Design and fabrication of a gold amalgamation Retort :

Abstract

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector is the single largest demand for mercury in the world. An estimated 1960 metric tons of mercury were discharged into the air, soil and water by ASGM globally in 2011(UNEP, 2013) After thorough grinding of ore containing gold, mercury is added to the mixture to form a gold amalgam which is then heated to vaporize the mercury to obtain the gold. Mercury vapor can travel along distance for as far as 2500km in 72 hours (Glass et al. 1991), ultimately getting inhaled by the people around including women and children which is toxic to their health. (Risher, 2003). This mercury ends up in the environment through open burning of the amalgam and spillage. The mercury released to the atmosphere has significant health risks to both the human beings and the environment including erethism, loss of memory, kidney failure, muscular tremors, madness and even death (Small-scale Handbook, 2002). Therefore, this project was limited to the design and fabrication of a retort to reduce mercury vapour toxification and possibly recycle the mercury for re-use.