Environmental impact of small-scale and artisanal gold mining in southern Ecuador - Implications for the setting of environmental standards and for the management of small-scale mining operations
Nh. Tarras-wahlberg et al., Environmental impact of small-scale and artisanal gold mining in southern Ecuador - Implications for the setting of environmental standards and for the management of small-scale mining operations, AMBIO, 29(8), 2000, pp. 484-491
Citations number
23
Categorie Soggetti
Environment/Ecology,"Environmental Engineering & Energy
Small-scale gold mining in southern Ecuador is causing considerable environ
mental impacts, the most important of which are related to the discharge of
metals, metalloids and cyanide into adjacent rivers. In the rivers, these
contaminants are generally not present in water-soluble forms, but are inst
ead associated with suspended particles and river bed sediment. However, el
evated levels in biota show these contaminants to be readily bioavailable.
These results suggest a need to consider the suspended and sediment phases
when evaluating water-quality impacts, and in setting appropriate environme
ntal water-quality standards. Contaminant discharges, are almost entirely c
aused by inadequate management of the waste products derived from mining an
d processing activities, indicating a failure of policy and public supervis
ion to control the mining activities, as well as a general difficulty in ac
hieving good environmental performance among small-scale miners. These find
ings suggest that Ecuadorian policy needs to develop to enable small scale
and artisanal miners to become larger scale.