In what can only be termed the height of idiocy, not one but two bodies representing miners in Guyana included in a manifesto published publicly as an advertisement on Sunday, an argument against the phasing out of the use of mercury in local artisanal mining “without a viable, proven replacement”. One can surmise too that the inclusion of the pro-mercury stance is underlined with greed, since it appears that those for whom the two organisations speak would choose to continue with the use of a known poison, because it is the cheaper alternative rather than move to safer, eco-friendly options.
The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) and the National Mining Syndicate (NMS) are both either horribly uninformed, or they are seeking to pull the wool over their members’ eyes. Surely, they are aware that Guyana not only signed the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Minamata Convention on Mercury in October 2013, but also ratified it a year later in September 2014. Furthermore, at the time of signing the convention, Guyana had proposed a 10-year phased approach to end usage of mercury. It had also outlined an action plan towards this end that would see mercury emissions minimised and, where feasible, eliminated through environmentally sound management within five years; that period came to an end last year with little to no movement in that direction. The same fate is likely to befall the hoped-for “viable, proven replacement” for mercury.
The convention is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. It was agreed to in Geneva, Switzerland in January 2013 and adopted in October that same year at a conference held in Minamata, Japan. The aim is to see the use of mercury entirely phased out by 2022.
According to the UNEP, the Minamata Convention was entered into force on 16 August 2017. What this means in layman’s language is that the countries which have signed and ratified the convention are now legally obliged to comply with its stipulations. Among other things, the convention provides for the phasing out of mercury use in a number of products and processes, the regulation of the informal sector of artisanal and small-scale gold mining and the control of mercury emissions in the air and releases on land and in water. It also addresses health issues.
As per their advertisement, the GGDMA and the NMS purport to represent “100,000 Guyanese and their families who are directly and indirectly dependent on mining for their livelihoods”. One would have thought that part of that representation would include finding options for securing those livelihoods in the face of the inevitability of the phasing out of mercury. But perhaps these bodies would prefer to be pandered to by the political party or parties that would promise them the impossible just so that they could secure votes. And, that is even supposing that the GGDMA and the NMS could actually persuade their members to not only vote, but for parties not of their personal choice. If this was not all so ridiculous, it would be extremely hilarious.
Meanwhile, perhaps even as the GGDMA and the NMS were fine-tuning their manifesto, 113 of the 115 parties to the Minamata Convention were meeting at the end of last month in Geneva. It is not known whether Guyana was represented at that meeting. However, the UNEP reported that consensus was reached to move forward with the phasing out of the use of products which contain mercury and promoting alternatives. They also have “an obligation to submit their first national reports by December 2019 on the measures they have taken to implement” the provisions of the convention, effectiveness of those measures and possible challenges, according to the UNEP.
There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the UNEP and the wider world are set on making mercury history and with good reason. Mercury is harmful to the environment as it can accumulate in organisms. In fish, it becomes tightly bound to the tissues and moves up the food chain as smaller fish are preyed on by larger ones, which in turn get caught and eaten by humans and marine mammals. Further, ecosystems are affected by mercury which gets into forest soils through emissions, mostly from artisanal mining.
But even more important in the moves to end the use of mercury is the fact that it is toxic to humans particularly when the vapours are inhaled. Once inhaled the vapours are absorbed into the body through the lungs and move into the bloodstream and the brain. It can cause neurological and behavioural disorders, such as tremors, emotional instability, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular changes and headaches. It can also harm the kidneys and thyroid. High exposure can lead to death.
In Guyana, mercury use has never really been regulated. Aside from being used in the interior in the mining process to extract gold from ore, it has also for years been emitted during the burning of raw gold by the Guyana Gold Board as well as by goldsmiths making jewellery, many of whom work in home settings. There had been much ignorance in the past about mercury emissions, but the danger is now well known; it is clear and present. What would be the point then of earning a livelihood at the risk of one’s health, one’s children’s health and the environment? Ecologically mined gold is the future. That should be the basis of any mining manifesto.
