THE National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) has installed modern gold refining equipment in four laboratories operated by key institutions overseeing the mining sector.

Dr Betrina Igulu, the NEMC coordinator of its mercury control project, explained this development in a press briefing on progress in the NEMC programme to reduce the use of mercury.

The laboratories equipped with modern technology are those belonging to the Commissioner for Minerals, the Chief Government Chemist, the Geological Survey Tanzania (GST) and of NEMC itself.

The technology system installed is used by various countries in gold refining, intended to enable small scale miners to abandon the use of mercury as it has shown serious health effects on those who use it, she said.

The national strategy to combat the use of mercury has helped thousands of gold miners to abandon mercury use, opting to take up modern technologies like cyanide application.

Many gold small-scale miners use mercury in gold filtering as it is cheap and easy to administer compared with other technologies, she said, noting that after extensive exposure to the effects of mercury use, they are collaborating with various stakeholders in shifting from mercury use.

NEMC has succeeded in reaching thousands of gold miners in various regions, laying emphasis on the safe use of mercury, reducing its use and where feasible abandoning its use altogether.

Small gold miners should completely abandon this method and use modern technologies to reduce the harm to themselves and surrounding water-based ecosystems, the coordinator appealed.

NEMC has collaborated with the Ministry of Health and the Office of the Chief Government Chemist in conducting an assessment of areas where abandoning mercury use is low, she stated.

The government has been revising various laws and guidelines relating to the use of mercury, she said, pointing at the harm mercury has on the body, impairing the body's immune system.

That exposes the miner or other person to the risk of contracting diseases like cancer which leads to permanent disability, thus NEMC was seeking out small-scale miners on the correct use of mercury.

They are also instructed on alternative mercury technologies, she said, asserting that in using mercury to filter gold, the miner obtains just 30 percent of the gold, whereas with cyanide application up to 90 percent of the gold is retrieved.

The NEMC strategy is to ensure that various technologies are available at a low cost for miners’ access, thus more readily abandoning the use of mercury.

"Our strategy is to ensure that modern technologies are available at levels that small-scale miners can afford and use as a strategy to eliminate the use of mercury in quarries," she said.

Dr Menan Jangu, the NEMC director of research, said that the council seeks to ensure that miners are safe all the time in their activities, asserting that the mining sector contributes a lot to total national income. It also has a big impact on the environment, starting from extraction and processing, especially when mercury is used.

Mining must be carried out in a way that does not affect the environment in the country, he said, pointing at the presence of 1.5m small miners. If they work in a dangerous environment many Tanzanians will be affected, he cautioned.

“That is why Tanzania, in collaboration with the Global Fund and the World Bank, came up with a project to deal with the use of mercury in seven regions,” he said. 

Many miners find it easy to use mercury compared to other technologies, but its side effects are diseases such as cancer, stroke, infertility and many others, he added.