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.
Mercury Pollution from Artisanal Gold Mining in Block B, El Callao, Bolivar State, Venezuela: Health and Technological Assessment.pdf