ANNEX IVSupplementary provisions
ANNEX IV Content of the national plan on artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing referred to in Article 9 The national plan shall include the following information: (a) national objectives and reduction targets to eliminate the use of mercury and mercury compounds; (b) actions to eliminate: (i) whole ore amalgamation; (ii) open burning of amalgam or processed amalgam; (iii) burning of amalgam in residential areas; and (iv) cyanide leaching in sediment, ore or tailings to which mercury has been added without first removing the mercury; (c) steps to facilitate the formalization or regulation of the artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing sector; (d) baseline estimates of the quantities of mercury used and the practices employed in artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing within its territory; (e) strategies for promoting the reduction of emissions and releases of, and exposure to, mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing, including mercury-free methods; (f) strategies for managing trade and preventing the diversion of mercury and mercury compounds from both foreign and domestic sources to use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing; (g) strategies for involving stakeholders in the implementation and continuing development of the national plan; (h) a public health strategy on the exposure of artisanal and small-scale gold miners and their communities to mercury which shall include, inter alia, the gathering of health data, training for health-care workers and awareness-raising through health facilities; (i) strategies to prevent the exposure of vulnerable populations, particularly children and women of child-bearing age, especially pregnant women, to mercury used in artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing; (j) strategies for providing information to artisanal and small-scale gold miners and affected communities; and (k) a schedule for the implementation of the national plan.