Mercury pollution from the past mining of gold and silver in the Americas

Abstract

The development of the patio amalgamation process into an industrial scale operation in 1554 stimulated the massive production of silver in the New World but left behind an unprecedented quantity of mercury pollution. The annual loss of mercury in the silver mines of Spanish America averaged 612 tonnes/year (range 292-1085 tonnes/year) between 1580 and 1900. The production and importation of mercury into the United States ranged from 268 to 2820 tonnes/year and averaged ~1360 tonnes/year between 1850 and 1900. Approximately 90% of the mercury consumed in the United States during this period was employed in gold and silver extraction. The cumulative losses of mercury to the environment due to the production of precious metals in the Americas totalled ~257 400 tonnes, with 196 000 tonnes dispersed in South and Central America and 61 380 tonnes in the United States. Approximately 60-65% of the mercury lost is believed to have been released to the atmosphere, suggesting that gold and silver mines were a dominant source of atmospheric mercury pollution. Because of its high volatility, any deposited mercury can readily be re-emitted to the atmosphere. The continuing recycling of this large mass of mercury may partly be responsible for the high fluxes of mercury in many parts of North and South America and the high background levels of mercury in the global environment.