It Is One of the Deadliest Chemicals on Earth – but Even Mexico’s Cartels Can’t Resist the Lure of Mercury

Mercury is one of the world’s 10 deadliest chemicals – once extracted from the Earth’s crust, it persists in the environment indefinitely. In 2013, more than 100 countries signed up to the Minamata convention, committing to restrict its production, export and use, and phase it out altogether.

Yet while Latin American countries claim to have ended production of the toxic element and controlled its movement across borders, they have simply driven the trade underground. A new report from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has found that mercury production is “out of control” in Mexico – the world’s second largest producer – driven by high gold prices and cartel involvement.

Through illicit networks, mercury is being smuggled into South American countries including Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. There, it fuels a gold rush in the Amazon.

In small-scale gold mining, mercury is used to extract gold by combining with gold particles to form an amalgam, which is then heated to separate out pure gold as the mercury vaporises. In the process, it can contaminate rivers, soil and air, and causing severe environmental and social damage.