It takes decades or even centuries for toxic mercury to cycle through the environment. It transfers back and forth between soil and water and the atmosphere over the years.

Its damage is irreversible. Even in small amounts, mercury may cause serious health problems. According to the WHO, mercury threatens the development of infants in utero and disrupts the physiological and neurological development of children. It attacks the central nervous system and several organs, and in higher doses, it can kill.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is “… responsible for the largest releases of mercury to the environment of any sector globally.” Around the world, artisanal and small-scale gold miners work under few regulations to make a meager living, using toxic mercury to extract gold from tiny bits of ore. In terms of amounts, this is roughly 8,000 pounds a day, or 14,000 tons per year.

Artisanal gold mining is responsible for 37% of the world’s mercury emissions – about 72,000 pounds of toxic mercury released per day. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is responsible for over 12000 tonnes per year of mercury pollution, making it the largest anthropogenic source of mercury.

4.5 million women and 600,000 children are among some 14-19 million artisanal gold miners being poisoned by direct contact with toxic mercury.

Mercury in Our Atmosphere: Atmospheric Transport, Chemistry and Deposition of Mercury,  Dartmouth Model of Aquatic bioaccumulation

Mercury Lingers: Legacy Impacts of All-Time Anthropogenic Emissions on the Global Mercury Cycle

Mercury is a Potent Toxin: The Mercury Problem in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining, Mercury Toxicity and Treatment: A Review of the Literature, WHO's "Mercury and Health" Fact Sheet

Especially Devastating to Children: WHO's "Mercury and Health" Fact Sheet, Mercury Exposure and Child Development Outcomes

Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining: EPA's "Reducing Mercury Pollution from Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining"

Approximately 37% of the World's Mercury Emissions: EPA's "Reducing Mercury Pollution from Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining", UNEP's "Technical Background Report for the Global Mercury Assessment 2018"

Where Does Our Gold Supply Originate? Central Bank Domestic ASGM Purchase Programs, EPA's "Reducing Mercury Pollution from Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining", UNEP's "Technical Background Report for the Global Mercury Assessment 2018"

Roughly 15 Million People Every Day: Global Burden of Disease of Mercury Used in Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining, Global Mercury Assessment 2018