Our group of 6 had an early breakfast. We wanted to get out there in the real world as fast as possible. The planning had been made a long time ago. And it always seemed so far away but now we where here in the area of the gold after several days of travelling.
The breakfast was not much to write home about. A few things where ok, like boiled bananas, sausage, omelet and bread without anything extra. Imagine our surprise when we discover that the coffee, in this coffee producing country, was instant coffee? And it was a recurring phenomenon. Strange.
After a short ride in the car we stop at the local Office in Mikey, where we are greeted by the chairman of the local artisanal miners and members of the local miners and politicians. Handshaking and greetings everywhere. A few quiet ladys is studying the scene. The presentation of all present persons are quick and the subject why we are here is brought up. Kenya and other countrys as well have realized that the use of mercury in the gold mining process is detrimental for all living things. Women and children are being poisoned but even if they know that mercury is dangerous, there is no known alternative. These are the poorest people and they can not afford big scale mining equipment.
On the other hand artisanal mining which is way better for the people and the country than big mining corporations that dig upp the ore, with locals as slaves, and refines it and sells it outside the country. No money stays in the local community, when the big boys are mining. But when small scale artisanal miners dig up the gold, they use it in the local economy, making everybody involved. So the government has made it ok to do artisanal mining in western Kenya and it is estimated that 100 - 150 000 people are involved in small scale mining. In Kenya alone.
The Office in Mikey.
Our team of 6 has a lot experience of gold mining. With us is coming new equipment that is way better in catching gold than the stuff the locals are using. We plan to go out in the gold fields and set upp our gear smack in the middle of all commotion and run a device that is called a High Banker. It is a battery powered 12 Volt pump and a sluice with very effective rubber mats that catch the gold. Then they will get the chance to try it out them selves.
This is a short description of the local method that is used pretty much all over the world where poor people mine gold. It is very destructive and labor consuming.
The men and the boys are working down in the ground. A hole is dug straight down and you climb or are being lowered down by a winch. Manually operated of course. So men and sacks full of ore, that is crushed rocks containing small amounts of gold are being hauled up out of the hole.
The ore is dried on the ground because it will not work in the ball mill if sticky. When dry, the larger rocks are crushed with a hammer into smaller pieces, to go into the ball mill.
The Ball mill is filled with a batch of crushed rocks and many steel balls and are spun around for an hour. It makes a terrible sound and it is impossible to hear what anyone are saying withing 25 meters of a ball mill. Children play around these beasts. And the dust it produces.... well it makes its way into the lungs of people who will get silicosis. As well as hearing loss.
This is a local sluice. Made of wood or sheet metal. The mats are just mats of textile. when water is surging down the gold particles get stuck in the carpet and afetr some processing of materials you just rinse the carpet in a water filled tub. Releasing the gold.
Finely milled rocks
This is their biggest mistake!
Emptying a bucket of water creates a surge, just like a tsunami, in the sluice. Gold that got trapped the last wash will get unsettled and start moving again in the strong current. The capture rate of this method is horrendous. It is estimated that they lose 60-80% of all gold just by this practice. The sharks are aware of this of course so the owner of the ball mill who also rents out the sluice and sells the mercury will dig up the tailings that are collected in the pit, and sell it to other men that will use cyanide leaching to get the rest of the gold. So this guy will be rich without making much effort himself. The ladys though work as hard as I have ever seen any human do, while getting poorly paid for their "unclean" gold while being poisoned and destroying their lungs and ears as well.
The mats are also very hard to clean making it difficult to remove all gold.
Here comes the mercury. After rinsing the mat in a tub of water there is sand and gold in the bottom of that tub. Put in a dab of mercury and work it thoroughly with your bare hands. Yes you read that right. They handle mercury without any protective gear whatsoever. Panning the tub will reveal the mercury again and it is then poured into a textile sheet, to get squeezed into a ball of gold and mercury.
Cloth ready for mercury
Pouring it
Squeeze it thoroughly so only a hard ball of gold mixed with mercury comes out.
Amalgamated gold. This is what the miners sell to the Agents, at a low price.
The ones buying this amalgamated gold will put it in a small container and heat over fire to burn of the mercury.
Heating it. The general idea here is that the mercury goes up in the air and disappears.... yeah right. Mercury vapor is extremely toxic. Most so for not yet developed brains. It affects the children the most. If it rains outside the burning off process is done indoors in the home. One woman that worked with the burning of amalgam had 200 times the dangerous level of mercury in her blood.
The finished result. Gold. Not yet totally pure 24 carat. It has to be smelted for this last step.
On top of Macalder mines. A colonial mining site run by the brittish. Now run by artisanals.
Rosemary
Our group attracts some interest.
Unice is trying the Gold Monster 1000 by Minelab and Hasse is holding the Falcon detector. A very good detector to have in the mines. It is extremely sensitive.
Evening at the hotel. Putting the High Banker together for the next day.
Next episode will show how our equipment from Sweden will help artisanal miners to catch more gold, easier, faster and more ecological without any mercury.
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