At a gold mining site in eastern Ghana, only the sounds of birds and insects break the lasting silence. Mining equipment stands still, as two Ghanaian companies wait for a new permit; a process that has taken months. The site sits near the Atewa Range Forest Reserve, an area protected by the government. Recently, a large amount of dirty waste water spilled over some of the forest’s vegetation. It came from a small gold mine that was operating without a government permit. Miners have a term for the waste water: slime. Felix Addo-Okyreh works for Ghana's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He says the slime is created when gold is separated from soil. Sometimes, the chemical mercury is used to aid the separation process. The resulting waste is then stored locally in dams. Addo-Okyreh says too much rain was to blame for the recent spillage. It rained heavily last week. So, the embankment of the dam was weak. And then it got broken, and this is the result.” The slime is toxic, meaning it can harm animals as well as plant life. It landed a few meters away from the Birim, a river supplying water to millions of people in Ghana’s capital, Accra.
Title: Ghana Struggles to End Illegal Gold Mines
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/3ffe9d9d-aeb0-4313-a707-e68423af6277_hq__1_.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Ghana Struggles to End Illegal Gold Mines' data-article-id='3888'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='10771'>At a gold mining site in eastern Ghana, only the sounds of birds and insects break the lasting silence.</span> <span data-start-time='10771' data-end-time='22333'>Mining equipment stands still, as two Ghanaian companies wait for a new permit; a process that has taken months.</span> <span data-start-time='22333' data-end-time='31792'>The site sits near the Atewa Range Forest Reserve, an area protected by the government.</span> <span data-start-time='31792' data-end-time='41354'>Recently, a large amount of dirty waste water spilled over some of the forest’s vegetation.</span> <span data-start-time='41354' data-end-time='48958'>It came from a small gold mine that was operating without a government permit.</span> <span data-start-time='48958' data-end-time='53979'>Miners have a term for the waste water: slime.</span> <span data-start-time='53979' data-end-time='63563'>Felix Addo-Okyreh works for Ghana's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).</span> <span data-start-time='63563' data-end-time='70083'>He says the slime is created when gold is separated from soil.</span> <span data-start-time='70083' data-end-time='76979'>Sometimes, the chemical mercury is used to aid the separation process.</span> <span data-start-time='76979' data-end-time='82583'>The resulting waste is then stored locally in dams.</span> <span data-start-time='82583' data-end-time='89875'>Addo-Okyreh says too much rain was to blame for the recent spillage.</span> <span data-start-time='89875' data-end-time='92271'>It rained heavily last week.</span> <span data-start-time='92271' data-end-time='95354'>So, the embankment of the dam was weak.</span> <span data-start-time='95354' data-end-time='100563'>And then it got broken, and this is the result.”</span> <span data-start-time='100563' data-end-time='108396'>The slime is toxic, meaning it can harm animals as well as plant life.</span> <span data-start-time='108396' data-end-time='120438'>It landed a few meters away from the Birim, a river supplying water to millions of people in Ghana’s capital, Accra.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/1DCCD571-6730-4609-99C5-BB4FD913EB6C_cx0_cy10_cw0_w1023_r1_s.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=13006 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/what_is_a_site.wav'>What is a site?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='the place where something is, was, or will be located'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/the_pushing_of_something_suddenly_and_with_force.wav'><span>the pushing of something suddenly and with force</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/the_place_where_something_is_was_or_will_be_located.wav'><span>the place where something is, was, or will be located</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/the_leader_or_head_of_something.wav'><span>the leader or head of something</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/the_area_in_the_middle_of_a_town.wav'><span>the area in the middle of a town</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=13007 data-hint-location='22333' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/the_site_sits_near_the_atewa_range_forest_reserve_an_area_protected_by_the_what.wav'>The site sits near the Atewa Range Forest Reserve, an area protected by the what?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='government'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/government.wav'><span>government</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/flies.wav'><span>flies</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/mountains.wav'><span>mountains</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/moose.wav'><span>moose</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=13008 data-hint-location='63563' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/he_says_the_slime_is_created_when__blank__is_separated_from_soil.wav'>He says the slime is created when <span class='blank'>gold</span> is separated from soil.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='gold'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/silver.wav'><span>silver</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/gold.wav'><span>gold</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/mercury.wav'><span>mercury</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3374/lead.wav'><span>lead</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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