr. Igulu the overarching strategy of this project is geared at promotion of reduction and where feasible eliminate, mercury use in ASGM through elimination of mercury intensive and unsafe practices of mercury use, the adaptation of mercury control and capture technologies and or the adaptation of mercury free technologies. “Through this project, the government wishes to offer a platform to take further actions towards improving the welfare of the artisanal and small-scale gold miners and the contribution of the ASGM sub-sector to the economy,” says Engineer Dr Igulu.
She adds that the implementation of the project would require commitment and support of a wider spectrum of stakeholders in review of the multifaceted nature of the challenges associated with development and growth of the ASGM subs-sector in the country.
Basically, the project derives from the national action plan (NAP) on ASGM in Tanzania developed between August, 2016 and June, 2019 involving extensive stakeholder consultation process and coordination mechanism were established through Project Management Unit, Project Steering Committee and National Task Force.
Furthermore, a baseline survey was conducted with situation analysis on ASGM in Tanzania being undertaken between January 2017 and February 2019. According to the report released, a total of 40 ASGM sites located in 9 regions in the country were visited, data collected through interviews, focus groups conducted and field observation.
It was established that artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) directly employs more than 1.2 million people (about 3% of the total national population) constituting more than 90% of the mining labor force in the country and supporting indirectly about 7.2 million people.
The ASGM sub-sector is estimated to produce 5.3 and 9.8 tons of gold per year (about 12 -22 % of the national annual gold production). It is estimated that ASGM consumes about 13.2 – 24.4 tons of mercury per year. The leading regions in gold production and mercury consumptions are Geita, Mbeya, Shinyanga and Mara.
There are more than ten regions in Tanzania concentrating in gold extraction. Out of these the most giant gold mining regions using larger content of mercury are seven namely Mara, Mwanza, Geita, Songwe, Singida, Mbeya and Shinyanga.
Dr Igulu further stipulated the challenges facing ASGM sub-sector in the country include widespread and haphazard use of toxic mercury in gold recovery; informal nature of ASGM operations, low level of production due to low mechanism and limited capital investment; environmental degradation, health and occupational risks, child labour, gender inequality, social problems related to income and employment insecurity and land use conflicts.
The opportunities available for improving ASGM sub-sector, noted Dr Igulu includes research on best mining and processing technology for ASGM, research on best technology to remove mercury from gold-mercury tailings before reprocessing using cyanidation and provision of credit services.
Another Expert, engineer John Shija from the National Institute of Geology and Research (GST) expounds on the sources of environmental mercury contamination which affects human health and causes environmental degradation. “Amalgamation and amalgam smelting, two significant steps in the artisanal small-scale mining operations generate lots of mercury vapors, leading to chronic exposure among miners,” explains Engineer Shija in an exclusive interview with this reporter.
He noted on a topical review of recent findings on organ damage and metabolic disorders among mercury exposed artisanal small-scale miners with emphasis on the contributing factors such as personal protective equipment (PPEs) usage and artisanal small-scale gold mining-specific occupational activities. Also, insights into the effect of mercury intoxication and mechanisms of action on organ and metabolic systems among exposed individuals are provided.
Artisanal or small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is usually characterized by the use of rudimentary or basic tools operating at a limited level of production with reduced capital investment.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), ASGM operations are labour intensive, employing low, and basic level mechanization. (Jennings I. Report for Discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on Social and Labour Issues in Small-Scale Mines. Geneva: ILO, 1999).
In most cases, poverty is powerful and primary drive in ASGM activities, thus providing a source of livelihood for many rural communities. The economic importance of ASGM cannot be overemphasized, hence the expensive coverage of its operation spanning over 55 countries across Asia, South America and Africa. Hilson G, Garforth C in “Agricultural poverty” and the expansion of artisanal mining in Sub-Saharana Africa shares experiences from Southwest Mali and Southeast Ghana. (Populat Res Policy Rev. (2012).
It is reported that direct or indirect dependency on ASGM for livelihood exceeds 100 million persons globally. Besides these essential microeconomic effects, other adverse environmental and health impacts are associated with ASGM. However, numerous studies have been conducted on the contributions of ASGM to land degradation and water pollution as well as associated social problems.
The incidence of increased social aggression and violence between resident miners and new settlers or larger mining companies have been reported in different mining areas including Nyamongo in Tarime District and Bulyankulu in Kahama District and elsewhere.
Regardless of these issues, it appears that strict regulations needed to streamline the activities and operations of ASGM are not adequate and sometimes fails to protect the natural ecosystems of the affected areas. According to Macdonald KF et al, regulation of Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) in Ghana and Indonesia as currently implemented fails to adequately protect aquatic ecosystems (Xuzhou, 2014).
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“Usually, the type of mining procedure employed by miners of various precious minerals on a small scale is mainly dependent on the characteristics of the mining site and the type of mineral involved,” mining and geologist Engineer Shija responses.
In ASGM, gold amalgamation with mercury has been a critical component in the extraction process. Furthermore, global estimation of the release of airborne elemental mercury during amalgam smelting as the main route of exposure.
However, exposure through other routes including oral and dermal is also possible. Mercury toxicity is known to be insidious, hence the transition from acute to chronic exposure may be silent taking longer time to come out.
Trends in current studies point to increasing disruption of organ and metabolic functions among artisanal small-scale miners (ASGM) as a result of mercury of mercury exposure.
It is therefore, vital that various clinical implications of mercury exposure and the associated damaging effects among ASGM received the necessary attention.
According to Dr Joseph Birago from the ministry of Health in Tanzania, mercury poisoning poses a risk to the reproductive system. It may cause reduced sperm count or decreased fertility and may also cause problems with the foetus.
“Possible effects of mercury poisoning include deformity and a decreased survival rate of the foetus, and reduced growth and size of the new-born at birth,” explains Dr Birago adding that, “Mercury has long been recognized as a major source of toxicity in children causing reduced cognitive function.
A team of experts formed from the ministries of mineral resources, institute of geology and research (GST) based in Dodoma, the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC), Regional officers from Lake Zone and grassroot group leaders from artisanal small gold miners from Mara, Mwanza and Geita during the field tours event took place in Geita sites including Rwamgasa.
Jeremia Samwel Kitundu, the Mlimani mining group leader said their group with 45 members runs 58 gold mining camps using mercury.
He has been aware of the effects of mercury as the sources of environmental contamination which affects human health and causes environmental degradation, “thus we have been direct affected as we have used the chemicals for a long time without safety measures,” laments Kitundu.
Flora Rashid, an artisanal female from Mara region says a person affected by mercury has similar indicators like those people living with HIV. She has witnessed a relevant example of a child suffered from mercury contaminations. Her mother has been working in the gold mining fields for a long-years being affected during her pregnancy. She has stunt children. Flora Rashid calls for women with pregnancy to shun from the mining sites and take precautions to restrict their children to undertake child labor.
Another artisanal and small-scale gold miner is David Peter, from Irasamilo, Buhemba based in Butiama District, (Mara region), during the field visit event in Geita Region, attained skills in mobilizing artisanal and small-scale mining to unite and form an enterprise which will expose them to financial institutions to access low interest and affordable loans in a bid to purchase and install a modern and simplified CIP technology which is environmentally friendly. “We observed such an appropriate technology using serenade chemicals instead of mercury.”
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