Where the Glitter of Gold Is Tarnished by Peter Rexford on Creators.com

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Where the Glitter of Gold Is Tarnished

If you're wearing anything gold take a look at it. Where did the metal come from? Sure, it came from in the earth, but where? With gold prices continuing to reach new heights, more and more people are scouring their drawers and old jewelry boxes to find even the smallest amount. At over $1,700 an ounce, even a lone earring can be worth $100 or more.

Adventure seekers look elsewhere. They search for raw gold in the ground. Frequently, they strike out. But every now and then, they strike it rich. If so, the rush is on.

That was the case in 1848 when a man named James Marshall discovered gold at the sawmill of John Sutter in Northern California. When word got out, men across the nation quit their jobs or left their farms and went west. Ship captains abandoned their boats in San Francisco Bay to get in on it all. No one wanted to be left out. By then it was 1849, so they were called the 49ers. Then, gold was valued at $20 an ounce — $460 an ounce today after adjusting for inflation.

That's one of the things that is so interesting about the coins that went down with the S.S. Central America. It sunk in 1857 while carrying a massive amount of gold coins and bullions from San Francisco to New York. Virtually every grain of gold in those coins and bars was from the 49ers at the strike near Sutter's Mill. The shipwreck was found in 1989, and the cache of gold coins and bars was brought to the surface. Look at any of that treasure and it's clear where it came from.

But what of today? The allure and mystique of prospecting is long gone. Now, gold mining is an industry. Of the countries of the world, China ranks first with about 390 tons produced. After that is Australia with a little less than 300 tons. Third is the U.S. mining 260 tons, followed by Russia and South Africa producing 220 tons and 209 tons, respectively.

The sixth largest producer is possibly the most troubling. It's the South American country of Peru. Never thought to be a hotbed of gold, a massive amount of sad inventiveness has made it so.

Miners in Peru have figured a way to produce upwards of 165 tons of gold annually.

The problem is getting it. Peruvians are decimating the century's old rain forests.

A recent issue of Smithsonian magazine chronicled the nightmarish extent of Peruvian mining and deforestation. The truth of the destruction is worse than anyone might believe.

Since the price of gold has hit new highs, primitive and illegal operations are now commonplace in the coastal country tucked between Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil. Peruvian mining for these relatively small amounts of gold may soon destroy far more.

Granted, strip mining in most "developed" countries may not help the environment. Excavating for most anything can be intrusive. Methods for retrieving gold in Peru however are currently eradicating the critical rain forests and according to reports, will soon destroy the Amazon basin with deadly poison in the form of mercury.

To retrieve the tiny flecks of gold, miners must cut down centuries-old trees. Once the trees are removed, they blast the soil with water cannons. If they're lucky, and aren't killed by collapsing mud walls (up to seven men a week die from that), they filter the remaining silt. This is where it gets worse.

To process gold from the silt, liquid mercury is added. Then, miners stomp the mix in barrels with their bare feet. The toxicity of the mercury is substantial. Tons of that mercury is seeping into the surrounding rivers. As for the rain forests, some are gone forever.

Naturally, the lust for gold is as old as civilization itself and won't stop. Mining will always be with us. Peru may rank low on the production list, but it is quite high on the list of the precious few countries that still have rain forests and for now, pristine rivers.

It's said, "Necessity is the mother of invention." Just maybe, some mother can figure out a way to mine gold in a far more ecologically friendly way. Because, at $1,700-plus per ounce, for many it does seem to be a necessity.

Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of gold Maple Leaf bullion coins has been sent with this column.

To find out more about Peter Rexford and features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.