Why Buy Recycled Gold & Silver?
One of the concerns Steve Wiser, the owner of Wiser Jewelry, has about jewelry-making is the impact of mining on the land and often on the men, women and children that work as miners in other countries. The photo below is taken at Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea where tailings (and toxins) are deposited into the Kaiya river (photo credit: Earthworks).
Using recycled gold and silver avoids: 1. The waste generated by mining (mercury & cyanide are commonly used); 2 tsp. of a 2% solution of cyanide is fatal to humans. In other countries, tailings from mines containing cyanide are dumped directly into rivers. Even in the US where mining is regulated, accidents happen, exposing the environment and humans to these toxic chemicals. The 4th largest producer in the world is Betze-Post gold mine in NV. It produces 46 tons of gold annually and 159,000,000 tons of tailings (350 ft. high piles covering 300 acres that are sprayed with cyanide to obtain residual gold). 2. The scars left on the land. The largest open pit goldmine in the world is Bingham Canyon mine in Utah. It is now 0.75 mile (1.2 km) deep and 2.5 miles (4 km) wide. 3. The endangerment of indigenous families working in mines in other countries, & the displacement of families living near mines. The jewelry sold on this webpage is handcrafted (in a soon-to-be-solar powered studio) from 100% post-consumer and post-industrial gold and silver, obtained from a refiner in the U.S. that specializes in reclaiming gold and silver (Hoover & Strong). Much of the gold comes from electronics, computer parts, and old jewelry/gold scraps from the jewelry industry. Also, wherever possible, Wiser Jewelry purchases or makes cleaning and finishing solutions that are less caustic to jewelers and the environment (for example, alum from the spice rack instead of nitric and sulfuric acids). Thank you for your interest in socially and environmentally-responsible jewelry!  |
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