The Trouble with Gold Mining
"Gold mining is one of the most destructive industries in the world. It can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, hurt workers, and destroy pristine environments. It pollutes water and land with mercury and cyanide, endangering the health of people and ecosystems. Producing gold for one wedding ring alone generates 20 tons of waste" - Earthworks
In the air, under the ground and across communities
For over a century, cyanide, mercury and other toxic substances have been employed in the gold-mining process. The regular release of these harsh chemicals has ravaged landscapes, contaminated water supplies and contributed to the destruction of vital ecosystems.
Toxic waste
Practises of modern industrial gold mining like pit mining and cyanide heap leaching generate roughly 20 tons of toxic waste for every gold wedding ring. This waste, usually a grey sludge, is loaded with deadly cyanide and toxic heavy metals.
Many gold mines dump this waste directly into rivers, lakes and oceans. Mining companies worldwide are responsible for disposing of an estimated 180 million tons of toxic waste into these waters every year, destroying coral, marine life and freshwater ecosystems in the process.
Dams built to contain the waste, an attempt to limit environmental damage, often leak chemicals into the surrounding soil, or rupture in catastrophic spills. Of around 3,500 dams worldwide, one or two major spills occur every year, poisoning water supplies and killing fish.
In 2009, gallons of process solution containing sodium cyanide overflowed from the Ahafo open pit mine in Ghana, contaminating the Asanua river. Communities lost access to clean water, thousands of fish died and crops were ruined, a serious blow to a region long reliant on farming. A Ghanaian Ministerial Panel valued the damage at roughly $4.9 million.
Acid Mine Drainage
Acid main drainage is a form of water pollution when rain or streams come into contact with rock rich in sulfur. As a result, the water becomes highly acidic and damages downstream aquatic ecosystems. In some regions - like in the USA's Mid-Atlantic region, it's the most common form of freshwater pollution.
Underground sulfurous rocks are routinely crushed during gold mining operations and accumulated in piles, exposed to air and water. Iron sulfides in the rock (often called 'fool's gold') can react with oxygen to form sulfuric acid. Acidic water draining from these mine sites can be 20 to 300 times more concentrated than acid rain, and it's toxic to aquatic organisms for generations. Roman mining sits in England are still causing acid mine drainage more than 2,000 years later.
Mercury Pollution
Mercury, a liquid metal, is used by miners to extract gold from rock. The mining sector is responsible for the largest releases of mercury to the environment of any sector globally. A major source of air pollution, gold mining releases approximately 400 metric tons of airborne elemental mercury each year - that's roughly 2 grams of mercury for every gold wedding ring.
When mercury enters the atmosphere or reaches rivers, lakes, and oceans, it can travel great distances.
Mercury is unfortunately a toxic substance, and its use in gold-mining has been labelled a "huge public health threat" by health experts. The vapour released by mining activities has been proven to damage the kidneys, liver, brain, heart, lungs, colon, and immune system. Chronic exposure to mercury may result in fatigue, weight loss, tremors, and shifts in behaviour. In children and developing fetuses, mercury can impair neurological development.
Golden Rules
The Gold Rules are Earthworks' criteria for responsible mining, production and trading of gold. They developed the Golden Rules as part of their No Dirty Gold campaign, based on broadly accepted international human rights laws and basic principles of sustainable development. By committing to these rules, we have pledged to pursue and encourage 'cleaner' sourcing of gold.
The Golden Rules state that mining companies and operations must:
1. Respect basic human rights outlined in international conventions and law
2. Obtain the free, prior and informed consent of affected communities
3. Respect workers' rights and labour standards, including safe working conditions
4. Ensure that operations are not located in areas of armed or militarised conflict
5. Ensure that projects do not force communities off their land
6. Ensure that projects are not located in protected areas, fragile ecosystems, or other areas of high conservation or ecological value
7. Refrain from dumping mine wastes into the ocean, rivers, lakes or streams
8. Ensure that projects do not contaminate water, soil or air with sulfuric acid drainage or other toxic chemicals
9. Cover all costs of closing down and cleaning up mine sits
10. Fully disclose information about social and environmental affects of projects
11. Allow independent verification of the above
In good news: Artisanal Gold
Choosing traceable artisanal gold is an opportunity to transform the mining industry into an active force for good.
Third party-certified artisanal gold such as Fairmined Gold is priced with a small premium, which is invested in education, healthcare, environmental or community development projects, making a sustainable and meaningful difference to the lives of miners and their communities. The traceability of artisanal gold enables us to ensure that safe working conditions, fair wages, just trading opportunities and environmental conservation are prioritised.