AS the use of mercury is being phased out of the gold mining process, a Queenstown, Georgetown miner is advocating for the sector-wide use of borax, a compound which is increasingly being seen as a safe alternative to the widespread use of mercury in artisanal gold mining.

Mercury is used at the final amalgam stage to extract gold. The toxic health effects of both inorganic and organic mercury are well known, and have spurred the Minamata Convention.

Recently, miner Neville Rutherford of Mecca Eco Tech Associates,told this publication that borax has proven in other jurisdictions that it is the replacement for mercury, especially in the small and medium scale mining field here. He said that mercury, which has several harmful effects to the environment and humans should be phased out as soon as possible.

The authorities announced recently that Guyana, through the Global Environment Facility (GEF), will benefit from a US$3M grant to assist the country in reducing its mercury use in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector. The GEF Council, on Tuesday last, approved a global programmatic approach to address the use of mercury in the sector. The programme, titled “Global Opportunities for Long-term Development of ASGM Sector – GEF GOLD”, aims to reduce the use of mercury in the mining sector in participating countries, including Guyana.

While a replacement for mercury was not mentioned by the authorities, Rutherford noted that gold extraction using borax will eliminate a number of sores which currently plague the system. He said that mercury would have left a number of unseen health defects in mining areas over the years, however borax which is used by some 15,000 artisanal gold miners in a small area of Luzon, the main island in the northern portion of the Philippines, can prove to be the alternative.

The mineral is inexpensive and easily available, and the miners have reportedly found that more gold is recovered through its use. According to Rutherford, borax brings in approximately 98% recovery, meaning more of the precious metal is accessed during the mining process.

According to research, in contrast to the use of mercury, the “borax method” relies on the chemical’s ability to lower the melting points of gold. Since the gold is usually the heaviest of most minerals, it allows for concentrating the gold on the bottom of the receptacle used. The process requires considerably less heat than conventional refining methods, which can be obtainable even in remote locations by using charcoal in the process.

After the ore is crushed into a fine powder, it is lightly panned to leave only the heaviest minerals in the pan. It is then thoroughly mixed by three times as much of borax and a few drops of water. This mixture is then heated until the whole mixture is molten, after which molten droplets of gold collect on the bottom of the container.
“This change will establish a healthy habit since borax does not harm the environment and neither is it dangerous to human life “, he said.

He added that the method will also bring higher yields for the miner since at the moment there is an approximate figure of 60% unrecovered gold which is released into tailings ponds.

The Global Environment Facility project is expected to help artisanal and small-scale gold miners to introduce low and non-mercury technologies and techniques.

The small and medium scale gold mining (ASGM) sector in Guyana plays an important role in the national as well as local economies. It generates approximately 50% of all of the country’s foreign exchange, and has extensive backward and forward linkages to the retail and services sectors.

It is also the main source of employment and revenue-generation for hinterland communities, including indigenous communities and provides direct employment for more than 20,000 coastland residents.