Abstract Small-scale gold mining activities and their mercury emissions in the Gorontalo Utara Regency of the Gorontalo Province, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, have been studied. The mining occurs in many areas of this region, but especially in the three villages Hulawa, Ilangata and Ilangata Barat. Mining activities in the Hulawa village are the oldest (19th century) in the regency, whereas mining in the Ilangata village began just 15 years ago. The activity level changes rapidly from time to time depending on the fluctuations of the gold market. Women and children are involved in the gold mining process. Female workers crush ore, process sediment wastes, and pan for gold in rivers. Children assist their mothers in these activities and play around the mining sites. Gold mining in the Utara Regency is estimated to produce about 290 kg of gold and emits approximately 860 kg of mercury into the environment annually. The impact of such large mercury release into the environment have caused environmental degradation and contamination of fish as food for humans. Collaborative works of stakeholders are urgently needed to find solutions to the problems related to small-scale gold mining such as marginalization and environmental pollution.

中文翻译：

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印度尼西亚 Gorontalo Utara Regency 的手工和小规模金矿开采活动和汞暴露

摘要 研究了印度尼西亚苏拉威西岛哥伦打洛省哥伦打洛北部地区的小型金矿开采活动及其汞排放。该地区的许多地区都有采矿活动，尤其是在 Hulawa、Ilangata 和 Ilangata Barat 三个村庄。胡拉瓦村的采矿活动是摄政时期最古老的（19 世纪），而伊兰加塔村的采矿活动仅在 15 年前开始。活动水平不时根据黄金市场的波动而迅速变化。妇女和儿童参与了金矿开采过程。女工在河流中粉碎矿石、处理沉积物废物和淘金。孩子们协助他们的母亲进行这些活动，并在矿场周围玩耍。据估计，Utara Regency 的金矿开采每年可生产约 290 公斤黄金，并向环境排放约 860 公斤汞。如此大量汞排放到环境中的影响已经导致环境退化和作为人类食物的鱼类受到污染。迫切需要利益相关者的协同工作，寻找解决小规模金矿开采相关问题的方法，如边缘化和环境污染。