Small-scale gold miners in Senegal use mercury despite health risks
Africanews · Just In
Africanews
Just In
The Senegalese government has been trying for years to ban the use of the metal, without success.
Breakdown
- Thousands of gold miners in Bantaku, Senegal, rely on mercury for gold extraction.
- Mercury use has contaminated the soil, harming agriculture and local vegetation. 29s
- Mercury exposure poses health risks, including lung diseases and birth deformities. 42s
- Miners continue using mercury due to the lack of alternative extraction methods. 50s
- Government efforts to ban mercury use have not succeeded. 57s