Recognizing the sector was estimated to be a major source of mercury emissions and releases, the Partnership Advisory Group decided at its tenth meeting (November 2019) to initiate work on mercury from non-ferrous metals mining and smelting, which it had identified as a cross-cutting topic amongst several Partnership areas.
In follow up to expert consultations launched in April 2020, the development of a study report was initiated, with the aim to, amongst others, provide a better understanding of the mercury mass balance globally between supply, storage, and waste treatment related to non-ferrous metals mining and smelting operations. Several successive drafts of the study report were made available for comments and inputs and discussed at experts consultations.
A draft annotated outline of the study report was presented for consideration by the Partnership Advisory Group at its eleventh meeting (15 and 16 December 2020). Together with the information collected, the finalized annotated outline was used as a basis to develop the draft study report.
The latest version of the study report, in pre-print pending final layout details, was presented to the Partnership Advisory Group for consideration at its twelfth meeting in March 2022.
The final version of the study report Mercury from Non-ferrous Metals Mining and Smelting is now publicly available in interactive pdf here.
The report aims to elucidate the fate of mercury within commercial smelters and refiners; estimate the magnitude of potential emissions and releases from the production of non-ferrous metals; and illustrate various technologies for controlling them. It has been compiled from expert consultations, and open access sources of information to present a critical review of existing knowledge and information gaps concerning mercury from the non-ferrous sector, showcase the different reduction methods, and provide relevant suggestions for further work including capacity development. Non-ferrous metals are all metals apart from iron. The emphasis in this report is on copper, lead, zinc and industrial gold, which all present a potential risk of significant emissions and releases of mercury and are included in the Minamata Convention on Mercury as a point source category of emissions. It does not include consideration of the primary mining of mercury, nor the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM).
