Zambia Launches Project to Reduce Mercury in Small-Scale Gold Mining

Lusaka, November 12, 2024 – A new initiative has been launched in Lusaka with the objective of reducing mercury through promoting responsible artisanal gold mining sector in the country.

The five-year planetGOLD Zambia project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Artisanal Gold Council is the executing agency for the planetGOLD Zambia project working together with the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA).

The project will work to reduce the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining - the world’s largest source of anthropogenic emissions of mercury pollution - while improving the health and lives of local mining communities. The planetGOLD Zambia is part of a global programme implemented in 26 countries.

Mercury contaminates soil, water, air, and equipment used in mining. It can be harmful to miners and others who come into direct contact with it, especially when vaporized, as well as to children and pregnant women. Mercury released into the air can also travel globally and affect water, fish, and wildlife far from its original source.

In Zambia, more than 30,000 miners are engaged in the predominantly informal artisanal gold sector. Although the amounts of gold being extracted and processed are relatively small, the use of mercury is widespread.  

The planetGOLD Zambia project plans to support over 11,000 men and women in the country and reduce mercury use by 1.14 metric tonnes over five years. The project aims to reduce the use of mercury by supporting formalization of the artisanal gold mining sector, increasing access to finance, introducing mercury-free technologies and promoting responsible and traceable gold supply chains.

An inception workshop was held on November 12, 2024, in Lusaka bringing together key stakeholders of the Zambian artisanal gold mining sector including the government organizations, civil society organizations, academia, and private sector to introduce the project and its priorities.

“On behalf of the Zambian Government, I sincerely thank the UNEP and the AGC for providing financial and technical support for this project. I believe that the process of executing this project will only be achieved through collaboration with stakeholders and urge all partners to fully participate and provide technical expertise to this important process.” said Mrs. Karen Banda-Etondo, Acting Director General of the Zambia Environmental Management Agency in her opening remarks.  

“It is with great pleasure that we see the continuation of the hard work initiated with the MIA and NAP projects in the form of planetGOLD Zambia. It is a great opportunity to extend the efforts in reducing the use of mercury in the ASGM sector” said Iñaki Rodriguez, Task Manager of UNEP’s GEF Chemicals and Waste Unit.

"The Artisanal Gold Council is pleased to begin its role as the Executing Agency for the planetGOLD Zambia project, leveraging our considerable experience in Africa. We look forward to close collaboration with the ZEMA, other Zambian government authorities, and ASGM communities" said Mr. Rene Roger Tissot, Executive Director of the Artisanal Gold Council.

Notes to Editors

Media Contact:

Abigail Mwailenge

National Project Manager, planetGOLD Zambia, Artisanal Gold Council

+260 955 901 855

amwailenge@artisanalgold.org

Ryan Painter

Director of Development and Communications, Artisanal Gold Council

rpainter@artisanalgold.org

Jennifer Wilmore Scroggins

Communications Manager, planetGOLD

jwilmorescroggins@nrdc.org

About planetGOLD

By working to close the financing gap, supporting formalization, raising awareness, and connecting mining communities with mercury-free technology and formal markets, the planetGOLD programme supported by the Global Environment Facility aims to demonstrate a pathway to cleaner and more efficient small-scale gold mining practices that benefit everyone, from mine to market.

For information about planetGOLD Zambia, please visit: https://www.planetgold.org/zambia

About Artisanal Gold Council

The Artisanal Gold Council (AGC) is a charitable nonprofit organization based out of Victoria, BC, Canada. We are global experts leading the transformation to an environmentally sound, socially responsible, and formalized artisanal gold mining sector. Our global team has extensive field knowledge and direct experience with Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining communities worldwide. We have decades of experience in the areas of business, sustainable development, social responsibility, governance, environment, health, geology, geospatial analysis, gold markets, and mercury science. We work with miners, government, and industry. Our diversity is our strength.

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