Jun 13, 2009

错误诠释山埃

彭亨劳勿县内的武吉公满(Bukit Koman)新村位处金矿区,名副其实“遍地黄金”;去年杪开始,这个富裕安谧、享福百年的华人新村,却因“山埃”蓄势入侵,陷入了极度的惶恐中。

山埃(氰化物,cyanide,化学式CN)是一种剧毒物质,会阻止人体细胞吸收氧气,人类吸入高浓度氰化钠气体或吞食致死剂量的氰化钠,几乎可以立即停止呼吸而死亡。由于山埃可与97%的金结合,增高炼金产量;因此自1960年以来,金矿商便大量使用这种有害化学物质采金。

去年8月21日,伦敦上市公司半岛金矿有限公司(Peninsular Gold Limited)独资拥有的劳勿澳洲金矿私人有限公司(Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd)在村民毫不知情的情况下,成功取得彭亨州矿物及地质科学局(Jabatan Mineral dan Geosains Pahang)的白纸黑字批准,在武吉公满新村的金矿区以山埃采金。据悉。目前该公司已在这个紧挨武吉公满新村的金矿区建设采金基建。

明日,曾聒准备亲自上金山了解这采金状况,了解山埃之用法,任何人有兴趣可联络本人:

日期:14-6-2009(星期日)
时间:未定,可能是中午
地点:RAUB
人数:5人(至今已有2人)-除非自己可以开车
联络:012-2634433

在还没有出发之前请先参考以下文章:

Nonsense to claim someone can get sick from cyanide
I have been involved in exploration and mining for 40 years around the world. Half my experience has been in gold mining including in the former Raub Gold Mine (1986 to 1987), the centre of this dispute.

Cyanide was first ever used in gold mining in Bau, Sarawak at the turn of the 20th century by the Borneo Company. Cyanide (sodium cyanide) is used to dissolve gold (including silver) as gold cyanides (cyanide/cyanades/thiocyanides). In the old days, the dissolved gold is recovered with zinc dust (Merrill Crowe Process) and then smelted into gold bars.

In the 1950s, resins were used to absorb the dissolved gold cyanides and gold could then be recovered by electrolysis. This was replaced by activated carbon (most of which is being produced in Malaysia from coconut shells). The cyanides/cyanides/thiocyanides will remain in the tailings water as stable metal complexes.

Internationally, to meet environmental compliance, these are require to be denatured using chlorine, iodine and common hydrogen peroxide before discharge. In fact, these are more harmful to the environment as they will kill plant life and increase BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand).

But all environmental agencies insist on this antiquated law. The regulations also insist in denaturing free cyanide radicals (unused sodium cyanide). These could cause death if a sufficient quantity is consumed.

But all mining operations use a very low concentration of cyanide at 110 to 150 ppm (parts per million) and tailing waters are further diluted by other waters especially storm water many fold. Environmental protection agencies should ensure that cyanide concentrations be kept at such diluted levels.

Cyanide is not a poison as it is a carbon-nitrogen compound and will disintegrate in UV light. It would, however, prevents the blood from absorbing oxygen and anyone consuming too much will die of suffocation. Cyanide occurs naturally in many roots especially unripe tapioca. The indigenous people have been using these to ‘poison' fish and yet the fish is edible.

For more than 100 years since cyanide had been used for gold mining, there have been only two instances of accidental death reported due to cyanide poisoning. Such dangers can be limited by the following:

1. Tight control of the circuit of mine water with safety ponds properly constructed to prevent any overflow due to surges in mine waters during floods. These safety ponds must be constructed and maintained to meet strict safety codes.

2. All mine waters be re-circulated (this is a common practice to use up all the free cyanide as cyanide is expensive) so that only small amounts of concentrated inert cyanide solutions require de-naturing

3. The biggest danger from cyanide is hydrogen cyanide gas that is odourless but deadly (used for gas chambers). Hydrogen cyanide gas will result if cyanide occurs in an acidic environment. All mines should ensure all mine waters are alkaline and cyanide monitors installed at strategic areas especially enclosed areas. Once in the open, the concentration of hydrogen cyanide gas is so diluted that it will never pose a threat

4. If required, the mine could be operating with zero discharge. There is also technology available to recycle cyanide. This strategy is in the interest of the mine operator as it would save cyanide consumption as the cyanide is recycled.Several saleable metals (eg, arsenic, copper, lead, zinc) would be recovered as well instead of being discharged. These normally cause serious environmental pollution.

5. The concentration of cyanide solutions used in the mining operation must not exceed 150 ppm. At this concentration, an adult requires to drink 10 Coke cans of the cyanide solution to be affected. So the risk of accidental deaths is minimal. Some miners use higher concentrations thinking it will speed up the gold dissolution process. Actually, it does not help and even at low concentrations it would soon reach a equilibrium and the kinetics of the chemistry will not improve.

6. Adequate monitoring must be installed to avoid any accidental spills into the environment.

The current concerns by the Bkt Koman villages are due to misinformation, fear-mongering and emotion. It is nonsense to claim someone can get sick from cyanide.

If you consume too much you just ‘suffocate' and die, you do not get sick. I had operated a small ‘Heap Leach' operation in Kelantan in the 1990s with no cyanide hazards. There are so many gold mines using cyanide being operated around the world with no danger or health hazard.

Bukit Koman is immediately downstream from the mining operations. But the mining operations can be designed to minimise any risk. In this case, the environment authorities should insist on a zero discharge of liquid waste and all solid waste must be stored in proper, waterproof, non- biodegradable storage areas that could be rehabilitated effectively at the end of mining operations.

I will be happy to supply any interested party detailed information on cyanide and gold mining operations and cyanide recycling and safety practices.


From : Kit Lee

10 comments:

  1. 武吉公满的朋友,请找些山埃然后泡9杯可口可乐罐的山埃水给他喝。原来马来西亚的奇人异士比世界很多国家的科学家还厉害。Malaysia BOLEH!

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  2. 曾聒,很想跟你去但有点事无法同行了。希望回来后有更多的行动可以帮他们的。

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  3. 没问题,还在安排中......担心遇不到金矿公司的人.

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  4. 希望你们能为村民打气,奋斗到底。

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  5. 廖中莱说“如果有去过劳勿,就会知道只有一小部分人在反对,普遍上的老百姓是了解的”
    武吉公满村民,为了证明廖中莱是错的话,你们需要证据,那就是武吉公满村民意调查,3000份华人,3000份马来人,3000份印度人。完成后,招开记者与部落客公布会,公开调查结果,证明廖中莱是对还是错?

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  6. 阿国兄开始"做工"了.....可喜可贺....加油!

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  7. 关于这篇文章,我也看过。
    很可惜,文章出自于一个开矿场的人。卖花的人,当然赞自己的花香。他说矿场安全,无可厚非。

    当然,山埃采金“可以”很安全。只要依足规矩。
    山埃可以在紫外线下分解。 问题是:要多久,来不来得及。
    专家说,只要工厂有足够的设施,依照ICMC的指南来做就可以万无一失。
    但是问题就在这里:
    根据内华达环境评估专家Dr Miller 针对武吉公满环境报告的review后,我们可以发现,该厂根本没有照着ICMC的guideline来做。EIA 里头没有想尽说明他们怎么应对万一会发生的突发事件。很多东西也是在报小数,”bait and switch”。既然他们的EIA那么不老实,我们怎么能够肯定他们内部的安全设施足以保障附近居民的安全呢?
    就算不是矿场,任何工业区都不应该如此靠近住宅区。更何况吨着大量山埃的工业区?用过的山埃可以有denature。但是万一发生意外的是那一桶一桶,没有经过denature process 的山埃?
    泄漏的山埃可以在阳光下分解,但万一数量太多来不及分解,而居民就在咫尺。金矿场有没有想过这个问题?
    为了经济效益,设立采矿场也好,但不是在这么靠近居民居住的地方。一旦发生任何事故,根本来不及疏散或者应对。而很显然的,该矿厂没有做好 risk assessment and management。该矿厂在做EIA的时候,都是在报小数。而现在,实际的情况却比之前报告的更多,更大。该矿厂的意外应对措施是依照之前(small scale)还是现在(large scale)为准绳?

    如果说要根据 ICMC 指南来设金矿场的话,Dr Miller 是曾经有份草拟这个指南的专家。他建议矿场必须展厅运作,直到矿场针对现在拥有的设施和范围作新的环境评估。既然这位专家也觉得问题很大,难道我们还要说没有问题吗?

    的确,很多原著民利用山埃来毒鱼。对,捕上来的鱼,还是可以吃。可是如果山埃没有毒,那为什么鱼会死?人体有自己的排毒系统,可以handle 轻微的山埃,转变成毒性较少的thiocyanate排出体外。但是那些年级大,身体弱,甚至婴儿呢?而他是否知道,利用山埃毒鱼造成了多么大的环境伤害?尤其是珊瑚。在那些有原著民利用山埃捕鱼的地区,珊瑚礁大量死亡。能吃和不能吃的鱼一起被毒死。整个海洋的生态环境遭受破坏。原著民没有太多这方面知识。他们用这种方法捕鱼,是因为他们的父辈这么做,没有人教他们用更好的方法捕鱼。难道我们也要武吉公满步上后尘吗?少量的山埃,鱼都会死,也造成了珊瑚礁和自然生态的破坏。更何况我们面对的是large scale的山埃呢?

    曾经有研究证明,山埃会导致一些微生物 DNA 以不正常速度断裂,是一种“细胞老化”的现向,也有可能会致癌。虽然还没有发现在人类的身上致癌,但是既然有这个可能,我们难道要武吉公满的居民来做实验吗?

    人类的神经系统受损,也是中山埃的症状。山埃导致血液无法带氧,细胞的氧气输送受到干扰。长期下来,脑部和神经系统细胞氧气含量不足,甚至会导致失忆,类似Parkinson的老人疾病。

    记得这句广告词吗?“小孩子闹不正常发展,有赖于脑细胞连接,没有联接的脑细胞,会逐渐消失”。山埃在正常大人的身上,或许还好。但是小孩子呢?他们身体的排毒系统不好,脑细胞若再长期氧气不足,会有什么后果?

    写文章的家伙,是个开矿场的。不是医生。他根本不能够这样来“推翻”事实。他自称自己的矿场没有发生过事故。他开的是个“规模小”的矿场,怎么比的上“规模壮观”的武吉公满矿场?再说,他的矿场有是否如武吉公满金矿场那样,和民居近在咫尺?

    我们需要的,是研究学者们的分析。不是一个开矿场的,说矿场安全。如果我们要听开矿场的说这些话,不会直接去听Raub Australian 金矿场老板说吗?

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  8. 將心比心,若是金礦開在他家旁邊,他就不會這麼談定了。
    整個事件主要針對的還是"距離"這個問題。
    這家伙也可能只是想出風頭而己,為唱反調而唱反調。唉。。。

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  9. 有些人,就是少了一点“将心比心”的心。
    包括我们的“某部长”在内。

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