Eco-Friendly Gold Ores Beneficiation Through Substituting the Highly Toxic and Environmentally Persistent Mercury in Artisanal Gold Mining with The Abundant and Renewable Resource.

Uganda Martrys University - Eco-Friendly Gold Ores Beneficiation Through Substituting the Highly Toxic and Environmentally Persistent Mercury in Artisanal Gold Mining with The Abundant and Renewable Resource.

Description

The UMU Extracta® project presents a novel technical solution in using a common plant abundant in many parts of the country to dissolve gold from ores as an alternative to the highly toxic Mercury. Artisanal Gold Mining (AGM) is an important economic activity for millions of people living in rural communities in Uganda including Kasanda, Busia, Buhweejju and Karamoja. However, almost the totality of AGM uses elemental mercury (Hg) for gold extraction (Esdailie and Chalker, 2018). It is such a problem in the country.

Acronym UMU Extracta®
Links https://sti.go.ug/
Related Unit Faculty of Agriculture

Affiliation The Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Secretariat, State House.

Participants: Dr. Pius Nina Mbuya; Co-Investigator Dr. Cosmas Wacal Mubende United Miners Assembly, Uganda Small Scale and Artisanal Miners Association, Uganda Manufacturers Association, Uganda National Association of Community and Occupational Health.