Mercury-Free Botanical Gold Recovery | S. Ecuador
🌿 Ecuador Four-Stage Action Plan for Botanical Lixiviant Systems
Author: Bruce A. Cosgrove, BSc, MSc | Independent Scientific Researcher | Publication Preprint: ResearchGate | January, 2026
Structured Research Record
DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.10793.66400 →
Structured Record:Wikidata →
Introduction
An estimated 15–20 million artisanal and small-scale gold miners produce 20–25% of global gold supply, valued at approximately USD $30 billion annually, largely through mercury-based extraction methods (UNEP Global Mercury Partnership, 2023).
Mercury exposure presents severe risks to human health. As a potent neurotoxin, it affects neurological, immune, digestive, and endocrine systems, contributing to conditions such as memory loss, tremors, neuromuscular impairment, and long-term cognitive decline (WHO, 2024).
Environmental impacts are equally significant. Mercury released during processing enters air and water systems, where it is converted into methylmercury, accumulating in ecosystems and food chains and affecting biodiversity and human populations alike.
🌿 These conditions highlight the need for Botanical extraction systems capable of eliminating mercury use while maintaining efficient gold recovery in artisanal mining environments →
Manipueira Gold Recovery Technology in 2025 introduced an ESG-aligned four-stage botanical transformational strategy designed to replace mercury and synthetic cyanide systems in Ecuador's Souther mining districs used to recover gold in both artisanal-and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) with manipueira (cassava-wastewater)- a plant-based alternative that enables safer, faster, and more sustainable gold recovery.
👉 Continue Reading:Four-stage ESG aligned transformative strategy Action Plan →
Research Context
This article contributes to Bruce A. Cosgrove's broader research into mercury-free gold recovery, alternative extraction chemistry, and environmentally compatible mineral-processing systems →
The research examines plant-derived lixiviants, alternative complexation chemistry, solution behavior, mercury-reduction strategies, and lower-toxicity approaches to gold extraction and artisanal and small-scale mining.
🌿 Explore Mercury-Free Botanical Gold Recovery →
Explore the research, publications, and applied chemistry behind botanical and alternative approaches to mercury- and cyanide-dependent gold-processing systems.