As Mining Profits Soar, Time for Mining Companies to Pay
Legislation to make the mining industry pay its share and clean up its messes was welcomed today by Western communities who live daily with the impacts of mining. "With record-high metals prices and skyrocketing industry profits, it's time for mining companies to pay their fair share," said Lauren Pagel, policy director for …
Impacts of Dirty Gold on Communities
In the air, under the ground, across communities, gold mining is a pervasive threat to communities.
Cyanide Uncertainties
In gold mining, a dilute cyanide solution is sprayed on crushed ore that is placed in piles, commonly called heaps, or mixed with ore in enclosed vats. The cyanide attaches to minute particles of gold to form a water-soluble, gold-cyanide compound from which the gold can later be recovered. Cyanide is used in a similar manner to extract silver from
Surviving Next to One of the World's Largest Gold Mines
The Pueblo Viejo mine is the sixth largest gold mine in the world and there has been mining activity at or near the site of the mine since the 1970s. The mine has had a number of different owners, and became a 60/40 joint venture between Canada-based Barrick Gold and U.S.-based Newmont in 2006.
Cyanide Use in Gold Mining
A sodium cyanide solution is commonly used to leach gold from ore. There are two types of leaching: 1. Heap leaching: In the open, cyanide solution is sprayed over huge heaps of crushed ore spread atop giant collection pads. The cyanide dissolves the gold from the ore into the solution as …
New Study: 74% of U.S. gold mines pollute water
Washington, D.C., July 20 -- A new study of U.S. gold mines' operating records reveals that major gold mines surveyed by the United States Geological Survey have spilled contaminants, and 74% polluted water with cyanide, arsenic, nitrates or other hazardous materials. Earthworks and Great Basin Resource Watch released U.S. Gold Mines: …
Regulations on Cyanide Use in Gold Mining
Regulations on Cyanide Use in Gold Mining. The Cyanide Code. After the Aural Mine spill in Romania, an international group of stakeholders created the International Cyanide …
Mining Industry Exploits Clean Water Act Loopholes
The metals mining industry is the single largest source of toxic waste and one of the most environmentally destructive industries in the country. ... and crushing many thousands of acres of land and treating the ore with huge quantities of toxic chemicals such as cyanide and sulfuric acid. The mines that produce our gold, silver, copper, and ...
Gold Mining With Cyanide
"In gold mining, a diluted cyanide solution is sprayed on crushed ore that is placed in piles or mixed with ore in enclosed vats," reports the State Environmental Resource Center (SERC), a project of the non-profit Defenders of Wildlife. "The cyanide attaches to minute particles of gold to form a water-soluble, gold-cyanide compound from ...
Fans Urge Alicia Keys to Say No to Dirty Gold Mining
Washington, DC - Thousands of music fans and college students from around the country are sending letters to singer-songwriter Alicia Keys who was featured this past summer in Vogue and Vanity Fair as part of a new jewelry advertising campaign launched by the World Gold Council and its member mining companies to boost gold consumption. Thus far, …
Fort Belknap Reservation
The Zortman Landusky gold and silver mine is located in the Little Rocky Mountains of north central Montana, just south of the Fort Belknap Reservation -- home to the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes. Cyanide Spill Contaminates Drinking Water The mine, which operated from 1979 – 1998, has caused extensive surface and groundwater …
Cyanide hazards to plants and animals from gold mining and …
In this account, we review the history of cyanide use in gold mining with emphasis on heap leach gold mining, cyanide hazards to plants and animals, water …
Alaska Metal Mines
Introduction. Metal mining is the leading source of toxic releases in Alaska.¹ Uncontrolled mine waste, as well as the processing chemicals used to extract the ore, can be a significant source of pollution to the water, land and air. There are five major operating mines in Alaska: Red Dog zinc-lead mine, Fort Knox gold mine, Pogo gold mine, …
Of vampires and a zombie mine in Transylvania
The opposition isn't surprising, given the environmental concerns about the project, as well as Romania's less than stellar history with gold mining. In the year 2000, the Baia Mare mine spilled cyanide-laced wastes into the Tisza and Danube Rivers, contaminating the drinking water supplies of 2.5 million people and killing 1200 tons of fish.
Groups Urge Ghana Government to Audit North American Mining …
Accra, Heidelberg, and Washington DC: Today, EARTHWORKS, FIAN International, and the Wassa Association of Communities affected by Mining (WACAM) are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Ghana to conduct an environmental audit of Bogoso Gold Limited's gold mining operations in Prestea in the Western Region of …
Best management practices in the use of cyanide in
The gap in applicable guidance for cyanide management in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector requires urgent attention, especially considering cyanide's …
The Dangers of Cyanide in Gold Mining
Gold mining can be extremely dangerous and one of the most harmful practices is the use of cyanide to extract the precious metal from the rock.
Issues Archive
Regulations on Cyanide Use in Gold Mining After the Aural Mine spill in Romania, an international group of stakeholders created the International Cyanide Management Code for the Manufacture, Transport and Use of Cyanide in …
The Philippine Reporter
Dear EarthTalk: Most gold mining operations use cyanide to extract gold from surrounding rock. What are the environmental implications of this, and are there …
Denver-based Newmont Mining Co. fined millions for cyanide …
Accra and Washington, 01/21: Ghanaian authorities are fining Denver-based Newmont Mining millions of dollars for negligently spilling cyanide at its Ahafo gold mine in October 2009, resulting in water contamination and fish kills. A Ghanaian Ministerial Panel that evaluated the spill and its aftermath recommended that the company be fined US$ 4.9 …
Bonnie Gestring
Prior to working at Earthworks, Bonnie worked as a Community Organizer at the Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) in Helena, Montana. She was a leader in campaigns to stop irresponsible gold mining on the Blackfoot River and to pass the citizen's initiative banning open pit cyanide process mining in Montana.
Certified "Fairtrade" gold
The concerns EARTHWORKS raised in 2007 and 2009 still remain, as explained in the No Dirty Gold campaign's 2010 comparison of standards for responsible artisanal and small-scale mining of gold and precious metals. Reliably verifying compliance with more "responsible" use of mercury or cyanide would be challenging.
Stibnite Mine – An Aerial View
While I appreciate the idea behind the proposal, and recognize that it is beneficial to reduce the demands for new mining by re-mining old waste, I remain deeply concerned about this project because re-mining is actually just a small part of the operation. Ultimately, this is a proposal for a cyanide leach gold mine and a big one.
Cyanide in Mining
The use of cyanide (CN) compounds by the mining industry raises many conflicting and confusing issues.
Montana DEQ Issues $516,567 Penalty Against Mining
(Fort Belknap Indian Community, Montana) In response to unpermitted and illegal alleged mining activity at the defunct Zortman-Landusky mine site, in early July the Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued a $516,567 penalty to Luke Ployhar, Owen Voigt, and their mining companies. Zortman-Landusky is the site of a former …
Alternatives to cyanide in the gold mining industry: what …
Abstract This paper reviews a series of alternative lixiviant systems for the recovery of gold from ores and concentrates. For over 100 years, cyanide has been the …
Reform the 1872 Mining Law to Protect Sacred Sites like
Last month, the Quechan people celebrated a victory. They have stopped a gold mining company from drilling on sacred land in the California desert.
Cyanide Leaching Chemistry & Gold Cyanidation
Inasmuch as gold-silver alloys of this composition are almost as soluble in cyanide as gold is, it is probable that some other factor has affected the solubility of the electrum particles. Possibly some other alloying element has influenced their solubility in cyanide. The only compounds of gold found in nature are the gold-silver tellurides.
The Case for Revising Federal Hardrock Mining Rules
The August 5, 2015 Gold King Mine disaster in Colorado has renewed interest in reforming our nation's outdated oversight of hardrock mining (mostly metals like gold and copper) in order to clean up old mines.
Gold Mining with Cyanide | New Hampshire Public Radio
EarthTalk® E - The Environmental MagazineDear EarthTalk: Most gold mining operations use cyanide to extract gold from surrounding rock. What are the…