Trini Susuico
Rachel Applebaum
Ashley Aguiar
Gold is Au on the periodic table and in it’s elemental form is a bright, slightly reddish yellow, dense, soft, and malleable metal. It is a transition metal, generally taking a hardened form, and is one of the least radioactive elements on the periodic table. It comes often in the shape of a nugget or is found in vein-like forms. Gold was formed during the collision of neutron starts and was present in dust when the Earth was formed. Since the Earth was molten when it formed, all the gold settled in the middle of the Earth towards the core. Therefore, all the gold that is present in the Earth’s mantle and crust is thought to have been brought by asteroids impacts around 4 billion years ago. Historically, the value of gold came from its rarity and easy handling as well as its resistance to corrosion and its distinct color. As a precious metal, it has been used as forms of currency, jewelry, and other arts throughout history. In modern times, it is still used to create fine jewelry, gold foiling, and is used for distinct coins in the US. In the 1880’s, South Africa was the world’s largest producer of gold and remained a large producer until 1970, with a 79 percent yield of the supply, which is around 1.5 thousand tonnes. As of 2014, the largest producer of Gold in China with 450 tonnes.
Gold production is often associated with contribution to hazardous pollution. When mining for gold, often cyanide, which is an extremely toxic chemical when exposed to life, is mixed in to extract the gold. Many cyanide spills have occurred in both developing and developed countries which killed aquatic life in long stretches of impacted rivers. Low-grade gold ore may contain less than one ppm gold metal, so when the gold is extracted, the ore is thrown out as waste and result in the disposal of many heavy elements such as mercury, lead, copper, arsenic, and selenium. When these chemicals are disposed and are exposed to air and water, they can create sulfuric acids and further erode land and water, leading to acid mine drainage. Miners are also at great risk of getting mercury poisoning , which can lead to incurable brain functions. Gold mining is also an energy-intensive industry, requiring a significant amount of energy to extract a very small piece of gold.
Boddington, Australia
A major center of the world’s gold production is Australia, a continent with high biodiversity and very dry land. Boddington, Australia is among the biggest gold mines in Australia, it is an extremely small town, with a population just over one thousand people. The town is right by the Hotham River and makes its money from mining and agriculture. Due to the expanding gold mine in Boddington, the town is experiencing major growth, which will be good for the gold industry and the surrounding community.
In Boddington, Australia, the gold mining industry is proactive in limiting the harmful effects on the local surrounding area. They care a lot about connecting and working with the local community to make sure they are safe and happy. In Australia, jobs in the gold industry grew by 65% from 2006-2011. The wages of gold industry workers are double those of all other industries in Australia. An increase in female workers has happened over the last few years. Labor force policies are being implemented to increase diversity and inclusion in the gold industry (newmont.com). Boddington works to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, there is constant research being done to try to reduce their consumption of energy and electricity. They have planted 800,000 tree seedlings the capture carbon emissions from the gold mine, this works in line with the Clean Energy Act.
In Boddington, Australia the gold industry does extensive work within the local community to help improve the lives of the local people. Every few years they conduct social impact assessments to get opinions of the local people on the impact of the gold mines. The gold companies also give grants to groups and organizations in the surrounding community to promote the success of the company and the people who live around it. In addition to grants, donations that are made are matched by the local gold mine. It’s very important to the gold industry of Australia to protect the rights of the indigenous people, land access agreements were made before gold mines could be built. The gold mines in Boddington provide employment and training for the indigenous people if they wish to work there.
The Guatemalan Highlands
The Guatemalan Highlands are in the southern part of Guatemala, between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the Petén Basin region in the south. The highlands are made up of a series of high valleys enclosed by the mountains. These mountains are extremely sacred to the indigenous people, as they are believed to be representations of Gods and feel deep, spiritual connections to the land where they have lived for generations. Gold, along with all the natural minerals found in the mountain, are thought to be as equally sacred and are thought of as offerings when miners go into the tunnels in search for more minerals. In the 2000’s, a Canadian Mining company discovered that there was an extremely small amount amount of gold that was spread out across the entirety of the mountain. They sent people into the land to “give the people jobs” by mining, when in reality the miners were turned into laborers, unable to profit from anything they find. Take a look at this documentary portraying the thoughts and emotions of the people.
This documentary portrays that gold is the goal, even at a human cost. The price of gold is so high that people are willing to destroy the mountain without giving it a second thought. A very small amount of gold was found in the Guatemalan highlands so the Canadian Gold Mining company decided to turn up tons of earth in order to find minute amounts of gold. Wells and water sources have dried up because tunnels have been built for water to be able to wash the gold. The mine has brought the exposure of cyanide and mercury to the people working to dig up what little gold they can find. People that are part of the resistance, like the woman in the beginning of the trailer, refuse to sell their land to mining company. Instead, the woman keeps her land and is trying to get others to join in with the fight. The mining company uses explosives to break up the mountain which is also causing lots of damage to houses nearby, which results in houses cracking and crumbing apart from beneath the people living there. To the people, gold is nothing but a natural mineral with no significance previously assigned. It is once other people come in, with previously conceived notions on the value of gold, that this mineral is given a value as a commodity and becomes an important element in keeping the indigenous people alive.
Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia
Russia, which has some of the largest gold extracting and producing mines in the world, generally varies in temperature and in biosphere. Out of all the mines in Russia, the largest mine is Olimpiada which produces about 691,000 oz, yearly [2013]. The Olimpiada Mine is located in the Krasnoyarsk Krai Region/ District. The temperature in this region usually has dry periods during the summer months but is also very wet during the winter months. The company that owns Olympiada is Polyus, which also owns another mine in the upper part of the region.
The district of Krasnoyarsk Krai is the third largest region of all Russia and also has one of the largest populations in Russia. This region expands quite vastly since it located in the central region of Russia and expands from North to South, in which the mine is located in the lower Southern part of the region,. Having the largest mine in Russia in that particular region brings in a good connection for the people who live there since it brings in revenue to the people and also provides jobs for them. Several of the cities in that region that contain most of the population in that region so the mine in this case is vital to the surrounding cities. The extraction of Gold is the main mineral that comes out of these mines, especially since there are large quantities in these mines, provides large influx of jobs which is the reason as to why most of the surrounding cities in the district are some of the largest. This region is also one of the main suppliers for Russia’s total economy. For that reason, having this mine located in the central area of Russia is important since it easier to access and also has large influx of culture, but also has heavy economic impact on Russia as a whole. The people of Russia feel grateful to the mines being located at the location they are since revenue comes in and stabilizes the overall Russian economy.
Analysis
When considering all the aspects of place, one can learn a lot about the production of gold and the impacts it has on the planet. We learn not only about the methods, but the people behind the production of gold. Mining brings about opportunity for jobs, education, and economic advancement of the mining companies and their surrounding communities. Though these opportunities present themselves, there are countries that are far more advanced than others and aware of the pollution or harm they are causing to their surrounding communities and the planet as a whole. We learn there is an extremely wide array of how one mineral can impact communities and nature on a global scale, both positively and negatively.
To some consumers of gold, we could tell them that some of the gold they are buying is from mines that care about the communities they produce gold in. The mines are also conscious about the process and repercussions of what they are doing, they comply with numerous environmental acts and laws that are enforced by their governments. A lot of gold mining companies also take into consideration the people who live around the mining area, for example, in Australia land access agreements were made with the indigenous people. Education and job training is provided for the indigenous people if they want to work at the mines. However, that is not the case for all gold mines. To other consumers, we should tell them that some of the gold they are buying is from a place of oppression and lack of care about the places in which they are mined. Places like the Guatemalan Highlands have no problem blowing up large chunks of earth and exposing toxic chemicals to both the mine’s workers and the surrounding citizens. So, when consumers are purchasing gold, they should be aware of exactly where their gold came from, what went into extracting that gold, and how they can be more aware of the process of attaining gold as consumers in the future.
Sources
Krugman, Paul. “Lust for Gold.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Apr. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2017.
News, Kitco. “World’s Largest Gold Producing Countries: Russia.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 19 June 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
“News.” Newmont Mining Corporation | Sustainable Gold Mining. Newmont Mining, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.
Weather and Climate: Average Monthly Rainfall, Sunshine, Temperatures, Humidity, Wind Speed.” Weather and Climate: Khabarovsk, Russia, Average Monthly , Rainfall (inch, Millimeter), Sunshine, Temperatures (Fahrenheit, Celsius), Sunshine, Humidity, Wind Speed. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.