The Artisanal Gold Council is delighted to release Version 2 (V1 was published in 2020) of its health brochure “Chemical hazards in the artisanal gold sector: Impacts of mercury, cyanide and silica dust on human health and the environment” with new infographics. This brochure provides background knowledge on chemical hazards in artisanal gold mining for different stakeholder groups such as government officials, civil society organizations, and the private sector.
Available for download (PDF) in English
The AGC with funding from the United States Department of State is pleased to make available the newly developed “Basic Guidelines for Interim Storage, Handling and Transportation of Mercury – Peru 2022.” These guidelines provide basic practical guidance for the environmentally sound storage, handling, and transport of liquid mercury and mercury wastes in Peru, particularly wastes consisting of used elemental mercury and mercury contaminated materials. The guidance is adapted to the needs of Peru, which aims to progressively eliminate mercury use in artisanal and small-scale mining, and has committed to manage mercury wastes in compliance with the Minamata and Basel conventions. As needed, a more comprehensive version of this guidance document will also be made available in English and Spanish and may be applicable to the GRULAC region with further adaptation to the national context.
Available for download (PDF) in English and Español.
The AGC has compiled a PowerPoint presentation for the training of its national teams and project partners on COVID-19. This presentation serves as an additional resource for team members of ASM projects that are involved in COVID-19 awareness-raising, training, and outreach campaigns. Latest update: August 13, 2020 (Version2).
Available for download (PDF) in English
This Artisanal Gold Council toolkit was produced in collaboration with UN Environment. The purpose of the toolkit is to assist countries that are developing National Action Plan for ASGM, in their efforts to understand and produce a national overview of the sector, in particular baseline estimates of mercury use and practices employed at the ASGM sites (as required by the Annex C of the Minamata Convention).
**UPDATE as of August 21, 2018: site calculation workbooks in all languages have been updated.
Download in English
Télécharger en Français
Descargar en Español
The Artisanal Gold Council releases the first version of its mercury inventory guide “Developing Baseline Estimates of Mercury Use in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Communities: A Practical Guide.”
The guide is an educational and training document that can be used as a practical introduction to conducting baseline estimates of mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) communities. The guide has been designed to assist governments, civil-society organizations and the private sector in carrying out mercury inventories in ASGM communities, with the primary purpose of providing the baseline needed to measure progress in transitioning away from mercury use. This guide is designed to supplement already existing documents by showing practical field methods that can easily be implemented by a wide variety of stakeholders.
Available for download (PDF) in English and French
The Artisanal Gold Council releases the first version of its health training textbook “La santé dans l’orpaillage et l’exploitation minière artisanale — Un manuel pour instructeurs.”
The textbook is designed for instructors and health professionals to convey key information concerning the communities involved in the broad area of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASM). Although some health problems are similar to those of the general population members,
ASM communities have their own diseases due to their work. The textbook is divided into five chapters, allowing users to concentrate on particular areas of interest.
Available for download (PDF) in French.
The Artisanal Gold Council releases the first version of its field health education flip charts “Health in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining.”
This is an educational material accompanies with “Health Issues in Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining: Training for Health Professionals.” Good to be printed on letter or lager size papers and be used in the field. Health professionals can use this material to demonstrate key concepts for the public with one colored page faces the audience, and some reminders face themselves.
Available for download (PDF) in English and French
The Artisanal Gold Council releases the first version of its Retort Guide “Using Retorts to Reduce Mercury Use, Emissions, and Exposures in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining: A Practical Guide”.
One of the key messages in the guide that has not often been clearly described is that retorts – although they are simple technology – have complex operational and handling requirements that must be strictly followed to avoid causing increased human exposure to users and community members. We have seen many instances where retorts reduce mercury emissions to the environment but have actually increased local human exposure due to improper use or handling and location. We therefore view them as a technology that should be used on the path towards the transition to zero mercury use rather than as a permanent feature of the ASGM sector.
One of the purposes of the guide is to help with the implementation of the Minamata Convention obligations as specified in Article 7; Annex C. In particular the guide addresses the following four elements from Annex C that must be included in National Action Plans:
(b) Actions to eliminate (ii) Open burning of amalgam in residential areas;
(e) Strategies for promoting the reduction of emissions and releases of, and exposure to, mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing, including mercury-free methods;
(h) A public health strategy on the exposure of artisanal and small-scale gold miners and their communities to mercury. Such a strategy should include, inter alia, the gathering of health data, training for health-care workers and awareness raising through health facilities;
(i) Strategies to prevent the exposure of vulnerable populations, particularly children and women of child-bearing age, especially pregnant women, to mercury used in artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
Available for download (PDF) in English and French
The Artisanal Gold Council releases the first version of its training manual on health in ASGM: Health Issues in Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining: Training for Health Professionals.
This publication follows the approach set out in our Blog piece: A Simple Health Strategy for ASGM. It was created to guide the training of health practitioners on health risks that are common in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sector with a focus on mercury, dust, and hygiene. It is short and graphic and accessible to other audiences including government, industry and civil society.
One of the purposes of the manual is to help with implementation of Minamata Convention obligations as specified in Article 7; Annex C. In particular the manual addresses the following three elements from Annex C that must be included in National Action Plans.
(e) Strategies for promoting the reduction of emissions and releases of, and exposure to, mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing, including mercury-free methods;
(h) A public health strategy on the exposure of artisanal and small-scale gold miners and their communities to mercury. Such a strategy should include, inter alia, the gathering of health data, training for health-care workers and awareness-raising through health facilities;
(i) Strategies to prevent the exposure of vulnerable populations, particularly children and women of child-bearing age, especially pregnant women, to mercury used in artisanal and small-scale gold mining;
Available for download (PDF) in English and French
The Artisanal Gold Council developed the first version of this poster to highlight why mercury use in artisanal gold mining is dangerous and to explain how mercury affects our health.
Available for download (PDF) in English https://files.artisanalgold.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Mercury-poster_AGC1.pdf
The AGC team responsible for executing planetGOLD Mongolia has released a partial translation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for CAHRAs, with approval from the OECD. These guidelines, which exclude the chapters related to Tin, Tungsten, and Tantalum, are an excellent resource for those interested in learning more about responsible supply chains as they pertain to artisanal and small-scale mining.
For the English version and many other languages, please visit the OECD’s website to download the full Guidelines here.
