Mercury Pollution from Artisanal Gold Mining in Block B, El Callao, Bolivar State, Venezuela: Health and Technological Assessment
The technical and health aspects of the gold mining activity conducted by artisanal and small-scale miners in the Block B, El Callao, Bolivar State, Venezuela, were evaluated. The population of Block B is estimated to be around 1730 people, with about 30% of children with age below 15 and the large majority of the adults directly involved in mining. About 1/5 of the population is illiterate and 1/4 does not have any kind of technical education. The area is a legal mining concession of CVG-Minerven rented to small-scale mining individuals/companies. Miners extract the ore from
30-80 m deep shafts using explosives and transport it in small trucks to the Processing Centers (locally known as “molinos”) to be crushed, ground, concentrated and amalgamated.
venezuela_ElCallao report 2004.pdf
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