HABER GOLD PROCESS (HGP)
Most gold mining is accomplished by extracting very fine particles of gold distributed within matrices of ore. This requires grinding the ore in order to expose the gold particles. The gold particles are then dissolved through a chemical treatment called 'leaching'. Finally, the gold is removed from the pregnant solution via one of a number of secondary recovery methods.
Almost universally, cyanide solutions are used to leach gold from ore. But not only is cyanide a very significant poison in its own right, over time, its actions also liberate heavy elements (such as cadmium, lead, mercury, etc)
“Cyanide is the most popular chemical used by mining corporations to extract gold from ore, despite the fact that leaks or spills of this chemical are extremely toxic to fish, plant life and human beings." Source which can leak into water supplies even long after initial cyanide toxicities have dissipated.”
Given the growing list of environmental mishaps caused by conventional leaching, it comes as no surprise that government policies around the world are making it more and more difficult for mining corporations to carry out cyanide operations.(Read some related press.)
In response to the environmental hazards associated with conventional mining practices, Norman Haber developed the Haber Gold Process (HGP) -- an environmentally friendly gold mining technology that also offers additional advantages over cyanide methods.
- The HGP chemical system is non-toxic.
- HGP routinely recovers more gold than cyanide leaching.
- HGP processing rates are significantly faster than those of cyanide leaching.
- HGP is effective with more types of gold ore than cyanide leaching.
- The overall cost of processing with HGP is equal to or less than cyanide leaching.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
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Sunday, October 2, 2011
National Sovereignty of Tiny El Salvador at Stake as it Considers El Dorado Mining Project
cyanide
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
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UNEP releases draft mercury treaty for third round of mercury negotiations
UNEP releases draft mercury treaty for third round of mercury negotiations
July 22, 2011This week, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a new draft treaty text designed to protect human health and the environment from mercury pollution. During the second round of negotiations (INC-2) in January of 2011, countries negotiating requested that UNEP prepare a new draft of the treaty to reflect the full range of views expressed during the meeting and in subsequent written submissions. This new draft text marks another important milestone on the road toward a legally-binding treaty to control mercury pollution worldwide. The next round of international negotiations is scheduled for October 31 to November 4, 2011 at the third meeting, INC-3, in Nairobi, Kenya.
CIEL Senior Consulting Attorney Glenn Wiser, who co-wrote the INC-2 and INC-3 treaty texts for the UNEP mercury secretariat, explains the crucial need to control mercury on a global level: “Once we take it from the earth’s crust where it naturally occurs and introduce it into our human environment, that’s where it stays. Forever.” Mercury pollution can affect the neurological development of unborn fetuses and children, causing life-long impairment of cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, and fine motor and visual spatial skills.
The draft treaty text addresses important global challenges including:
- supply of, and international trade in, mercury;
- products and processes that use mercury, including artisanal and small-scale gold mining;
- emissions and releases of mercury into the atmosphere, water, and land; and
- mercury storage, wastes and contaminated sites.
For an advance copy of the draft treaty text, click here.
To read more about the positions of countries during international negotiations for a mercury treaty, click here. For more information about the UNEP Mercury Programme, click here.