International Journal of Environment and Pollution · 2010 · 25 citations · 10 references
EngineeringMining EngineeringToxicologyMetallurgyMine HealthMineral ProcessingHeavy Metal ContaminationHeavy Metal RemovalMercury ToxicologyMine HygieneOccupational Health In MiningOre ProcessingConcentrate SmeltingEnvironmental Health HazardsMercury Contamination TreatmentMercury PollutionMercury RemovalMining PollutionSilver MiningSmelting
A study of the ASM sector of Ghana established the practices and attitudes of gold miners and proposed an alternative to mercury amalgamation. The study showed that miners were aware of health hazards associated with mercury but continued to use it because they knew of no credible alternative. It was realised that any process to replace amalgamation must be very efficient to capture gold around 50-100 μm. To be acceptable to the miners the method must be: easy, quick, cheap, transparent and suitable for processing small batches of concentrate. Direct smelting was selected as the technique of choice.
10