MEXICO - Gold Fueling Mercury Boom

Soaring international gold prices are driving up the price of mercury, a toxic metal key in illegal gold mining, to all-time highs. While the demand triggers a mining rush in central Mexico, sustaining thousands of miners and their families, it also exposes them and the fragile environment to mercury poisoning.

In towns like San Joaquin in the north-central state of Queretaro, the price of mercury has skyrocketed more than tenfold over the past 15 years, jumping from $20 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) in 2011 to between $240 and $350.

Miners follow veins of cinnabar—the ore holding mercury—like ants through narrow tunnels zig-zagging deep below the mountain. They carve into the rock and lug bags of stones strapped to their backs to the surface.

The rock is shoveled into wood-fired brick ovens where the mercury heats into a gas and separates from other minerals. The gas then cools into droplets of silver liquid that slowly drip down a pipe to be collected in small plastic Coca-Cola bottles, each of which sells for around $1,800. It takes a ton of rock to produce a kilo of mercury.

In a written statement, Mexico’s environmental agency said it had conducted basic studies for a program designed to transition miners away from mercury and that it was actively working to “combat illegal trafficking.” However, it declined to comment on accusations that it had failed to assist miners.

-abcnews.go.com, 15 September 2025

Commentary: While governments are analyzing the cause, they are mostly unable to offer a remedy. Dire poverty often forces people to engage in activities that are illegal. The CIA Factbook lists Mexico’s population as over 130 million. Significantly, Indigenous people make up 21.2% of the population, while overall, 36.3% are below the poverty line.

The Factbook lists the breakdown of religion as 78% Catholic, yet emphasizes the decline of that church and the increase in non-Catholic, often meaning the evangelical church. “Several Protestant and evangelical churches in Mexico are growing, even as the Catholic Church continues to see a declining share of adherents. Missionary work and the expansion of local ministries contribute to the rise of non-Catholic Christian populations, particularly in southern and northern Mexico” (Google AI Overview).

When it comes to crime rate, a Google search reveals: “Mexico has a higher murder rate than the U.S., largely driven by organized crime and gun violence linked to smuggled weapons from the U.S., with violent crime concentrated in specific areas. The U.S., however, has a much higher rate of theft and significantly more overall reported rapes per capita.”

It is of interest that the US’s northern neighbor, Canada, earns a favorable report card: “For violent crimes, the top (worst) ranked city was Memphis, TN (1,311 per 100,000) while the top ranked Canadian city was Winnipeg, which ranked 18th overall at 675 per 100,000,” that according to the Frazier Institute.

Our concern is the Church, the body of Christ. Here we have good news: Not only in the countries mentioned but also globally, Jesus is fulfilling His prophecy, “I will build my church.”