Mercury-Free Gold Mining in Africa: Why It Matters

The Mercury Problem in African Gold Mining

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the world's largest source of anthropogenic mercury pollution, responsible for approximately 38% of global mercury emissions according to the United Nations Environment Programme. In sub-Saharan Africa, where ASGM employs millions of people and generates a significant share of national gold production in several countries, mercury use remains pervasive — with serious consequences for the health of miners, their families, and surrounding ecosystems.

Mercury is used in ASGM to form an amalgam with gold, allowing the gold to be separated from ore or sediment. When the amalgam is heated to drive off the mercury, the resulting gold is collected — but the mercury vapour is released into the air, where it is inhaled by anyone in the vicinity, and the residual liquid mercury often contaminates local water sources.

Health and Environmental Impacts

The health consequences of mercury exposure in ASGM communities are severe and well-documented. Chronic mercury poisoning causes neurological damage, kidney dysfunction, and developmental delays in children born to exposed mothers. Studies of ASGM communities in Tanzania, Ghana, and the DRC have found mercury blood levels in miners and their families at multiples of the WHO safety threshold.

Environmental contamination is equally serious. Mercury released into rivers and soils bioaccumulates through the food chain — particularly in fish, which serve as a primary protein source for communities living near mining areas. In some areas of East and Central Africa, river fish mercury concentrations have been measured at levels that pose a genuine public health risk for regular consumers.

"Mercury contamination from ASGM does not stay at the mine site. It travels through water systems, accumulates in food chains, and ultimately affects communities hundreds of kilometres from the original source."

The Minamata Convention and Africa's Obligations

The Minamata Convention on Mercury — named after the Japanese city devastated by industrial mercury poisoning in the 1950s — is the principal international legal instrument governing mercury use. It entered into force in 2017 and has been ratified by over 140 countries, including Kenya (2017), Uganda (2019), and Tanzania (2020).

Under the Convention, signatory countries are required to develop National Action Plans (NAPs) for ASGM that include measures to phase down and ultimately eliminate mercury amalgamation. Progress has been uneven — NAP development has been slow in many countries, and enforcement capacity remains limited.

Mercury-Free Alternatives: Practical and Proven

The critical point that often gets lost in discussions of mercury phase-out is this: mercury-free gold processing is technically viable and economically practical for most artisanal mining contexts. The challenge is not technical — it is one of training, equipment access, and incentive alignment.

The primary mercury-free processing methods suitable for ASGM include:

• Gravity concentration — using sluices, jigs, and centrifugal concentrators to separate gold by density without any chemicals
• Direct smelting — heating gravity concentrates directly to produce a gold bullion button
• Borax smelting — a simple, low-cost alternative to mercury amalgamation that achieves similar gold recovery rates without toxic emissions

The Artisanal Gold Council has documented successful mercury-free transitions in Indonesia, Mongolia, and several African countries — demonstrating that with appropriate training and modest equipment investment, the switch is achievable without significant income loss for miners.

YNM Gold Sellers' Mercury-Free Commitment

YNM Gold Sellers became one of the first gold trading companies in East Africa to formally commit to mercury-free sourcing in 2017 — the same year Kenya ratified the Minamata Convention. This is not a marketing claim — it is a contractual condition of every sourcing agreement we operate under.

Every mining operation in our sourcing network has been assessed for mercury use and, where necessary, provided with training and equipment support to transition to mercury-free methods. We conduct annual due diligence reviews of all sourcing partners.

For buyers, purchasing gold from mercury-free supply chains is increasingly important for ESG reporting, particularly for European institutional investors operating under EU supply chain due diligence frameworks. Our sourcing documentation provides full transparency on the environmental practices at every stage of our supply chain.

The Buyer's Role in Driving Change

Ultimately, the transition to mercury-free ASGM in Africa will be driven by market demand as much as by regulation. When buyers — investors, refineries, jewellers — consistently demand documentation of mercury-free processing and are willing to pay a premium for it, the economic incentive for miners to make the transition becomes compelling.

Every purchase of certified, mercury-free African gold is a vote for a more sustainable mining sector. It is one of the clearest examples of responsible consumption having a direct, traceable positive impact on the communities and ecosystems at the source of the supply chain.