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Non-Tech : The Brazil Board -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: kidl who wrote (2185)	2/19/2022 1:59:42 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 2508

CREATING A SUSTAINABLE ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE GOLD MINING SECTOR Case Study: Brazil Tapajós River Basin, Itaituba A comprehensive training program produces measurable results in critical areas of health and environmental protection Existing Process Amalgamation of whole ore, as opposed to just the concentrate, using copper plates led to the largest losses of mercury in the mines. Contaminated tailings with 50 to 200 ppm mercury that leave the copper plates go into water streams and are oxidized and methylated. Some miners used contaminated tailings to remove part of the residual gold by cyanidation, forming toxic mercury cyanide. Intervention Global Mercury Project: a three-prong initiative to reduce mercury emissions by introducing simple technologies, education campaigns, and environmental awareness. The plan involved capacity building and preparation of a team of trainers. Sixty people were trained and 13 trainers were selected for the first replication phase. Training was then extended to 4,200 miners in 141 mining locations, focusing on how to increase gold recovery, how to recycle mercury, how to use retorts, and how to reduce health impacts of mercury. In addition, a pilot plant was developed to reprocess tailings for gold extraction. Outcomes • Miners incorporated 7 of 20 best practices including recycling and confinement of mercury, refilling old pits • Marked increases in critical areas of health awareness and practices: health and quality of life, use of mercury, and protection of local environment • Gold recovery showed modest increases, while mercury recycling and confinement showed much greater absolute improvement scores • High participation in workshops and meetings by local miners and government authorities at all levels • Miners responded better to training and education better than to strict legislation only Favorable Ground Conditions • Miners, relatively new to ASGM, were receptive to change in processing methods. • Piura is accessible from Lima, and from Portovelo, Ecuador, where a demonstration plant could be used. • A manageable number of miners (10,000) who are organized increased the likelihood of communication among them and of replication. R Reasons for Success • Close multi-stakeholder collaboration among international organizations (GEP/UNDP/UNIDO), governments at all levels, training experts, and local miners facilitated development of trainings and technical interventions. The influx of support provided resources for a comprehensive plan as well as an easily-scalable model for replication, with dozens of trainers in over a hundred locations. • Clear metrics for success: Organizers created a training program with specific indicators to demonstrate how miners retained and applied trainings. Knowing which interventions succeeded and failed helped to improve the programs and build on successes. Organizers were therefore able to evaluate their plan and target resources to where the impact is greatest. • Comprehensive approach to the ASGM problem included not just technical aspects but also educational and cultural components that helped miners incorporate best practices into their daily lives. Trainees were better able to retain and continue wedocs.unep.org do not trust the media...

To: kidl who wrote (2185)	3/1/2022 4:20:06 AM
From: elmatador	1 Recommendation Recommended By kidl Respond to of 2508

Commodity supplies at risk if Russia hit by sanctions Reuters MOSCOW, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Escalating tensions between Moscow and Western countries over Ukraine and the possibility of sanctions against Russia have fuelled fears supplies of key commodities produced and exported by Russian companies could suffer. read more The United States and European countries have threatened to impose sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine, something Moscow has repeatedly denied planning. Prices of nickel and aluminium have soared to multi-year highs on supply disruption fears. read more Following are some details about Russia's major commodity exports. ALUMINIUM Most Russian metal producers have so far escaped sanctions imposed by the West since Moscow annexed the Crimea in 2014. One exception is the world's largest aluminium producer outside China, Rusal , under sanctions imposed by the United States between April 2018 and early 2019. Rusal produced 3.8 million tonnes of aluminium in 2021, about 6% of the estimated world production. Europe, Asia and North America are Rusal's main markets. Miner and commodity trader Glencore (GLEN.L) has a long-term deal running until 2025 to buy primary aluminium from Rusal. COBALT Data from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) shows Russia produced 7,600 tonnes of cobalt last year, more than 4% of world total. Russia was the second largest producer, far behind the Democratic Republic of Congo which produced 120,000 tonnes. Nornickel (GMKN.MM) is the largest producer in Russia, selling 5,000 tonnes in 2021. Nornickel sells most of its output to Europe. COPPER Russia produced 920,000 tonnes of refined copper last year, about 3.5% of the world total, according to USGS, out of which Nornickel produced 406,841 tonnes. UMMC and Russian Copper Company are the other two major producers. Asia and Europe are the main export markets. NICKEL Nornickel is the world's top producer of refined nickel. It produced 193,006 tonnes in 2021 or about 7% of global mine production estimated at 2.7 million tonnes. It sells to global industrial consumers under long-term contracts. PALLADIUM AND PLATINUM Nornickel is also the world's largest producer of palladium and a major producer of platinum. It produced 2.6 million troy ounces of palladium last year or 40% of global mine production and 641,000 ounces of platinum or about 10% of total mine production. GOLD Russia is the world's third largest producer of gold after Australia and China and accounts for about 10% of global mine production, which according to the World Gold Council totalled 3,500 tonnes last year. Russian gold is produced by companies that include Polyus (PLZL.MM) and Polymetal (POLYP.L). Russian miners mainly sell their gold to the country's commercial banks which then export it. STEEL Russia produced 76 million tonnes of steel or nearly 4% of the global total, according to the World Steel Association. Severstal (CHMF.MM), NLMK (NLMK.MM), Evraz (EVRE.L), MMK (MAGN.MM) and Mechel (MTLR.MM) are Russia's main producers. They export about half of their production, mainly to Europe. The country's ferrous sector also includes Metalloinvest, making iron ore products, and TMK (TRMK.MM), making steel pipes. DIAMONDS State-controlled Alrosa (ALRS.MM), the world's largest producer of rough diamonds, produced 32.4 million carats in 2021, about 30% of the global total. It exports mostly to Belgium, India, and the United Arab Emirates. FERTILISERS Russia is a major producer of potash, phosphate and nitrogen containing fertilisers - key crop and soil nutrients. It produces more than 50 million tonnes a year of the fertilisers, 13% of the global total. Phosagro (PHOR.MM), Uralchem, Uralkali, Acron (AKRN.MM) and Eurochem are the biggest players. They export to Asia and Brazil. WHEAT Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter, with Turkey and Egypt among its main buyers. It produced 76 million tonnes of wheat last year and is expected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to export 35 million tonnes in the July-June season, 17% of the global total. Russia has been curbing grain exports since 2021 with quotas and taxes as part of its wider efforts to subdue inflation. The global market fears supplies could get disrupted if the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalates and affects commercial shipping in the Black Sea, the main wheat export route of the two countries.