San Joaquin, Mexico (AP) – Drill drills holes in a narrow tunnel deep in the mountains surrounded by rocks, searching for one of the most toxic elements of the planet. Buried in the red stripes of minerals illuminated by his headlamp is mercury.
The Mexico Pine Mine is undergoing a boom, one of the nation’s most biodiversity, with Mexican pine-covered mountains known as the Sierra Gorda.
Toxic metals are an important part of the illegal gold mining process, and international gold prices have also raised Mercury prices. Demand will cause a mining rush in central Mexico, keeping thousands of miners and their families, and the vulnerable environment will also be exposed to mercury poisoning. At the same time, this Mexican mercury is fueling illegal gold mining in the Amazon, polluting a wide area and damaging both people and the environment.
Here are some takeaways from the AP’s report on the issue.
Mercury’s journey from central Mexico to Amazon
Artisan miners in Sierra Gorda, Mexico extract mercury through a tedious process. They climb into a narrow tunnel, where Cinnabal carves the abundant rocks and carry heavy bags of ore to the surface. The rocks are then heated in a wood combustion oven and separated into gaseous forms that condense mercury into liquids. Mercury is collected in small Coca-Cola bottles and sold for around $1,800 pops to an intermediary known as the “coyote.”
Many of the intermediaries are Mexicans, while others travel from all over the world to buy low-cost mercury. Today, most of Mexico’s mercury is trafficked to Colombia, Bolivia and Peru and distributed throughout the Amazon Basin.
When you arrive at Amazon, miners mix mercury and gold particles to make amalgam. They then burn the metal and release toxic vapors into the atmosphere. The remaining mercury often flows into rivers, where it transforms into its most dangerous form, methylmercury, which accumulates in fish and aquatic organisms.
What is the demand for mercury in Mexico?
According to JP Morgan and other banks, demand for gold is expected to continue as investors seek specific security at a time when some were triggered by Trump administration tariffs. Miners say they expect the same from mercury.
Mexican mercury prices have skyrocketed more than ten times over the last 15 years, jumping from $20 (2.2 pounds) per kilogram in 2011 to $240-350.
Experts say international efforts to curb mercury mining have incorrectly accelerated the demand for toxic metals as Mexican mercury miners feel pressure and buyers turn to the country’s small businesses as larger mines approach.
“Globally, there’s only a continuing demand for mercury,” said Carlos Martinez, leader of the San Joaquin mine.
Dangerous areas
Scientists and researchers who have long studied mercury mines in central Mexico say that drilling one of the world’s most toxic chemicals addictive to miners who rely on jobs to achieve their goals.
Researchers interviewed by The Associated Press said they are deteriorating as they see the health of miners and their families deteriorate, showing some of the most severe symptoms of mercury poisoning, including tremor, neurological decline, vision and hearing loss, and delayed development in children.
“For the first time in their lives, Mercury is worth something, and miners say, ‘If you make something, it’s worth addicting yourself,'” said Fernando Diaz Barriga, a medical researcher who has been studying the mine for a long time.
United Nations scientists, environmentalists and authorities are also concerned that this element will cause environmental destruction in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, one of Mexico’s most diverse protected areas.
The mine is buried inside and adjacent to the reserve, spanning dense jungles and high-altitude forests.
It is considered a hotspot for endangered species, including jaguars, military macaws, Mexican black bears, and hundreds of other species that scientists say could be affected if mining is stopped and not cleaned by authorities.
The area around the mine is “the most polluted place in Mexico,” Diaz Barriga said. “The area is not just polluted, it’s poisoned.”
___
Associated Press Climate and Environmental Insurance receives financial support from several private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP standards for working with Ap.org supporters and charities, a funded coverage area.
