Mercury Mining Boom in Mexico: A Toxic Trade Amidst Biodiversity

In the Sierra Gorda mountain range in central Mexico, a "mercury boom" is underway, driven by soaring international gold prices. Artisanal miners, including Hugo Flores, are extracting the toxic metal from mercury-rich ore, exposing themselves, their families, and the environment to poisoning. The demand for mercury has skyrocketed, with prices jumping from $20 per kilogram in 2011 to between $240 and $350. Miners follow veins of cinnabar, the ore holding mercury, through narrow tunnels, and the rock is shoveled into wood-fired brick ovens where the mercury heats into a gas and separates from other minerals.

Key Takeaways:

• Mexico is the world's second-largest mercury producer after China, yielding 200 tons a year, according to the United Nations.
• The price of mercury has skyrocketed more than tenfold over the past 15 years, from $20 per kilogram in 2011 to between $240 and $350.
• Miners in San Joaquin, a town in the Sierra Gorda region, follow veins of cinnabar through narrow tunnels, using drill echoes and headlamps to extract the ore.
• The rock is shoveled into wood-fired brick ovens where the mercury heats into a gas and separates from other minerals, with each ton of rock producing a kilo of mercury.
• Mercury mining in towns dotting Mexico's Sierra Gorda region dates back centuries, with the metal used in thermometers, cosmetics, and other products.
• The majority of Mexican mercury is trafficked to Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru, and distributed throughout the Amazon basin, where it is used in illegal gold mining operations.
• Miners and researchers say there is no cartel involvement in the mercury mining operations, but rather a response to the rising demand for mercury due to international gold prices.
• The mining has tainted the rivers that bring life to the region, leading to contamination and harming both people and the environment.
• Miners, researchers, and local officials have called for authorities to provide resources and training for new industries, but miners say they have not received any support.

Statistics:

• 200 tons: The amount of mercury produced in Mexico per year, according to the United Nations.
• $20: The price of mercury per kilogram in 2011.
• $240-$350: The price of mercury per kilogram currently, a tenfold increase over the past 15 years.
• 8,000: The number of residents in San Joaquin, where almost half live in poverty.
• 15 years: The period over which the price of mercury has skyrocketed.
• 152: The number of countries that signed a U.N. convention banning mercury mining and making all exports of the mineral illegal.
• 2032: The year by which smaller artisanal mines like those in Queretaro are expected to shut their doors.

Sources:

• The Associated Press
• The United Nations
• Environmental Investigation Agency
• Mexico's environmental agency
• United Nations Environment Programme