“Are you serious?” Nathan asked.
“Yes, and they’re not even monster mines like in South Africa, America, and Canada. Some of those overseas mines yield over a million ounces of gold annually. The US production of gold in 2012 was around two hundred thirty metric tons, that’s over eight million ounces.”
“It’s hard to wrap my mind around that,” Nathan said. “Eight million ounces?”
“Remember, it’s far from pure profit. Like you said, mining gold on a large scale is expensive. It all boils down to production cost per ounce versus spot price. Big mining operators can produce gold for around five hundred dollars per ounce, so with today’s spot price, it makes economic sense. Another thing to remember, gold ingots from mining operators aren’t refined. The gold has to go through a refinement process before it can be sold to bullion companies or jewelry manufacturers. I always make it a point to show my clients a video of molten gold from Nicaraguan mines being poured into molds. That usually does the trick. Foreign-based mining is a hotly contested debate in our national assembly. Don’t get me wrong — our country needs the gold industry, but it has to be balanced with preservation. Sadly, the worst offenders are our own people, not foreigners.”
“You’re a good spokesperson for the industry,” said Nathan. “Your English is completely fluent.”
“Thanks, it has to be. I spend a lot of time with Americans and Canadians. I’ve worked hard to lessen my accent. It’s a lot better than it used to be.”
“Didn’t you raid and destroy gold mines and equipment before you were assigned to us?” Harv asked.
Estefan nodded and looked down. “Many of those mining contracts were negotiated by my father. He never even suspected I was destroying his life’s work. He’d aligned himself with the Sandinistas. It’s why we weren’t close. Back then, he hated the Contras and everything we stood for. He had a change of heart later in life, but he never acknowledged my military service. I think he was ashamed of it.”
Estefan went silent. Out of respect, Nathan and Harv waited for him to continue. The situation felt surreal. They were on the summit of a Nicaraguan mountaintop in the middle of nowhere at 0430, discussing multimillion-dollar gold-mining operations with a former student they hadn’t seen in more than twenty years.
“Anyway, these local, rogue gold-mining operations are brutal,” Estefan said. “I guess I never fully realized it until Raven took my father. It doesn’t sting as much when it’s someone else’s dad. I can’t believe I’ll never see him again.”
“I’m really sorry,” Nathan said.
“We used to take lives. I guess this is what it feels like to be on the other end.”
“We killed rapists and murderers. Neither Harv nor I feel the least bit guilty about what we did, and you shouldn’t either. The comparison isn’t valid. You’re dad wasn’t hurting anyone. Just the opposite. It sounds like he’d devoted his life to helping people.”
“He did.” Estefan fell silent again.
Nathan wanted to ask about the situation in Santavilla, but Estefan needed some time to vent. Losing a family member to murder had to be horrible — it must be sudden and jarring. Nathan knew the conversation would change direction, and it seemed rude to force it. For the moment, they had time. Without the marine recons, Nathan would’ve been much more anxious to get off this mountain, or at least become mobile again. He attributed some of his edginess to the horrid memories Nicaragua held for him. But, he also knew everyone up here would fight to the death for each other, and that went a long way in alleviating his angst. The expression “Once a marine, always a marine” wasn’t just lip service.
“Are you okay?” Nathan asked after another silent minute.
Estefan nodded. “So what’s happening is this: In Santavilla and many other remote areas, crime families and gangs are in control of small independent mining operations. They operate unpermitted sites and make kickbacks to the local authorities who look the other way. Every so often the police raid an unpermitted mine, confiscate the heavy equipment, and shut down the site, but it’s usually just for show. The situation never really changes. The operation simply relocates to a different mine for a while. Small mills, like the one in Santavilla, can process about a ton of ore a day and yield three ounces of gold.”
“That’s a nice chunk of change,” Harv said. “How many córdobas is that?”
“Last I checked, one US dollar equals around twenty-five córdobas. So it’s over a hundred thousand córdobas. And that’s only the income from one mill. The local mills have a production cost per ounce, but it’s nowhere near a commercial operation. The cost is mostly cheap labor. My father was doing his best to educate the miners about the dangers of working with mercury.”
Nathan exchanged a glance with Harv. “Mercury? What’s that used for?”
“It’s a crude but cost-effective way to extract the gold. Mercury amalgamates with gold.”
“It does?”
“Mercury and gold are right next to each other on the periodic table. As you know, mercury’s a liquid at room temperature, but because it has nearly the same atomic weight as gold, the mercury just kind of swallows the gold particles. I don’t think anyone knows exactly how it works — it just does. It’s still a common method of extraction used by small-scale placer mines, particularly in developing countries like Nicaragua. Using mercury to create amalgam isn’t new; it’s been done for thousands of years. Mercury won’t combine with black sands and other heavier minerals, so it’s ideal for gold panning and sluicing.”
“Are you talking about gold panning, like the old forty-niners did it?”
Estefan nodded. “But the local operators do it on a bigger scale. They wash crushed ore down a slanted trough containing riffles that act like a series of dams. Because the gold is significantly heavier than the surrounding material, it gets caught behind the riffles, but it’s still mixed with other heavier minerals that need to be separated out. That’s where the mercury amalgam comes into play. Keep in mind, we’re not talking about industrial operators — they extract gold from ore quite differently, mostly through a chemical-leaching process.”
“And this crushed ore comes from a mine, I’m guessing?” Harv said.
“Right. After the ore is removed from the mine, it’s broken into smaller chunks, usually by laborers with sledgehammers. Then it’s hauled by mules or men to pickup trucks and driven to processing mills, where it gets tumbled in crushing drums to pulverize it. Sometimes huge grinding stones are used. The crushed ore is then run through large sluice boxes, and some of the leftover material gets panned by hand. Mercury is often added to the sluice boxes to create the amalgam.”
“This all sounds pretty rough on the workers,” said Nathan. “I understand why your dad got involved.”
“It’s terrible. There are all kinds of physical injuries. My father kept warning the workers about wearing eye protection, but few of them do it. Eye injuries are common. The laborers also suffer from hearing damage. The crushing drums are deafening. Steel balls the size of watermelons are rotated in huge steel drums to crush the ore for sluicing and panning. And then there’s mercury poisoning. Women do a lot of the panning, and their hands come into contact with the mercury.”
“Incredible,” Harv said.
“The main processing mill is on the north side of Santavilla near the lumber mill. I remember driving past it when I visited my father several years ago. The crushing drums were loud, even from fifty yards away. The mercury poisoning represents the worst danger to the mill workers. After sufficient quantities of amalgam are made, there are several ways to separate the gold from the mercury. The best way is with a retort. The amalgam is placed in a steel capsule and heated with torches. The mercury evaporates leaving fairly pure gold behind.”