The Orinoco Mining Arc: a historical perspective

Lozada, José Rafael

doi:10.1007/s13404-019-00261-1

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Because of the very sparse gold concentrations in most ores (for example, chalcopyrite contains <40 g•T -1 [3]), 99% of the extracted mass is treated as waste by mines [4], potentially releasing heavy metals and cyanide to the environment through either leaching or weathering processes [5,6]. The concept of "green mining" has emerged in recent years as a powerful rationale for the adoption of industrial technologies and processes that minimise environmental impact and contribute to decarbonisation [7] Thus, there is a growing pressure on companies and institutions to reject precious metals produced from environmentally and socially destructive mining [8,9]. There is a concurrent increasing interest in secondary metal resources and reprocessing, with wasteforms such as metallurgical slags [10] and dross [11] receiving recent attention from researchers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An alternative to cyanide leaching of waste activated carbon ash for gold and silver recovery via synergistic dual-lixiviant treatment

Adams

Porter²,

Robshaw

et al. 2020

Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry

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This study reports the development of a hydrometallurgical treatment for activated carbon ash (ACA); a waste product of the carbon-in-pulp (CIP) process used in the gold mining industry, rich in adsorbed precious metals. After an initial screening of known leaching chemistries, the research focusses on dual-lixiviant (thiourea and thiocyanate) and thiourea systems, both of which have lower environmental impact than traditional cyanide leaches. Comparing ferric sulfate and hydrogen peroxide as oxidants showed that a thiourea leach is more suited to ferric sulfate whereas the dual-lixiviant leach achieved greater extraction with hydrogen peroxide. The latter demonstrated faster kinetics and improved efficiency for dissolution of gold and silver. However, both leaches had issues with silver extraction due to formation of passivating layers on the surface of the silver nanoparticles. Kinetic modelling showed both systems tended towards a mixedcontrolled process. Gold extraction of 89%, with rapid kinetics using the dual-lixiviant process demonstrated that there is an alternative to cyanide leaches employed in gold recovery.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An alternative to cyanide leaching of waste activated carbon ash for gold and silver recovery via synergistic dual-lixiviant treatment

Adams

Porter²,

Robshaw

et al. 2020

Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry

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“…Illegal mining by this and other groups in protected areas of Canaima National Park [ 24 ], mostly located in the Gran Sabana municipality, and along the Caroní River (the natural border between Barceloneta and Gran Sabana parishes), is well reported [ 22 , 24 , 25 ]. Smaller-scale illegal mining in the remote Upper Caura river basin (Aripao parish), and the Paragua river (Barceloneta parish), mostly conducted by local Amerindian groups like the Yekuana, has also been documented [ 25 – 27 ], and likely influences the clustering of malaria among Amerindian communities in the south of Bolivar. The highly significant cold spots identified in the north of the state respond to the small proportion of indigenous population in the area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The malaria burden of Amerindian groups of three Venezuelan states: a descriptive study based on programmatic data

Gabaldón-Figueira

Chaccour

Moreno

et al. 2021

Malar J

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Background Fifty-three percent of all cases of malaria in the Americas in 2019 came from Venezuela, where the epidemic is heavily focused south of the Orinoco river, and where most of the country’s Amerindian groups live. Although the disease is known to represent a significant public health problem among these populations, little epidemiological data exists on the subject. This study aims to provide information on malaria incidence, geospatial clustering, and risk factors associated to Plasmodium falciparum infection among these groups. Methods This is a descriptive study based on the analysis of published and unpublished programmatic data collected by Venezuelan health authorities and non-government organizations between 2014 and 2018. The Annual Parasite Index among indigenous groups (API-i) in municipalities of three states (Amazonas, Bolivar, and Sucre) were calculated and compared using the Kruskal Wallis test, risk factors for Plasmodium falciparum infection were identified via binomial logistic regression and maps were constructed to identify clusters of malaria cases among indigenous patients via Moran’s I and Getis-Ord’s hot spot analysis. Results 116,097 cases of malaria in Amerindian groups were registered during the study period. An increasing trend was observed between 2014 and 2016 but reverted in 2018. Malaria incidence remains higher than in 2014 and hot spots were identified in the three states, although more importantly in the south of Bolivar. Most cases (73.3%) were caused by Plasmodium vivax, but the Hoti, Yanomami, and Eñepa indigenous groups presented higher odds for infection with Plasmodium falciparum. Conclusion Malaria cases among Amerindian populations increased between 2014 and 2018 and seem to have a different geographic distribution than those among the general population. These findings suggest that tailored interventions will be necessary to curb the impact of malaria transmission in these groups.

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“…The new concern regards to creation of a large scale (12,000 km 2 ) and extensive mining development plan the Orinoco Mining Arc in 2016 (OMA; Lozada, 2019) in South of Venezuela, which might change the current pattern of managing natural resources in the Gran Sabana. It stands in non-compliance of environmental and indigenous social rights, increasing the risk of pollution, and social and political conflict (Giordano et al, 2018) which likely could increase demand for natural resources, including deforestation and over-hunting (Rodríguez, 2000).…”

Section: The Garden Hunting Hypothesis: Current Pattern Of Natural Resource Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting cultivation and hunting across the savanna-forest mosaic in the Gran Sabana, Venezuela: facing changes

Stachowicz

Sánchez-Mercado

2021

PeerJ

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Background Human encroachment and overexploitation of natural resources in the Neotropics is constantly increasing. Indigenous communities all across the Amazon, are trapped between a population rise and a hot debate about the sustainability of hunting rates. The Garden Hunting hypothesis states that shifting cultivation schemes (conucos) used by Amazon indigenous communities may generate favorable conditions, increasing abundance of small and medium wildlife species close to the ‘gardens’ providing game for indigenous hunters. Methods Here, we combined camera trap surveys and spatially explicit interview dataset on Pemón indigenous hunting scope and occurrence in a mosaic of savanna and forest in the Gran Sabana, Venezuela to evaluate to what extent the wildlife resource use corresponds to Garden Hunting hypothesis. We applied the Royle–Nichols model and binomial regression in order to: (1) assess whether abundance of small and medium wildlife species is higher close to conucos and (2) evaluate whether hunters select hunting localities based on accessibility to wildlife resources (closeness to conuco) more than wildlife abundance. Results We find mixed evidence supporting the Garden Hunting hypothesis predictions. Abundance of small and medium species was high close to conucos but the pattern was not statistically significant for most of them. Pemón seem to hunt in locations dominated by forest, where species abundance was predicted to be higher, than in close vicinity to conucos. Hunting scope was focused on the most abundant species located close to the conuco (Cuniculus paca), but also in less abundant and unavailable species (Crax alector, Tapirus terrestris and Odocoileus virginianus). Conclusions Our research provided the first attempt of a systematic sampling survey in the Gran Sabana, generating a quantitative dataset that not only describes the current pattern of wildlife abundance, but sets the base-line to monitor temporal and spatial change in this region of highland Amazon. We discuss the applicability of the estimates generated as a baseline as well as, environmental challenges imposed by economic, social and cultural changes such as mining encroachment for wildlife management.

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The Orinoco Mining Arc: a historical perspective

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

An alternative to cyanide leaching of waste activated carbon ash for gold and silver recovery via synergistic dual-lixiviant treatment

An alternative to cyanide leaching of waste activated carbon ash for gold and silver recovery via synergistic dual-lixiviant treatment

The malaria burden of Amerindian groups of three Venezuelan states: a descriptive study based on programmatic data

Shifting cultivation and hunting across the savanna-forest mosaic in the Gran Sabana, Venezuela: facing changes

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