![]() Esdaile and Chalker, 2018 Gunson and Veiga, 2004 Lacerda, 2003 Schmidt, 2012 Spiegel et al., 2018 Spiegel and Veiga, 2010 Veiga et al., 2006), less is known about risks posed by legacy tailings resulting from historical mercury use in pre-20th-century gold mining. While attention has focussed on the immediate risks posed by mercury use in small-scale artisanal gold mining (e.g. Tailings from gold mining are known to be a significant source of mercury emissions world-wide and their management is coming under increasing scrutiny as a result of the UN Environment Program’s Minimata Convention on Mercury. This analysis provides a basis for further research needed to support improved management of legacy mine tailings. The processing of pyritic ores also concentrated mercury losses in a small number of mining centres, including Bendigo, Ballarat, Castlemaine, Clunes, Maldon and Walhalla. Analysis of historical data on mercury use in the mining industry in Victoria, Australia, indicates that at least 131 tonnes of elemental mercury were discharged into the environment as mine tailings between 1868–1888, with the total amount lost over the historic mining period likely to be much higher. ![]() This occurred in both alluvial (placer) mining and in processing auriferous ores. Legacy tailings from historical gold mining may also present ongoing risks, as the industry used large quantities of mercury with minimal environmental regulation to limit its discharge. Health and ecological risks associated with the use of mercury in gold mining are well known, with much recent attention focussed on contemporary small-scale artisanal mining.
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