Illegal Mining | Environment | Human Rights

I've never been particularly fond of gold.

I've always had a preference for silver, both to wear and to work with. During my time in college learning the arts of metalworking, I relished every chance to work with sterling. Reticulating silver makes a beautiful texture. Gold polishes well, but the bright yellow is just too garish for my tastes.

For me, gold makes a lovely accent, but I wouldn't want it to be the entire piece.

I seem to be the odd one out on that front; gold is an incredibly popular material for jewelry and accessories around the world. Ah well. Art is subjective, and everyone has their preferences.

Unfortunately, when a commodity is as popular as gold is, that means precisely one thing: greed. There is a reason, after all, that gold is considered a safe investment for people in times of crisis.

Popularity means profit, and when the potential for that profit is so high, unscrupulous people will do just about anything to get their hands on the product.

Mining for metals can be a very destructive industry, especially when carried out by people who have no care for the landscape they're stripping.

Like many other artists, I like building my pieces from the scraps of previous work. My classmates and I went out of our way to learn how to melt down and rework older metal for new projects; it saves money, and it's better for the environment to reuse what has already been dug up.

All the silver dust and scraps left behind in production can be poured into a crucible and turned into a new ingot. Even old jewelry pieces can be taken apart and repurposed. It's time consuming, but it's well worth the extra effort.

Nothing needs to be wasted, and the process is far less damaging and toxic than processing raw ore for sale.

Even if you can't do it yourself in your own studio (I don't have the equipment to melt silver in my home) there are recycling services that will happily take the metal bits off of your hands.

But the environmental concerns of individual artists are not always shared by larger corporations.

As I'm writing this, the current international price of gold sits at $1,983.20 per ounce in US currency. The cost of any commodity flucuates daily, so it will look a bit different tomorrow.

That price tag is a huge incentive for mining companies looking to make a quick buck. Unfortunately, there's one region of the world with an abundance of gold, and very lax policing of illegal mining operations.

The Amazon Rainforest is in the middle of a modern-day gold rush, and the local indigenous people are being left to deal with the fallout.

Mining for gold and processing raw ore into pure metal is horribly toxic. It not only destroys the landscape and obliterates habitats, but it also leaves behind the poisonous chemicals used in the manufacturing.

Common byproducts of processing ore include mercury, arsenic, cadmium and lead — and that's just a small handful out of the list of harmful pollutants that are released every day.

When mines are unregulated and left to cut corners, the results are horrifying. We know all about how much havoc was wreaked by lead contamination in Flint, Michigan's water supply, and that was just from corroded pipes.

The runoff from illegal mining can be far more extensive, and heavy metal toxicity has very serious consequences for human health. When these chemicals get into major rivers like those that run through the Amazon, the people and animals who depend on those rivers pay the price.

Water filters on their own aren't enough to fix it, either; beyond just drinking the bad water, people who ingest the plants and animals that exist near the rivers are taking in toxins as well.

Thanks to something called bioaccumulation, the contaminants and poisons in the water supply gradually build up in the systems of organisms exposed to it. When people then eat those organisms, such as fish or livestock, they take in a concentrated dose of the chemicals.

While some poisons break down over time, heavy metals like mercury tend to linger in the food chain for a long while. Scientists have been tracking mercury contamination in the Amazon's food chain, and the problem is getting worse every year.

People, plants and other species that are already on the verge of extinction — these illegal gold mines are hurting everyone and everything nearby.

There are many reasons why preserving the Amazon Rainforest is important for our health, ranging from pharmaceutical studies to the fight against climate change.

Wanton destruction in the name of profit is a massive problem, not just for the locals, but for the entire world.

Greed is a strong driver for action, but it often leads to short-sighted decisions with long-term impacts. Unfortunately, with how remote and isolated parts of the rainforest are, it's almost impossible to get an accurate measure of the true scope of the damage.

Thanks to the efforts of local inhabitants, environmental agencies and the researchers that work with them, we've finally been seeing a bit of pushback to these illegal mines. It's not enough to stop them permanently, but it's at least enough to slow them down.

It's a small measure of hope, but given how many problems there are in the world today, any ray of sunshine is welcome news.

It's important that we don't allow ourselves to become complacent. We can't afford to let up and release the pressure we're putting on world leaders to do something about rampant environmental damage.

It's not just about protecting nature, as vital as that certainly is. It's also about the basic right of our fellow human beings to live with good health, and without having poison poured into their water supply.

Anyone that poisons entire generations of civilians for the sake of money is a monster. I simply refuse to sugarcoat it.

As someone who works with metals, the global impact of mining sits heavy on my mind.

In my own studio, I limit the use of toxic chemicals and make use of scrap and recycled material to reduce my contribution. I'm not perfect, and I'm certainly not above criticism. I just try to keep the ethical issues in mind.

Better regulation on mining practices are very necessary, not just for jewelry but for everything else. We use precious metals in everything from ornamentation to heavy industry, and we don't currently have better materials to replace it.

It is possible to gather metals like gold in an ethical and more sustainable way. It's possible to refine gold without the use of mercury, for example. We're already seeing some steps being taken in some countries like the Republic of the Congo.

Greater emphasis on recycling metal, more sustainable refining and mining practices, and even a reduction in overall production are all things we can, and should, consider.

That's just one jeweler's humble opinion.

Solidarity wins.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to my newsletter at World-Weary to read more of my writing on the subject of human rights, justice, and activism.

Paid subscribers also gain access to my new podcast, Unfiltered. Their support makes my work possible and helps me keep doing what I love.