UVM Theses and Dissertations
Format:
Print
Author:
Atiq, Syedah Hajra
Dept./Program:
Natural Resources
Year:
2011
Degree:
MS
Abstract:
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is a profession that employs 20 30 million people across the globe with mercury amalgamation being the most accepted way of gold extraction. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is negotiating a global treaty on the safe storage and handling of mercury, one of the objectives of which is mercury minimization and elimination in ASGM.
The research question that is under consideration is: what are the perceived challenges to mercury-free techniques in gold mining? This question was approached in two ways; (1) by conducting a survey directed towards key stakeholders in the field, and (2) by interviewing important stakeholders working within the field. Together the two approaches aim to complement each other, and take into account the variations in gold mining from case to case. The ultimate aim is to map out the perceptions of different stakeholders towards clean production in artisanal and small-scale mining.
Some stakeholders have stressed on formalizing the ASGM sector and overcoming the financial challenges to disseminate mercury-free techniques, while others have stated that the belief that mercury-free techniques are available to miners is inaccurate under the current socio-economic conditions. In general, the study concludes that the barriers to implementation of clean-gold technologies are caused by polarized perceptions of the efficacy of the mercury-free techniques and conflicting relations between various stakeholder groups. Reaching clear technical consensus on mercury-free processes, coupled with more deliberate cost-benefit analyses at the governmental level for mercury-free processes, can create market incentives for technology transition.
The research question that is under consideration is: what are the perceived challenges to mercury-free techniques in gold mining? This question was approached in two ways; (1) by conducting a survey directed towards key stakeholders in the field, and (2) by interviewing important stakeholders working within the field. Together the two approaches aim to complement each other, and take into account the variations in gold mining from case to case. The ultimate aim is to map out the perceptions of different stakeholders towards clean production in artisanal and small-scale mining.
Some stakeholders have stressed on formalizing the ASGM sector and overcoming the financial challenges to disseminate mercury-free techniques, while others have stated that the belief that mercury-free techniques are available to miners is inaccurate under the current socio-economic conditions. In general, the study concludes that the barriers to implementation of clean-gold technologies are caused by polarized perceptions of the efficacy of the mercury-free techniques and conflicting relations between various stakeholder groups. Reaching clear technical consensus on mercury-free processes, coupled with more deliberate cost-benefit analyses at the governmental level for mercury-free processes, can create market incentives for technology transition.