Gold: The dark truth behind your jewelry
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- čas přidán 22. 06. 2024
- Why is mining gold one of the world's most destructive industries? From Ancient Egypt to today, the precious metal has held a special value in society. Can the industry clean itself up or should we get less precious about this particular metal?
Credits
Reporter: Louise Osborne
Video Editor: David Jacobi
Supervising Editor: Kiyo Dörrer, Joanna Gottschalk & Michael Trobridge
Special thanks to the Deutsche Bundesbank for photos.
We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world - and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.
#PlanetA #Gold #SustainableMining
Read more:
Earthworks: Impacts of dirty gold on communities: earthworks.org/issues/dirty-g...
The clinical importance of the mercury problem in artisanal small-scale gold mining www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Capturing coupled riparian and coastal disturbance from industrial mining using cloud-resilient satellite time series analysis: www.nature.com/articles/srep3...
A pantropical assessment of deforestation caused by industrial mining: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas...
World Gold Council: A Modern Day Gold Mine
Risk of tailings dams failure: izw.baw.de/e-medien/geotechni...
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:50 A golden history
01:47 How gold is used today
02:48 Industrial gold
05:48 Small-scale mining
07:00 Effect on indigenous communities
08:39 The actual worth of gold
10:57 Recycling gold
11:56 "Better" gold?
14:03 Conclusion: a way forward
Have you thought about where your jewelry comes from?
yes, and so ive never bought anything of the sort personally
NO jewelry for me, I don't need it.
Mine is always 2nd Hand obviously originally it would of been mined but I didn’t pay for that o bought it 2nd or 3rd Hand
From an Indian housewife
Everything in capitalism comes from exploitation
I love these DW documentaries. It's unfortunate that I'm having to turn more and more to foreign (outside of the U.S.) sources to get a lot of this kind of information.
Pretty fortunate
Gold is used in electronics because it doesn't corrode, not so much for its conductivity. Copper and silver are better electrical conductors than gold, although those metals can easily become corroded, which is why exposed metal contacts in electronic devices are usually gold-plated copper, to prevent galvanic corrosion.
Yes, and the newest bestest equipment for audiophiles is now plated with Rhodium.
Silver has the least resistance, but gold is not too far off.
which is why it's good to use second hand
Honestly, you just look at anything that is made and sold and you see the same essential story: the social cost of making that product isn’t baked into the cost that we pay. Therefore, we’re not incentivizing the world to pursue processes which will not have less impact on the local citizens and the climate.
I’m hopeful on some of the potential solutions that I hear for this stuff, but until then I keep sticking to giving experiences as gifts instead of stuff like jewelry.
Don give the EU new ideas.We will soon see a gold tax.
what kind of experiences?
@@Shumayal depends on the person but here were some of my recent gifts:
1) BIL mentioned that he’s been listening to fantasy audiobooks recently so I got him an audiobook for one of my favorite book series.
2) my wife mentioned missing roller skating so I got her some roller skates for our anniversary. We spent the whole summer going to our roller rink, taking lessons, and inviting friends out. In fact, now that we’re decent skaters and it’s winter we’ve gone ice skating a couple times as well!
3) got my in laws a date night at a local comedy club one time.
I’m sure someone will be able to find some reason why every single one of these technically has an environmental impact, but I’m also sure that that impact would be less than what is described in this video for gold.
@@SaveMoneySavethePlanet this "save money save the planet" child is the most textbook possible definition of incredible privilege. im dying from second-hand embarrassment here lmfao
@@SaveMoneySavethePlanet You sound really generous, can I have 50 bucks ? I'm poor 😁
It sounds like the easiest fix for the mercury problem is a contraption that captures the burned off mercury. A water distiller boils water to separate it from contamination then cools the steam for clean water. That's basically what you need for mercury.
I think it would make it expensive enough to not be viable
Having gold stored as a reserve currency while the world continue to mine more is such a waste of resources...
The people who own large amounts of gold would be VERY happy if mining gold was banned because it would make the price of the gold they already own go through the roof. Gold would be worth more than Bitcoin at that point.
Except that gold already is more valuable than Bitcoin. Bitcoin sit at less than half a trillion, while gold is over 12 trillion at the moment.
There’s very few people who own a lot of gold, and they’re so wealthy even without their gold that if gold became far more valuable it wouldn’t even elicit a "Woohoo!" from them.
if we measure bitcoin in weight it is far more valuable than gold
@@tysk5729 if we measure what gold does compared to btc.btc is just gold 2.0. We are in a digital age. It is about time the oldest technology in the world (money) caught up to modern times. Except if you know then you'll realise btc is worth alot more than gold. There's less btc than gold and will never be more btc than the set amount. Gold we can always mine recycle pull of asteroids and planets in the future.there will only ever ever be 21 million btc. If everyone in the world wanted to buy 1. It'd be impossible. Just wait till they find out
@@tysk5729 : Hah! Yeah, most cryptocurrencies are worth their weight in ego. Little known fact, "cryptocurrency" written backwards spells "Ponzi scheme."
It would be interesting to see a view on gold jewelry alternatives and whether they are actually better. Also using gold as an asset is being recommend a lot but I have never heard anyone mention the environmental issue, this should be considered when investing into metals.
I believe buying vintage is key. Either that or buying old gold and melting into new jewels, like the video said.
I like how it ends with optimism and a way forward.
that amalgam technique was how vases, mouldings, etc got that gilt bronze look back in the 19th century...it is known as "ormolu"
To be fair, a lot of gold is recycled although that doesn't really address the issue of the initial source of the gold. In the end, it would be really great if people just consumed less.
Indeed, not using and never had a jewelry and still using my Lenovo laptop from 2013 and Lenovo LCD monitor from 2008, still working just fine.
Next video: The dark truth behind US dollar!
It is clear from such videos that the more you participate in today's consumerist society, the greater your negative environmental impact. Our role models are all wrong for the present day's realities. Extreme is bad, moderation is good. Balance is critical.
Great Video, thank you! The content is excellent!
Unilever had a global thermometer factory in south India. They just bribed the authorities and gagged press. Didn't do anything for employees or communities because that would amount to admission of fault. Does DW recommend we ban measuring temprature?
I''m assuming this applies to all type of mining.
Lithium etc
How about a piece about “the dark true about the fiat money” I see you.
They think they are fooling anyone with this narrative.
This makes me wanna buy some gold
Now do lithium & cobalt thats needed for batterys for electric vehicles!
What a wonderful documentary 👋👋😁😁😁✌️
I'm happy you talked about IRMA. Organizations too are starting to review their supply chains through Conflict Minerals Programs, where you review where your metals come from. You can also choose to source gold from Canada, for example, or other countries you know are more responsible, which you mention. I think another point you could also have brought up is how industrial mining has reforestation programs that kick off once the mine is closed. Tailings ponds are also being phased out in favour of paste backfilling, which is not mentioned on the report.
Recycling from electronic waste is not the solution. The western electronic waste is recycled in poor countries, in conditions worse than those of gold mines - more polluting, more deadly... A big part of the solution is to consume the least.
Miners might have to look at the feasibility of using plant accumulators. They could help in rehabilitating the soil after it's been mined.
Great documentary!
I went into a cell phone store and there is this one guy that I knew was sneaky right from the start. I looked at this guy and I said I will take the old SIM with me and he argues that it'll be useless. I said once again I will take that Sim with me cuz it has a lot of data stored on it. Before we moved on I had to say it twice more. I want to take the Sim with me meaning it'll be in my pocket while I walk out of the store. And then I asked him if he what I mean by the Sim being in my pocket when I walk out the door. I saw somebody take a SIM from another customer and they saving them by the bread bag full just for the gold on the contacts. Most cell phone salesman are like shoe salesman highly commissioned and not trustworthy for the most part I'm sure that only 40% are good people.
If you were going to change the SIM card, it would have been best for you to remove it from the phone before entering the store. Then you can trade the phone for a new one. Tell them you are keeping your old SIM card and will not give it to them since you are buying a new one.
There is so little gold on a SIM card, it must be in the micro-grams. The guy would need thousands of these cards to get any viable gold. Some of these guys collect SIM cards to get the data from them more so than what gold they can have from them. Retrieving the gold from electronic circuits, chips, and etc., is a long and expensive process unless being done on a massive scale.
@@jerryg50 Obviously my request wasn't clear enough he didn't understand what I was saying. I'm sure that quite a few people reading my comment may not understand what mean when I say I want the Sim in my back pocket. That was a long time ago. Those kind of people are infrequent.
Thank you DW Planet A!
I do love DW Planet A, DW Documentaries as well as DW main channel - those become my favorite in the last few months! 👍Greetings from Latvia✌
Thank you for your kind words! ✨ We are grateful to know that these stories resonate with you 🤗
the same thing happens to make the Battery for EV cars, have you think where your EV car's battery comes from?
They went over that story too. That being said battery tech is actually coming along and they might be creating alternatives before we know it. I mean it really had to be, because everyone right now needs better batteries for something. Phones don't last long enough, portable consoles/laptops don't last long enough, we need better massive battery storage, etc. If I was a researcher you bet I'd be focusing on this, because the next breakthrough is pure profit.
Indeed, we have done a story on that before. You can watch it here: czcams.com/video/PbOBmnZRpZ4/video.html
We also looked into what sustainable options there are to replace batteries in the following video: czcams.com/video/-vobMl5ldOs/video.html
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section 😊 🌍 ♻️
I've been said this. Facts. You taking the solids out of the foundation
Is it possible the ecologically friendly gold mining (for example using alternative to the mercury)?
Great question, Vasilis. Fortunately, there are some methods that exclude Mercury in the process. The mercury-free gold extraction method uses borax instead because it lowers the melting point of the gold. Have you heard of it?
@@DWPlanetA thank you for replying. I didn't know it. I read that it is less expensive and it eliminates the toxic mercury from the process but I don't know why it is not widely used.
Anyway in Greece there is a dispute for many years about a gold mining investment in Skouries (Chalkidiki, N. Greece) and the most important argument against is the soil and water pollution of the area (I suppose due to mercury).
Gold is money, but I can understand the push to drive people away from sound money and into fiat currencies that always fail.
Well done, will this be the narrative for the rest of the year?
It’s a failed endeavor to stop gold. If they turn it down for the earth the price will rocket and then you’ll have criminal organizations move in to mine gold which is much worse for the population. Just like opium and and other drugs.
You are spot on. They would do and say anything to shift attention. They are fully aware of a dying fiat currency, which is mostly backed by debt and military might. Gold is tangible and can be valued. Who has the largest deposit of gold??? Yep, one of them is Russia.
US has largest reserves of gold. Are they going to compensate??
So can you stop the sale of mercury?
ISSUE::👉Price paid by gov & central banks to miners vs price paid by smugglers & foreign states & intl crime organisations to the miners..e.g Sudan, Where they're paid less by their gov than networks backed by foreign states..
It's a commodity where resource based economy corrections would insure the legal, financial setup & policies that would prevent illegal greed & dark operations..
I believe a large portion of gold reserves in US, IMF & banks belong to other nation states. That will be taken into account ✍️👑
Mau itu emas ilegal atau tidak,, emas adalah investasi yg sgt aman ,layaknya tanah krna sifatnay yg terbatas
They do more harm getting lithium for batteries
DW,this is a good documentary, and at least it will encourage the European mining companies to leave Africans alone, course paper money 💸 don't last long as gold , and Ghana want to use it gold to buy things
Thank you.
I am of the opinion that DW Planet A should have a "problem - solution" way of there vids for example at 03:20 you talk about the moon fase ofmining, but if I am not mistaken this channel did a vid regarding re-vitalizing ex mining ground with a lavender business for example
Why can't we trace origins of gold? Is taxation a deterrent? Will removing worldwide taxes on gold bring transparency?
@Erika Cheung really have you read it
Negara penuh minyak bumi tidak melulu bukan secara itu tidak atau bukan liquid.., secara liquidity terjaga Maka perlu perusahaan asing untuk explore selanjutnya bagi hasil (liquid)
Maybe free up all thst gold sitting uselessly in bank vaults, owned by a fractionally small number of people, for vanity, that might help matters.
If you want to reduce the demand for gold, then make politicians, financial institutions accountable for their bad financial policies. That would reduce the value of gold. When gold dropped to US$264 in the mid to late ninties, gold mines were put on care and maintenance. No demand no exploration.
The only reason gold price is high, it is reflecting how deep in the toilet our world economy is. It is a safe haven.
I have worked on gold processing plant around the world. Some are working with grades as low as 1 gram of gold for 1 ton of rock, so huge amounts of rock is moved.
Meanwhile as others have stated, mining will increase immensely now to supply the climate change hysteria. It is done the same way.
Logam emas di ubah menjadi mata uang mengacu pada kegiatan ekonomi..
Saat waktu kedua tiba di ubah kembali menjadi mata uang yg sama.
Periode tidak diketahui..
Maksudnya selisih bukan bukan tutupnya pajak...
Yes, very true.
are you guys sure at 0:13, what you are claiming to be decoration actually is? is the research well done?
I had a box of old gold jewellery from inheritance that was not ideal for me to wear. Maybe a total of about 6 ounces or so if that much. I took this gold to a local jeweller who I know custom makes rings and various types of gold and silver jewellery. It was a mix of different carat pieces. I asked him if he could put all the gold together and melt them down for making me some newer rings I would like. I told him I was not critical of the carat of whatever I get. He made me a number of nice rings. They look good to me and I like them. The average carat is probably about 14K. I don't plan to sell them. I like to wear them. Because these are not from registered gold and properly carat graded they technically have very little resale value if at all. They have no marking on them.
yea but what alternatives do these people have? im sure they wldn't be trying to extract gold with mercury if they had better opportunities available
What about the mining of things like Lithium that are our future energy sources that are even worse?
If their touching stuff why aren't they useing gloves to protect them from loosing fingers
There's probably enough gold sitting in lockers right now to supply the industry that needs it for 100 years to come. We mine so much because people use it as a store of value and for luxury...
I have the watch in the thumbnail, and it doesn't contain gold.
Funny thing is that there is more in the Grand Canyon 🤔
I'm glad I never got into the gold craze
But it's SO MANY!
Everything we do is bad for the environment. Including filming this video, uploading it and people viewing it.
same can be said for the mining involved in production and installation of solar panels , wind turbines and lithium electric cars , the number of trees cut down to erect wind turbines far negates any benefit especially with the wind turbines having such a short life span
Difference is so much is just stored in vaults providing no output and sucking up capital
Great point, pavolov's sheep! We have researched into how green solar production really is, and have also noted the cons to such processes. You can watch the video here: czcams.com/video/EWV4e453y8Y/video.html 🌍 🌱
To put things in perspective, 20 tons of mining waste is not actually that much. A cubic metre of dirt weighs about 1.25 metric tons, so if a single gold ring results from just 13.33 cubic metres of dirt, that's a pretty good deal. To be clear, that's a pile of dirt 3 metres wide by 4 metres long by 1.11 metres high. That's a backyard vegetable patch.
The graphic shown in the video is grossly misleading, as it depicts and outlines an entire lake, which would weigh many thousands of times that 20 tons of "mining waste", which is mostly just dirt, of course.
Women in India are holding 90% of gold of the world in their house!
Your not wrong. I know an Indian lady and her bangles earnings and next less are AMAZING. And all are at least 22 karate. She said everything together is about 4 kilo.
Extremely strick mining regulations here in the USA force all ground to be returned to normal after mining. Several documentaries show before and after. Responsible mining doesn't exist unfortunately in most parts of the world. Some of this video in my opinion is misleading as they don't show Responsible mining like here in the USA. Indonesia is not a environmentally conscious country for anything not just mining... Bottom line, don't buy gold from these terrible companies who extract gold by any means necessary. The USA doesn't need to buy from Africa, China, or South America where they destroy the environment to remove the gold. We have plenty of gold here and through recycling there is no reason todo business with any companies that don't have regulations. Greed will cause the illegal and legal mining to continue around the world all we can do is refuse to buy it!
My friend says he isn’t supposed to wear Au
Is it entirely coincidental that the end of the era came only ~500 years after gold became currency?
２４ｋ golden is vibe
There is so much Gold in the world,it should be used more of a price is battered it should be melted down to make a new, I only buy 2nd Hand
Kalau kita mah pakai bisa tiga mcam inflasi and so on..
It's great that we are banning mercury use in gold mining, but the alternative of choice is sodium cyanide. It isn't much better, and is used here at Bingham Copper Mine in Utah.
Can you do a video but instead of gold look at mining cobalt and other metals needed for the "green energy" batteries?
@dw in Ghana it's even worst. There is a term called Galamsay and it's an eye saw.
It is more sustainable than resource-depleting indefinite-paper-printing debt-based economy. Look how far cash/$US has enabled us to do from its inception 1971
childen have to work to exploit rare elements and I simply chuck away my phone to the bin becasue don't know what to do with it .No-one wants old equipment
the lady wears a gold ring.
How about simply not using or wearing gold at all. It's ugly anyway and so unnatural. Fashion industry and traditions should work on devaluing this artificial value of gold.
Why don't DW Plant A contact governments, Rothchild and IMF! regardless the price of gold will soon hit £3k per ounce!
But mining lithium for "environmental" electric cars is not a concern?
500 tons of materials mined for just one battery for an electric car but no one’s taking about that
why not just say tbh? 11:19
Far better than the green paper of U.S
WAIT is nle choppa related to nelly? is he him from the past future present christmas miracle? are they both sons from the same dads?
hey DW, check out the situation Yanomami people in brazil.
Wonder what happened to all that gold in Europe between 1939-45 emmmmm
Now is the time to stack gold and other precious metals in the form of bullion. Gold is the only real money and store of value.
I like gold! Gold is from the ground, so I guess everyone is a little dirty. Nice video!
Or we can just not wear it as much, there's literally no purpose to it, other than to display that you make more money than you need.
Which could also be done with a string bracelet or necklace with a tag stating the amount you gave to a charity.
Cheers
so what
so it's basically human's greed that destroy the earth
Anything that is considered valuable has a downside that is why it is valuable in the first place. It's just like democracy and freedom.
Gold is great! Buy it when ever I can.
🤔
Small price to pay for da grillz 😎
All metals are mined and has by products.
Good news
This made me want to buy more gold
I love gold
no such thing as ethically mined gold or diamond... even Lithium batteries in EV vehicles are mined in brutal conditions
don't shoot me but
the Russian Gold industry is Clean & Regulated
Gold and land resources mining and deforestation should be a thing of the past and if needed should only be used in our most important items needed for everyday life necessities. Rich and greedy people need to be put in their place and stopped from doing further damage caused to our planet and it's animals and people by their selfishness and greed. Bling just shows greed and if people have all this money maybe they should go to third world countries and give to their peoples than slaved and died just so you could shine and look rich. Nothing makes me more sad than watching rich people flashing their bling in the same country or came from countries where adults and children of all ages are dying, being killed, starving, losing limbs and working fifteen or more hours a day in these filthy places just so you can flash your bling and wear and use expensive items. Who are we when we violate the rights and laws we created to make a better world for our peoples and animals. Most humans make me sick because of these reasons caused by greed. Animals are better than us.
Kaya dong negara..?!
Ahh..,kamu bisa Saja!?
Gold. G.o.l.d. not 'Kgowldt'. But yes, very important expose.
Not forgetting land dereliction
But I love my 24k 9oz chain
Rappers use platinum most then gold.