Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining
On this page: Capabilities | Our Work | Regional Mercury Threat Assessment | BRI Projects
Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) activities impact communities and ecosystems as mercury pollution spreads through land, air, and water. BRI works alongside partners to test for contamination, restore damaged habitats, map environmental risks, and equip governments and partners with the information they need to safeguard natural resources.
Capabilities
Our Work
BRI works with international NGOs and local organizations in more than 40 countries across Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia to assess contamination, build local lab capacity, and guide restoration efforts in ecosystems and communities.
Regional Mercury Threat Assessment & Monitoring in the Amazon Basin
Evaluating Regional Patterns in Mercury Threats to Humans and Biota
The Amazon Basin has been identified as a priority area for understanding patterns in mercury threat because it sits at the confluence of pervasive anthropogenic mercury emissions, releases, and remobilization driven by anthropogenic activities (e.g., Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining [ASGM], oil and gas infrastructure, deforestation, fire, dams) and ecosystems with characteristics and biogeochemical conditions (e.g., intact wetland forests, floodplains, blackwater river systems) that are conducive to mercury methylation.
BRI staff worked collaboratively to implement a Regional Mercury Threat Assessment (RMTA) framework across the Amazon Basin. Ultimately, the results of this threat assessment, when combined with efforts being driven by the Minamata Convention on Mercury and national regulations and policies, can inform strategies to reduce the adverse impacts from this persistent and ubiquitous threat to human and ecosystem health across the Amazon Basin.
Projects
Mercury and Mining in the Amazon
The impacts of ASGM extend far beyond mining communities in the Amazon. The consequences leave rivers polluted and Indigenous communities fragmented. BRI staff work collaboratively across disciplines using a scientific crime-prevention approach to develop actionable solutions to this complex issue.
The goal of this collaboration is to develop a replicable strategy to address ASGM in the Napo region of the Ecuadorian Amazon, one that can be adapted and applied across other parts of the Amazon basin.
Ecosystem Sensitivity and Global Mercury Threat Assessment
Mercury emissions, deposition, and releases into the environment explain only part of the spatial story of mercury pollution. Ecosystem sensitivity and food web relationships help further define the actual risks to human and ecosystem health.
To assess the potential threat of mercury to biota, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and people, BRI staff combine maps of ecosystem sensitivity with maps of mercury contamination risk.
Reducing Mercury Supply and Availability in Indonesia
BRI partnered with Nexus3 to assess environmental contamination and human health risks at four key project sites in Indonesia. We conducted rapid screening, biomonitoring, and trade tracking to trace how mercury moves through local food chains, air, and trade routes.
These scientific findings directly support the Government of Indonesia in enforcing supply restrictions, prioritizing site selection for Local Action Plans, and transitioning communities toward safer, mercury-free practices.
