Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
mercurylatest news & developments
Ghana is one of 11 countries that lose forests through mining related activities.

Illegal mining a profitable but harmful way to address unemployment

Out of poverty people have turned to illegal mining, destroying not only the forests but also farmlands and waterways

Eskom and Sasol, which are considered two of the country’s biggest polluters, have been granted postponements, suspensions and/or alternative limits of the minimum emissions standards since 2015. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

UN special rapporteur: Toxic pollution in SA fuelled by corporate greed and government inaction 

Marcos Orellana noted the poor disposal of waste and hazardous substances, the wide use of pesticides and weak enforcement of regulations

Discarded solar panel components below a power transmission line at the Gioto dumping site in Nakuru, Kenya. The rising production of solar panels is expected to contribute to a surge in electronic waste. (Photo by James Wakibia/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

E-waste is being generated five times faster than it is being recycled

African countries generate the lowest rates of electronic waste, but have a recycling rate of less than one percent, according to a new UN report

Pollution: The use of highly toxic mercury to separate gold from ore is illegal because it remains in the environment for a long time, cycling between the air and soil. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Illegal mining: High risks to environment, infrastructure

The effect of illegal mining includes sabotaged pipelines that contaminate the environment, illegal water usage, sinkholes, underground fires and explosions

(Reuters)

Heat waves not in retrograde

‘In only one sector, according to the magazine, does Mercury retrograde push into the positive: the friendship sector’

Tensions between the media and the EFF reached new heights last week Tuesday after Malema addressed a crowd gathered outside the venue of the commission of inquiry into state capture, in Parktown, Johannesburg.

Sanef ‘deeply concerned’ by ‘Stratcom’ accusations from Indy media

This is the second time in as many weeks that prominent journalists have been called “Stratcom agents” without any proof

Sipho “Mntungwa” Khumalo: legendary journalist

Hamba kahle Mntungwa, a militant diplomat of note

‘Khumalo knew the legislature, and the people in it, like the back of his hand, finessing documents and politicians with ease and grace’

People who use creams to lighten their skin risk causing lasting damage to their bodies and nervous systems.

[From our archives] When lightening strikes it brings pale ailments

People who use creams to lighten their skin risk causing lasting damage to their bodies and nervous systems.

US moots treaty for mercury reduction

The Obama administration has reversed US policy by calling for a treaty to cut mercury pollution, described as the world’s gravest chemical problem.

Durban’s water not contaminated with mercury

Water coming out of Durban’s taps is safe to drink and residents do not need to fear reported mercury contamination at Inanda Dam, say authorities.

Will Public Protector probe Manto ads?

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Public Protector to complain about the Health Department’s advertisements placed in various newspapers last week to protest…

Manto newspaper ads meet stiff opposition

Full-colour advertisements placed in a number of national newspapers on Friday by the Health Department defending its Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, were a waste of…