© 2003 Chris Augusta ...Science Art-Birds

Title: Malarial Dreams
Species: Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja), caracara sp., heron sp.
Artist: Chris Augusta (for further information, click on the artist's name)
Image size: 36" x 48"
Media: oil
Date: 2003
Collection of the artist

In a study published in 2003, researchers found that small- and medium-scale mining operations in Guyana have risen significantly since the 1980s. Most of these operations involve the use of mercury to recover the gold, but some use sodium cyanide. Sodium cyanide is cheap, but the extraction method, called 'heap leaching" is very dangerous. In this method, the ore, instead of being enclosed in a vat, is laid out in heaps on plastic sheets and sprayed with dilute sodium cyanide. It is the same method associated with the Summitville disaster in Colorado.

The artists notes: "This is an imaginary scene depicting a small gold mining operation that I visited in Guyana. Roving surface mines, like this one, blast the land into slurry, which is processed with sodium cyanide to extract the gold, leaving behind a ravaged landscape and poisoned watershed. There was a Harpy Eagle nest near the camp and the other birds shown here--the heron and caracara, were derived from sketches done in Guyana."