http://www.kitco.com/ind/nadler/jul142010.html There is an environmentally responsible way to mine gold and the alternative. The article by Nadler concludes thusly: "Unfortunately, there is also another, much darker side to the New Gold Rush. Not everyone is content to swirl mud in a large pan in the Sierra Nevadas. Even that hobby is claimed to have completely upset the ecosystem that river salmon live in that picturesque region. Let’s take Colombia, for example. It has recently acquired (according to the UN) the dubious distinction of having become the planet’s number on mercury polluter. Several of the country’s regions have reported mercury levels some 1000 times higher than what is deemed acceptable by the WHO. Nearly 50 tonnes of mercury are estimated as being released in just five of the largest gold-mining towns in the country on an annual basis. The cost? How about one Colombian town –Remedios- where at least one kidney transplant per month is the price being paid for coming in contact with mercury vapor? Not to mention memory loss, ADD, speech impediments, and severe chronic head ailments. More than 40 firms are known to be digging for gold in the country and the production of the yellow metal is forecast to boom to nearly 100 tonnes per annum soon. Peter L. Bernstein, the author of “The Power of Gold” once said: “It’s never been clear if we have gold or if gold has us.” One of these days, if you are really curious as to what the real price of gold is, go visit the National Geographic website. At http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/01/gold/larmer-text you will find an expose on just that topic. Hint: it is not a dollar figure. “No Blood Diamonds” is a slogan for the times. Perhaps “No Dirty Gold” should have an equal billing, five years after the establishment of the organization bearing the same name. After all, how many gold buyers are aware that a single wedding ring’s production entails the generation of 20 tonnes (that’s 44,000 lbs.) of waste?" Jon Nadler
There is no doubt that the dark side of gold is that there are people and companies out there that will literally kill to get it. I don't know how something like that can be stopped.
