Reducing Mercury Pollution in Small-Scale Gold Mining Philippines 2011-2014 Richard Gutierrez, Ban Toxics! Press Briefing Shakey’s Matalino May 18, 2011

1. Reducing mercury pollution in small
Reducing mercury pollution in small‐
scale gold mining Philippines 2011‐
2014
Richard Gutierrez, Ban Toxics!
Press Briefing
g
Shakey’s Matalino
May 18, 2011

2. Distribution of Gold
Deposits in the
D it i th
Philippines
• Philippine gold resource/
reserve is estimated to be
more than 5 billion tons
• Gold deposits have been
p
reported in more than 40
provinces in the country
• Average Grade: 1.353 g/t

3. ASGM activities currently
take place in more than 30
provinces

4. Mercury use in ASGM
activities has been
reported in more than 20
reported in more than 20
provinces
Photo: Luis Liwanag /SSNC
Photo: Luis Liwanag/SSNC

5. Mercury use and emission in ASGM
y
Year
Y Estimated Annual Mercury Release
E ti t d A lM R l
2008 70 tons (DENR estimate)
2007 5 tons from small‐scale mining communities in
Zamboanga del Norte and Camarines Norte (Appel,
Perez)
2001 140 tons from small‐scale gold mining in Northern
Mindanao (DOH assessment submitted to UNEP)
Early 90s 25 tons (Greer, 1993)
1986‐1988 A total of 140 tons in 3 years from 53 mining
communities (Appleton et al., 1999)

6. The Philippine Artisanal and Small‐
Scale Gold Mining Industry
S l G ld Mi i I d t
• Provides employment to more than 300 000
Provides employment to more than 300,000
miners including 18,000 women and children
• Supports the livelihood of about two million
people
• Comprises traditional and gold rush miners
most of whom operate without legal mining
most of whom operate without legal mining
titles
• Largest source of mercury emission in the
country
• In 2006, UN reported that miners in the
Philippines have mercury levels up to 50
Philippines have mercury levels up to 50
times above WHO limits

7. Philippine Annual Gold Production
(in kilograms)
Year Total Small­Scale Large­Scale
2000 36,540 21,193 15,347
2001 ,
33,841 22,656
, 11,185
,
2002 35,848 27,993 7,855
2003 37,843 31,473 6,370
2004 35,464
35 464 29,473
29 473 5,991
5 991
2005 37,488 32,117 5,371
2006 36,141 29,361 6,780
2007 38,792 31,193 7,599
2008 35,568 28,198 7,370
2009 37,047
, 26,112
, 10,935
,
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook; Mines and Geosciences Bureau; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

8. Gold Mining and Production
Methods
Small‐scale gold mining in the
Philippines takes several forms:
surface, underground and underwater
surface underground and underwater
(suction and compressor mining).

9. Gold Mining and Production
Methods
Manual and mechanized ore crushing

10. Gold Mining and Production
Methods
Grinding
g

11. Gold Mining and Production Methods
Sluicing/Gravity Concentration
g

12. Gold Mining and Production Methods
Leaching/Cyanidation
Small‐scale gold mining in
S ll l ld i i i
the Philippines takes
several forms: surface,
underground and
underwater (suction and
compressor mining).
compressor mining).
Carbon‐in‐leach Heap leaching Carbon‐in‐pulp

13. Gold Mining and Production
Methods
Amalgamation

14. Gold Mining and Production Methods
RECOVERY OF SLURRY
EXTRACTION CRUSHING GRINDING MERCURY MIX
LADEN WITH MERCURY
(WHOLE ORE AMALGAMATION)
Gold and mercury ratio
Whole ore amalgamation 1:10 to 25
Whole ore amalgamation – 1:10 to 25
g
Amalgamation after grinding and panning – 1:1 to 3
RECOVERY OF AMALGAM
AMALGAMATION
AFTER GRINDING
GOLD: THE END PRODUCT AMALGAM BURNING SQUEEZED AMALGAM SQUEEZING

15. ASGM Gold & Mercury Trading
Mercury Trading
Mercury Trading
• Philippine mercury supply relies
primarily on import
• Mercury enters the country legally
(e.g. for dental use) and illegally
through the black market
h h h bl k k
• The known sources of mercury for
gold mining in the Philippines are:
gold mining in the Philippines are:
United States, European Union,
Algeria, Kyrgyzstan, Italy and Saudi
Arabia.

16. ASGM Gold & Mercury Trading
Mercury Trading
Mercury Trading
• Cost of mercury ranges from PhP
2,500 (US$55) to PhP 10,000
2,500 (US$55) to PhP 10,000
(US$222) per kilo
• Mercury is available in small mom
and pops store at P4.00 (US$.08)
to P10.00 (US$.22) per gram
• M
Mercury supply for ASGM is also
l f ASGM i l
provided by dental clinics which
also operate as gold and mercury
traders

17. ASGM ISSUES AND CONCERNS
1. Legal/Regulatory
• Antiquated, irresponsive and conflicting laws on mining
y p y
• Difficulty of small‐scale miners to secure permits due to costly
and complicated licensing/permitting process and requirements
• Difficulty in identifying and setting aside areas to be declared as
People s Small Scale Mining Area
People’s Small Scale Mining Area
• Poor coordination between MGB and LGU with respect to ASGM
issues
• Difficulty in securing ECCs for small‐scale miners
• Overlapping areas for small‐scale and large scale mining
• No government revenue from informal small‐scale mining
No government revenue from informal small scale mining
operations

18. ASGM ISSUES AND CONCERNS
2. Enforcement
• Poor monitoring of mercury
usage
• Most ASGM operations are
illegal but still operating
• Poor monitoring of compliance
to CCOs issued
• Perceived lack of sincerity of
Perceived lack of sincerity of
the government to address the
issues confronting the industry

19. ASGM ISSUES AND CONCERNS
3. Business/Economic
• Need to establish more accessible BSP Gold Buying
Stations
• Stringent criteria set by the bank compel the miners to sell
their gold to local dealers at a lower price
• A substantial share of ASGM production ends up in the
gp p
black market
• Lack of capital prevents miners to adopt recommended
technologies to control mercury emission (e.g. use of
technologies to control mercury emission (e g use of
retort)
• Lack of support from DTI because of the illegal nature of
ASGM operations
ASGM i

20. ASGM ISSUES AND CONCERNS
4. Social
4 S i l
• Need to provide supplemental
livelihood to miners
livelihood to miners
• Child labor and drug use in
mining areas

21. ASGM ISSUES AND CONCERNS
5. Technical
• No common service facility or
proper disposal system for mercury
confiscated and other mercury‐
containing wastes.
g
• Lack of viable alternatives for
mercury use (e.g. cyanidation is not
practical because the ore extracted
practical because the ore extracted
by the miners vary in grade)

22. ASGM ISSUES AND CONCERNS
6. Health
• Inadequate studies on the health
Inadequate studies on the health
impacts of mercury use in mining
areas
• No program on the containment of
fumes
• Non‐use of personal protective
p p
equipment
• Community exposure to mercury

23. ASGM ISSUES AND CONCERNS
7 . Education
7 Education
• Lack of IEC on the safe handling
and use of mercury y
• Need to strengthen awareness
campaigns to convince miners
not to use mercury
not to use mercury
• Miners not convinced on the
toxic effects of mercury
• Need to improve the social and
environmental performance of
ASGM to change misperceptions
from the sector

24. ASGM ISSUES AND CONCERNS
8. Institutional
• Need to build capacity and
capability of LGUs to address
ASGM concerns
• Weak and non‐functional PMRBs
• Need to involve miners in local
g
planning to facilitate buy in into
planning to facilitate buy‐in into
the program
• Overlapping functions of
institutional bodies
i tit ti l b di
• Lack of manpower and resources
in the implementation of devolved
functions to LGUs

25. ASGM ISSUES AND CONCERNS
9. Environmental
• Improper disposal of mine waste
I di l f i t
• Contamination of water bodies and
marine organisms due to cyanide and
mercury pollution
• Landscape destruction and
deforestation which further
deforestation which further g
aggravates biodiversity loss
• Soil erosion, siltation and loss of soil
productivity
• Incidents of fish kill as a result of
contamination of water bodies due to
cyanide pollution

26. Thank you for listening!
Ban Toxics!
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E‐mail: rgutierrez@bantoxics.org
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