Meet Aly, he is the president of the Comalobani cooperative.
Before the project helped to form mining cooperatives, individuals would work at the mines in silo, without any guidance or understanding of how mines should be operated. “This is no longer the case for all members of COMALOBANI, thanks to the various trainings received from CRC”.
Before the cooperative was formed, mercury was used as part of the process. “We did not know its harmful effects. What mattered to us was to extract gold by any means. [But] mercury seriously pollutes the water, everything in it and everything around it. This has serious consequences on the health of the people living in the area. Many times, we thought that our brothers were suffering from diseases such as tuberculosis or poisoning, … when the real cause of their death was related to the use of mercury.”
As part of the project, CRC has regularly visited the co-operatives, providing training, including on the use of mercury in mining. Since removing mercury from the process, “we noticed firstly that
we have saved the money that was formerly used to purchase mercury. Secondly, we have saved time in processing thanks to
the machines we received. Thirdly, we have saved ourselves from diseases that were going to affect us because of the use of mercury, such as: body tremor, memory impairment, hearing problems, etc. But the biggest advantage we have as artisanal gold miners is that the gold we mine and process here has a better chance of being accepted in the world market.”
Many other members of the co-operative like Aly are grateful for the training provided through this project and for the removal of mercury from the mines. With your support in buying gold, we can continue to provide the support needed to improve the processes within the mines.