The Minamata Convention (MC) aims to restrict and limit the trading of mercury, a highly toxic pollutant. While most countries involved in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), the biggest source of mercury pollution, are MC parties, its efficacy has remained unclear. Researchers have now developed a new method of examining global mercury trade data inconsistencies based on estimating and comparing the mercury input of ASGM activities to the total mercury available domestically.