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In Portovelo in southern Ecuador, 87 gold processing centers along the Puyango-Tumbes River produce an estimated 6 tonnes of gold per annum using a combination of mercury amalgamation and/or cyanidation and processing poly-metallic ores. We analysed total Hg, Hg isotopes, total arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc in water and sediment along the Puyango in 2012-2014. The highest total mercury (THg) concentrations in sediments were found within a 40 km stretch downriver from the processing plants, with levels varying between 0.78-30.8 mg kg-1 during the dry season and 1.80-70.7 mg kg-1 during the wet season, with most concentrations above the CCME (Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment) Probable Effect Level (PEL) of 0.5 mg kg-1. Data from mercury isotopic analyses support the conclusion that mercury use during gold processing in Portovelo is the source of Hg pollution found downstream in the Tumbes Delta in Peru, 160 km away. The majority of the water and sediment samples collected from the Puyango-Tumbes River had elevated concentrations of, arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc exceeding the CCME thresholds for the Protection of Aquatic Life. At monitoring points immediately below the processing plants, total dissolved concentrations of these metals exceeded the thresholds by 156-3567 times in surface waters and by 19-740 times in sediment. The results illustrate a significant transboundary pollution problem involving Hg and other toxic metals, amplified by the fact that the Puyango-Tumbes River is the only available water source in the semi-arid region of northern Peru.

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Embora o cianeto seja um reagente amplamente empregado na lixiviação de metais preciosos e no acabamento superficial de certos metais, sua elevada toxicidade faz com que o uso de tecnologias eficientes no tratamento dos efluentes desses processos seja primordial. Existem diversas técnicas disponíveis para o tratamento de efluentes industriais contendo cianeto, contudo os métodos mais empregados baseiam-se na oxidação química do cianeto a uma espécie menos tóxica, o cianato, que se hidrolisa produzindo os íons amônio e bicarbonato, além de uma lama contendo hidróxidos de metais pesados, quando presentes no efluente. Entre as técnicas mais recentes para o tratamento de efluentes contendo cianeto, a oxidação eletroquímica apresenta algumas vantagens, como a possibilidade de recuperação dos metais complexados pelo cianeto, além de não necessitar de reagentes químicos adicionais, sendo perfeitamente capaz de atender às exigências dos órgãos ambientais. Esse trabalho apresenta uma comparação entre os diversos processos de tratamento de efluentes contendo cianeto, com ênfase no processo eletroquímico, e também uma revisão sobre estado atual dessa tecnologia.
Although cyanide is widely employed for leaching precious metals and electroplating certain metals, its high toxicity demands efficient technologies to treat the wastewater generated by these processes. There are a number of available techniques for the treatment of industrial aqueous cyanide-bearing effluents. However, the most employed method is based on its chemical oxidation to the less toxic cyanate which is hydrolyzed to ammonium and bicarbonate ions. The heavy metal complexes, when present in the effluent, will form a sludge composed of hydroxides. Among the most recent techniques for the treatment of effluents containing cyanide, electrochemical oxidation presents some advantages, such as: possible metal recovery from the cyano-complexes, no need for further chemicals additions, compliance to environmental agencies directives. This paper presents a comparison among several processes for treating the aforementioned effluents, with emphasis on the electrochemical process, which is briefly reviewed