VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUM #0628/01 2290547
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 170547Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0263
INFO RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 2409
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5186
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2201

UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000628 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV PGOV EMIN SOCI ELAB PHUM MG
SUBJECT: Mongolia's Looming Mercury Pollution Crisis 
 
REFS:  (A) Ulaanbaatar 318, (B) Ulaanbaatar 578 
       (C) 05 Ulaanbaatar 624, (D) 05 Ulaanbaatar 621 
 
¶1. Summary.  The widespread use of mercury in the informal gold 
mining sector in Mongolia has produced a looming 
 
environmental crisis.  As many as 100,000 "ninja" miners -- 15-20% 
of them children -- now work in the sector, a number that 
 
has sharply increased in the last five years.  Illegal use of 
mercury is widespread, as is ignorance about the ill effects; one 
 
study showed 77% of the miners used mercury in the family oven.  The 
government lacks the capacity to test for mercury 
 
pollution, so an accurate estimate of the problem is difficult. 
Three years ago, a survey in one area found one quarter of the 
 
population already experiencing symptoms of mercury poisoning but, 
since mercury poisoning is a gradual process, experts 
 
believe the full scale of the epidemic associated with the boom in 
informal mining will only emerge in the next 1-3 years. 
 
Parliament may pass a law regulating the informal mining sector 
later this year, but experts are pessimistic it will end the 
 
use of mercury by ninja miners.  An embassy OES grant proposal is 
aimed at improving Mongolia's ability to test for mercury 
 
pollution, and at raising awareness of the danger.  End summary. 
 
Formal Mining and Mercury: A Problem, But Not the Major One 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2.  A ban on mercury use in the early 1980s dramatically reduced the 
presence of mercury throughout Mongolia, including its 
 
elimination from standard placer mining techniques.  At present, 
illegal mercury use in formal placer mining is limited to some 
 
Mongolian, Chinese and Korean companies. 
 
¶3.  In a recent discussion with emboff, Steve McIntosh of Boroo Gold 
noted changes in environmental assessments since Boroo 
 
began operations in Mongolia in 2004.  Local inspectors are using 
Boroo Gold as an example.  They have learned to draft the 
 
internationally standard Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 
reports required by Boroo Gold and have thus become more 
 
familiar with international chemical standards.  The hope is that 
this knowledge will travel to other mining regions and 
 
gradually eliminate the lack of awareness that hampers enforcement 
of the mercury ban in the formal sector. 
 
¶4.  However, McIntosh observed that weak enforcement capacity and 
corruption are problems.  The government permits the 
 
establishment of mining companies financially unable to adhere to 
international or even Mongolian local standards.  Regardless 
 
of their understanding of present environmental concerns, these 
companies lack the resources to use the correct equipment and 
 
to adequately monitor the surrounding environment.  In addition many 
small and medium-sized placer companies can easily conceal 
 
their mercury pollution.  These environmentally unsound practices 
persist because GOM environmental inspectors are quick to 
 
forgo inspections for a bribe. 
 
Informal Mining: A Boom Leads to Significant Abuse 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶5.  Over the last five years the in the informal mining sector has 
sharply boomed, and brought with it a dramatic rise in 
 
mercury use.  While there are no firm figures, estimates of the 
number of informal miners -- generally termed "ninjas" because 
 
of the green plastic tubs they carry on their backs -- have grown 
from 10,000 in 2000 to more than 100,000 people during the 
 
summer months.  By contrast, the formal mining industry employs 
20,000 persons.  By late spring, the ninja influx causes some 
 
communities to more than triple from their resident populations. 
The ILO estimates that 10-15% of the miners are children.  A 
 
survey conducted by the Mongolian Business Development Agency (MBDA) 
identifies the south-central aimags -- Ovorkhangai, 
 
Arkhangai and Bayankhongor Aimag -- as the main areas of activity. 
However,  the problem extends to much more remote regions, 
 
including fragile environmental areas in the Gobi, which are (in 
theory, at least) protected areas (refs c and d). 
 
¶6.  The growing number of "success stories" coming from the gold 
fields draws progressively more people.  College students pan 
 
for gold during the summer to cover next year's expenses.  Other 
factors push large numbers of Mongolians toward informal 
 
mining.  Extreme winter temperatures, mass desertification, drought 
and wildfire have decreased the carrying-capacity of the 
 
land throughout the country.  Especially in years when large numbers 
of livestock die during the winter, herder families are 
 
left looking for a source of income within the cities and the mining 
regions.  Urban poor often look to mining for temporary 
 
employment during the summer months. 
 
Mercury Illegal, But Widely Available, Abused 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  Mercury is illegal in Mongolia, but it is easily purchased in 
communities near mining operations.  An estimated ten tons is 
 
imported each year with little or no understanding by the general 
population of the environmental health risks.  Ironically, 
 
success in combating mercury use elsewhere likely contributes to the 
problem here: mercury eliminated from China, Europe and 
 
the United States serves to keep the Mongolian supply abundant and 
prices low. 
 
¶8.  While the availability of mercury facilitates continued illegal 
use in the formal mining sector, the real impact is in the 
 
informal sector.  One study indicated that 63% of artisanal miners 
store mercury in their homes, and 77% use the family oven or 
 
frying pans to process ores with mercury.  Artisanal miners often 
poison themselves by letting the chemical come into contact 
 
with their bare skin, or wade in mercury contaminated water. 
 
¶9.  The mercury poisoning continues when the mixture is heated.  The 
mercury is evaporated into the surrounding atmosphere to 
 
separate out the gold, a process that contributes significantly to 
the mercury contamination of the soil and air.  Geological 
 
specialists believe it is only a matter of time before the mercury 
sinks and pollutes the aquifers, spreading the harm to 
 
families uninvolved in informal mining, and to all the livestock in 
the area. 
 
Scale of the Problem Not Measured 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  Mongolia's inability to evaluate current levels of mercury 
pollution poses a challenge in assessing the scale of the 
 
problem and reporting it to national and international 
organizations.  Ministry of Nature and the Environment (MNE) 
official 
 
Sarantuya told emboff that the lack of laboratory resources 
exacerbates assessment challenges.  Sarantuya complained that even 
 
the central laboratory in Ulaanbaatar, the most technically advanced 
in the country, lacks adequate testing capacity. 
 
Mongolia's only two labs that can test for mercury contamination are 
in Ulaanbaatar.  Testing regimens require samples be kept 
 
cold during transport.  This is impossible because mining regions 
(and most of Mongolia for that matter) lack refrigerated 
 
transport and other vital infrastructure. 
 
¶11.  MNE relies on a study conducted by the Japan International 
Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2003 to determine mercury levels. 
 
The study, however, is limited to the Boroo River valley, a mining 
region north of Ulaanbaatar.  The JICA-funded study reported 
 
26% of the survey population to be experiencing symptoms of mercury 
poisoning.  The most common symptoms were rheumatism, 
 
headaches, eye problems and kidney pains.  58% of a second survey 
population had urine whose mercury content was above the 
 
normal level of 0.035 microgram/ml. 
 
¶12.  The Swiss government has funded the Support for Artisanal 
Mining Project (SAM) that will calculate mercury levels 
 
throughout the country.  The project will provide insight on the 
present state of the problem and determine future 
 
environmental costs.  An OES grant proposal by the Embassy (ref a) 
would add to this by funding mobile testing units near 
 
informal mining areas. 
 
A Looming Health Crisis 
----------------------- 
 
¶13.  It's all too possible that Mongolia will soon have another 
means to measure mercury pollution:  an explosion in mercury 
 
poisoning cases.  Mercury poisoning is a gradual process. 
Specialists predict that an epidemic will emerge within the next one 
 
 
to three years because of the upsurge in informal mining in the last 
half decade.  Exposure to elemental mercury affects 
 
emotional stability and impairs muscular, sensory and cognitive 
abilities.  High levels of mercury exposure can result in death 
 
due to kidney or respiration failures.  Reports of mercury poisoning 
in Mongolia are scarce due because local health officials 
 
in affected rural communities do not know the signs. 
 
The Legal Environment for Informal Mining 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  MNE officials acknowledge that current regulations on informal 
mining are inadequate.  Local governments fail to monitor 
 
artisanal mining activity beyond demanding a biweekly fee from each 
miner.  With many miners refusing to pay such fees, 
 
residents claim that police frequently resort to physical abuse 
rather than legal enforcement.  These corrupt practices incite 
 
hostility and future disregard for the law, further weakening the 
regulatory framework.  Growing governmental concern has also 
 
increased the incentive for small-scale miners to conceal their 
mercury usage. 
 
¶15.  Recent conflict between the ninjas and formal mining companies 
in Zaamar soum, a popular mining region northwest of 
 
Ulaanbaatar, has strengthened support for new artisanal mining 
legislation (ref b).  A draft law which may be considered by the 
 
Fall session of the State Great Hural would allow for the legal 
licensing of individual miners.  Juergen Hartwig, SAM project 
 
advisor, told emboff that recognizing artisanal miners as licensed 
individuals rather than rogue ninjas will promote a more 
 
formal and peaceable enforcement protocol.   MNE also hopes the law 
will strengthen implementation of environmental controls 
 
that they have not had the capacity to enforce in the past. 
 
¶16.  The law will also promote a more extensive infrastructure by 
encouraging mining communities to designate particular areas 
 
and individuals responsible for specific activities.  In theory, 
this would remove the mercury pollution from the immediate 
 
living vicinity of the miners.  However, SAM project advisor Hartwig 
believes such a shift is at present unfeasible due to the 
 
convenience of current home-based extraction procedures and the 
abundance of artisanal miners to whom the new bill would apply. 
 
Needed: Better Technology 
-------------------------- 
 
¶17. The SAM project aims to reduce mercury pollution by introducing 
new mills and retorts.  The project hopes to remove mills 
 
now being used in ASM communities that effectively demand mercury. 
The new mills produce finer sediment while crushing the 
 
ore, which would potentially eliminate the current dependence on 
mercury for creating the amalgam.  The new retorts will 
 
increase mercury recovery during the heating process so mercury is 
recycled rather than released into the environment -- and 
 
the mills would remove the amalgam process from miners' homes. 
Specialists note there should be an economic incentive to use 
 
the new technology, since it yields 95% of the gold in the soil, 
versus the 70% yield of current devices. 
 
Needed:  More Awareness Campaigns 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶18.  Sans Frontiere Progres director Tumenbayar told emboff that 
education-based efforts are necessary to reduce the mercury 
 
problem on a more immediate time scale.  Tumenbayar worked with 
Peace Corps to develop a mercury awareness project in Bornuur 
 
soum.  School children learned mercury protection and prevention 
methods and produced a 2007 mercury awareness calendar.  While 
 
the project did not eliminate mercury use in the soum, project 
organizers believe that continuing education is crucial for 
 
reducing the pollution.  One part of the embassy's OES grant 
proposal is directed at working with Sans Frontiere Progres to 
 
raise awareness of mercury dangers in artisanal mining areas among 
both the public and officials. 
 
Slutz