'Dirty Gold' Program in the UK on C4 Dispatches

[mattafc]

Did anyone see this program last night on channel 4 (UK). I haven't seen it yet but have it recorded to watch. Apparently its about the use of child labour in the mining and refining of gold using dangerous practices and pushes a campaign for 'Ethical Gold'.

Be interested in anyones views on it. Once I've seen it if its of any interest to our American friends across the water I'll try to capture it as a video file and post it somewhere for you guys to view.

 

[patnor1011]

Is this you talk about?
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/4od#3202410

 

[4metals]

I thought I was going to get to see a video but it isn't view-able outside of Ireland and the UK.

 

[Oz]

I do not know if this is it, but it sounds very close.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXAkswfWKWU

 

[4metals]

In 1988 I spent the entire "mining season" in Ecuador and what was in that video was for the most part identical to what I saw down there. Conditions were terrible in the mines and at the mills. Notice the use of mercury. They used it in Ecuador too and the only retort I saw was the one I brought from the States. Just like in this video, they burned off the excess mercury with a torch. Between cyanide and mercury nothing in the streams that was alive was edible, at least I wouldn't eat it.

Back in '88 the gold price was a bit over $400 an ounce and they worked all day for the little bead that came out of the pan after they collected it all with mercury. Those beads were 2 1/2 grams if they worked hard at a good vein, back in '88 that was about $30 a day. That was what it was worth, but the buyers always tried to beat the miners out of whatever they could. That was still BIG money to them and miners were well off.

 

[patnor1011]

I thought I was going to get to see a video but it isn't view-able outside of Ireland and the UK.

I am sorry, that is quite long documentary and I dont know how to capture that for anyone from outside UK&ROI. I tried camstudio but one minute out of 48 was about 900MB in avi format and not perfect quality.


In short that is documentary about use of lead and dangerous mining in Cameroon and open pit gold mining in South America where there are high amounts of heavy metals discharged in water. People have experiencing fatigue, headaches, hair loss and skin problems. No more dirty gold campaign and they suggested recycling gold as an alternative.

 

[mattafc]

Is this you talk about?
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/4od#3202410

Sorry, not been on for a few days as I've been working away. Yes this is the correct one. The link posted in You Tube is different. I still haven't watched the video yet, but plan to over the weekend. If anyones interested in it outsidof UK and Ireland, I'll try and capture it and make it available for those who would like to see it.

Be interested in anyones thoughts on the program

 

[Ian_B]

I would be interested in seeing this video if it was possible

thank you

 

[nickvc]

I can't say that I watched it but from the comments I heard it brings back memories of been told back when I was refining full time that the use of any South African gold was not to be allowed by the Signet Group....this was while apartheid was in full swing and I could sympathise with their ideals but had to point out that as gold has always been treasured the chances were that we were still using gold from the Egyptian, Greek and Roman era so how could I tell it apart :?: :lol:

 

[Oz]

Nick,

Your statement so reminds me of what I have told many. Unlike silver, 90% or more of all gold that is mined and used in a product is ultimately recycled. Most any object made of gold in these modern times still has a molecule or more that was from an old pharaoh’s tomb obtained by a thief.

The accountability of where gold comes from still holds true today. I always ask first time customers where they got their gold. Most are quick to tell me, others get indignant and are also typically the ones that have a molten blob that was obviously karat gold molten on a concrete slab with a torch. If I am not confident all is right I refuse to refine the material. Sparks can fly then!

If people try hard enough they can get gold out of a country into another even when it is not legal. Just look at the far greater quantities of illegal drugs that cross borders.

All we can do is try to err on the side of caution when receiving materials so we do not become part of the problem. If things do not look or sound right, reject the job.

 

[munchies]

I just watched the programme and it was disturbing to see kids handling mercury with bare hands.
To me, the estimate of up to 30% of the world's gold supply coming from illegal mining seems a bit high, I would like to know the source for that.
I also thought it missed one of the biggest on-going scandals right now which is illegal Chinese mining in Africa.
I felt the gold recycling companies part as quite biased. Only the UK company was "stung" and not the American or the French firm. We all know these commercial recyclers offer super shoddy prices, but I guess if they stung the French firm they wouldn't have got the behind the scenes melting clips or interview.
As with most Dispatches documentaries, they focus too much on the "individual view" of a subject rather than taking more of an holistic view.

 

[macfixer01]

I thought it might be easiest to just use a proxy server located in the UK to watch it online, but it appears Ch4 is too smart for that? I tried several UK proxy servers and all gave a bad response error once I navigated to the actual show playback. The show is available for download off of Bit Torrent though in avi format (divx). You can search for "The Real Price Of Gold" yourself at Isohunt.com but make sure to grab a torrent that is being seeded as some of them appear to be dead. The one I'm currently downloading says it's from torrntday.com, and I'm getting about 44k/second download speed so should have it all in another 4 hours.

macfixer01

 

[MichaelAmrs01]

Well,If you said with confidence then I think I've to go to watch this one time,Let I try to find it on you tube.