Title
Environmental impacts of the life cycle of alluvial gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest
Date Issued
20 April 2019
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Elsevier B.V.
Abstract
Alluvial gold mining activities in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest are responsible for mercury emissions and deforestation. To understand related environmental impacts, specifically toxicity and climate change, this study uses Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Four predominant extraction systems were selected and modelled and three scenarios that reflect currently available gold recovery systems were modelled: amalgamation, amalgamation with mercury recovery through retort system and gravimetric tables. The USEtox and IPCC life cycle impact assessment methods were used to assess the environmental impacts in term of human toxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity and climate change. Results show that for all systems, human toxicity values are governed by mercury emissions in gold recovery activities (ca. 80%). However, the use of retort significantly lowers these impacts (ca. 90%). Machines and diesel use for ore extraction and freighting activities drive freshwater ecotoxicity. Moreover, deforestation has a major contribution on the environmental impacts related to climate change. However, these impacts are dependent on the type of extraction system. Although human toxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity and climate change are frequently studied separately, a direct relationship between them has been identified in this system. Finally, beyond the environmental burdens related to alluvial gold mining, there are impacts affecting the social, cultural, and economic dimensions that will need to be analyzed to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the system.
Start page
940
End page
951
Volume
662
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Otras ingenierías y tecnologías
Mineralogía
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85060705401
PubMed ID
Source
Science of the Total Environment
ISSN of the container
00489697
Sponsor(s)
The authors wish to thank the Dirección de Gestión de la Investigación (DGI) at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú for funding the Análisis de ciclo de vida de la expansión de la minería informal en la Amazonía Peruana project (Project ID: 455 ). The authors would also like to thank Jose Carlos Bustamante, Gabriel Arrriarán, France Cabanillas, Francisco Román and interviewees (miners, engineers and experts on alluvial mining) for their help throughout the project.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus