REFILE – QUALITY REPEAT Prospectors pan for gold at a new gold mine found in a cocoa farm near the town of Bouafle in western Ivory Coast March 18, 2014. With high prices for the precious metal fuelling a gold rush in Ivory Coast and Ghana, diggers are scurrying to cash in. But the drain on the labour market and the harm done to cocoa plantations could endanger cocoa production in the two nations, which account for 60 percent of global supply. Picture taken March 18, 2014. To match Insight COCOA-GOLD/WESTAFRICA REUTERS/Luc Gnago – RC1E9B752150

Mercury Free Mining to Field Test New GOLDROP Equipment in Ghana

It is estimated that millions of artisanal gold miners in developing countries pan for gold using mercury and in the process release nearly 8,000 lbs. of the toxic metal into the environment every day. Mercury pollution is increasing around the world and is devastating to the physiological and neurological development of unborn children and infants.

Now there is hope that a safe, new technology can end this horror.

The non-profit organization, Mercury Free Mining (MFM), announced today that it has been invited by the Ghana National Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners Association (GNASSM) to coordinate scientific testing of the innovative GOLDROP separation process with the University of Mines and Technology in Tarkwa, Ghana.

North American gold miners, in discussions with MFM, have said the GOLDROP equipment is significantly more efficient than traditional gold panning, which often uses mercury to separate gold from other heavy minerals.

MFM Executive Director, Toby Pomeroy, departs for Ghana on 8 January 2020 to begin ten (10) days of exhaustive, scientific field testing of the GOLDROP technology. In announcing his travel and testing schedule, MFM Executive Director Toby Pomeroy proclaimed:

“MFM is thrilled to be leading the scientific tests of this gold processing system in Ghana, West Africa. We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of toxic mercury use in gold mining.”

John Richmond, inventor of GOLDROP said:

 “It’s an honor to announce that Sluice Goose Industries has selected Mercury Free Mining for further testing of our GOLDROP gold separating processor. We believe strongly that this alliance will usher in a new era of global use of the GOLDROP elutriation technology to replace mercury in gold recovery.”

MFM is today launching an urgent fund raising campaign, seeking donations to help meet their $25,000 goal to complete rigorous testing and documentation in collaboration with the University of Mines and Technology in Tarkwa, Ghana. Donations can be made at the MFM Donations Page.

Pomeroy continued:

“Miners in three artisanal mining communities in the Ashanti region will use the GOLDROP equipment in daily, real-world applications. The results will be scientifically monitored, documented, and reported on the MFM website blog page and social media.”

Festus Adomako Kusi, Technical Director of GNAASM added:

“When I saw the GOLDROP equipment demonstration video, I noted that the machine has the potential to prevent gold mining-related water pollution, which kills organisms, that depend on these water bodies, including fish, crabs, birds, and many other animals often used in our food supply chain.”

Mercury Free Mining is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation established in the state or Oregon, USA.  For additional information visit mercuryfreemining.org