…mining pollution has become so severe that last week Peru declared a 60-day emergency to curtail mercury poisoning from illegal gold mining. “Forty-one percent of the population of Madre de Dios is exposed to mercury pollution,” On a good day, a mining team of about 10 people in Madre de Dios can get about 45 grams (just over an ounce and a half). Some 87 percent of Peruvian gold goes to Switzerland and Canada, while the rest goes to the United States and Italy.

<As gold price rises, lower yield gold ore now economic, from 2 to as low as 1 ppm,  whole 40 tonne ore dump truck to make 1 wedding ring, how clever is it nearly 90% ends up back deep in ground, in things called bank vaults? Are we humans a clever species or what?>

>more> ClimateProgress