THE DIRTY

GOLD CRISIS
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Contents:
Abstract 2
Why Dirty Gold is a Global Problem 2

Environmental Consequences 2

Humanitarian Crisis 3

Solution to the Dirty Gold Crisis 4 ABSTRACT

A vast majority of the
How Government Action Will Stop Dirty Gold 5 world’s gold is mined
with no regard for the
Conclusion 5 environment or even
human life. Government
Citations 6 apathy and public
ignorance has given rise
to this industry of abuse.
Gold cartels across
South America use toxic
mining processes and
violence in order to
Figures: maximize their profit,
leading to widespread
destruction of the
environment, and
Figure 1 3
poisoning nearly half a

THE DIRTY GOLD

million people.
Figure 2 4
Chase Moeller
7/22/2021

CRISIS
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IntroductionAbstract
Considering the immense value of gold, it is no surprise that many are willing to
immorally exploit both people and the environment in order to obtain it. This exploitative
practice is commonly known as the “dirty gold” industry. Despite the issue being relatively
unknown by the general public, the scale of the issue is on a gigantic scale. It is estimated
that more than 90% gold is mined using highly toxic chemicals such as mercury and
cyanide. The most direct solution to stop this industry is for world governments to take action,
such as banning the import of dirty gold, and providing support to the law enforcement of
countries where this mining is taking palace.This dirty gold is exported all over the world for its
use in both jewelry and technology.

The Impact of Dirty GoldWhy Dirty Gold is a Global Problem

Environmental Consequences
The first major problem that arises from dirty gold is the detrimental impact
irresponsible mining has on the environment. The most direct effect is the dumping of toxic
materials into water sources. The biproducts of the mining process can contain dangerous
chemicals such as arsenic, lead, mercury, petroleum, acid, and cyanide. The contaminated
wastewater has an extremely damaging effect on both the environment, and communities
living near the mine. Not only are the chemicals in the wastewater acutely toxic, the heavy
metal contaminants such as lead and mercury persist in the environment and remain toxic
for decades.
The environmental impact of dirty gold goes beyond the dumping of toxic
chemicals. Another impact is widespread habitat destruction. This can include widespread
deforestation (as shown in the image below). Not only has gold mining accounted for as
much as 90% of deforestation along the Guiana Shield, but it is also shown that the mining
process seriously inhibits the ability of the Amazon forests to regrow. This deforestation
compounds the issue of carbon pollution by reducing the capacity of carbon the rainforest
is able to absorb. The massive carbon footprint of this type of gold mining significantly
contributes to climate change; affecting not only the environments where the gold itself is
mined, but the entire world.
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Figure 1
Goldmine deforestation
https://theconversation.c
Goldmine deforestation om/gold-mining-leaves-
deforested-amazon-land-

Humanitarian Crisis
Not only is the environment exploited and poisoned due to dirty gold, the workers of
the mines also face countless abuses. Due to economic hardship in much of the world, many
people are forced into working for illegal and exploitative gold mining operations. For
example, in the largely impoverished nation of Peru, many people turn to gold cartels in an
attempt to pull themselves out of poverty. However, these cartels abuse their workers with
little to no intervention from the Peruvian government. Not only is the health of the
workers jeopardized by the toxic mining process, gold cartels use violence and human
trafficking to control the workers. There are even accounts these mines sexually abusing
underage girls (Weaver, 2021).
The human cost of these mining operations also goes beyond the workers
themselves. It is estimated that the negligent mining process has likely poisoned over half a
million people overtime (Paddock, 2019). The health effects of mercury-based mining (shown
in figure 2)these toxins are extremely serious, including widespread birth defects and brain
damage attributed to the mercury and lead. Furthermore, mercury contamination lasts for
generations in the environment and even damages DNA. Mercury based mining is not the
only or even most efficient form of mining gold, making this poisoning completely
unnecessary. Examples of less dangerous forms of gold mining can include technologies
such as advanced metal detectors and gold centrifuges.
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Gold bonded with mercury
Figure 2
Gold bonded with mercury
https://education.australiasc
ience.tv/mercury-poisoning-
from-gold-

Combating Dirty GoldSolution to the Dirty Gold Crisis

Solutions The Public Can Pursue

One avenue of fixing this crisis are actions taken by responsible consumers. While still a
major issue, the public awareness of blood diamonds has drastically reduced their consumption,
and therefore profitability, of the industry. Similar methods used to reduce blood diamond
consumption can be applied to dirty gold, such as public awareness campaigns, and ethical
source verification. However, the use of immorally sourced gold can be much harder to notice
compared to blood diamonds.
Gold is a vital component in most modern technology. Due to it’s highly conductive and
non-corrosive nature, gold is used in almost anything with circuit boards; this includes
smartphones, computers, cars, medical devices, gaming consoles, etc. Because of this fact, a
substantial buyer of dirty gold is technology manufactures. This use of dirty gold is much harder
for the public to notice. Therefore, increasing public awareness and holding technology
manufacturers responsible is vital to curbing the dirty gold trade. This public accountability can
look similar to the scrutiny companies like Apple have faced for their use of sweatshops.
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Solutions Governments can Pursue

Another important avenue to consider is the use of governmental authority to crack down
on the dirty gold trade. The most direct and effective method of reducing the amount of dirty
gold mining operations is the use of government authority. While the United Nations has
discussed the issue, little action has been taken to stop dirty gold. The situation is complex
as the United Nations must respect the sovereignty of the nations the dirty gold trade takes
place in. However, government action is one of the only ways to seriously curtail this industry.
However, countries have the authority to ban the import of certain goods. For example, recently
the U.S has banned the import of solar panel components from certain parts of China due to the
fact they are manufactured via forced labor. Similar action to this can be applied to immorally
mined gold. Furthermore, it is also important to not only scrutinize the import of the gold
itself, but products made overseas that contain dirty gold, such as smartphones. Another
avenue governments can take is providing support to countries that want to stop the dirty
gold trade, but don’t have the resources to effectively combat gold cartels. For example,
most of the dirty gold operations in Peru are illegal under Peruvian law, but the government does
not have the resources to crack down on the mining.
This solution is not easy from a political or logistical standpoint and will have a
detrimental impact on the economy because of the wide use of dirty gold. However, in the
long term it is possible to eliminate the use of dirty gold without considerably raising the
cost of consumer products. Less destructive methods of mining have the potential to not
only reduce environmental damage, but also increase gold yield.

How Government Action Will Stop Dirty Gold

The primary motivation for the “gold cartels” is clearly money, so by banning the import of dirty
gold, there will be no financial reason for these organizations to continue dirty mining
operations. Furthermore, by banning the import of products containing dirty gold, countries less
concerned with worker’s rights will stop using dirty gold in their products, as they cannot be
exported. An example of this strategy is the recent U.S ban on solar panel components from
certain parts of China, as they are manufactured via forced labor. Providing support to countries
that want to stop the dirty gold trade can also be highly effective. For example, most dirty gold
operations in Peru are illegal under Peruvian law, but the government does not have the
resources to crack down on the mining.

Conclusion
The dirty gold trade is one of the most widespread environmental and humanitarian
issues in the modern world. And as our technological needs increase, so too will our
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demand for gold. Technology companies that use dirty gold must be held accountable for
using immorally obtained gold. It is essential from both a moral and sustainability
standpoint that we establish a system of responsible and accountable mining. It is the
responsibility of both the consumers and the governments of the world to take this issue
seriously and crackdown on the dirty gold industry.
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Works Cited

“Dirty Gold’s Impacts.” Earthworks, 16 July 2018,

www.earthworks.org/campaigns/no-dirty-gold/impacts.

Gibbs, Marcus. “The Dirt on Dirty Gold.” Clean Mining, 21 Feb. 2020,

www.cleanmining.co/2020/02/21/the-dirt-on-dirty-gold.

“Gold Mining Restricts Amazon Rainforest Recovery.” ScienceDaily, 29 June 2020,

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200629090012.htm.

“Natural Areas.” Earthworks, 4 Oct. 2017, www.earthworks.org/campaigns/no-

dirty-gold/impacts/natural_areas.

Paddock, Richard. “The Hidden Cost of Gold: Birth Defects and Brain Damage.”

The New York Times, 10 Nov. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/11/09/world/asia/indonesia-

mercury-pollution-gold-mining.html.

“Water Quality.” Earthworks, 16 July 2018, www.earthworks.org/campaigns/no-

dirty-gold/impacts/water.

Weaver, Jay, and Nicholas Nehamas. “‘Abuses of Every Kind’: How a Billion-

Dollar Gold Racket Wrecks the Jungle, Enriches Narcos.” Miamiherald, 26 Feb. 2021,

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article249216305.html.