The Toxic Legacy of Mining

Mining takes a severe toll on the environment, disturbing vast areas of land and polluting water and air with toxic by-products. Grassroots attorneys around the world call on E-LAW for help understanding the complex scientific and technical issues that mining raises. Many lawyers in the E-LAW network have little training in the sciences, so there is a tremendous need for this technical expertise.

Families live near a U.S.-owned smelter in La Oroya Antigua in the Peruvian Andes. (Photo: Meche Lu)

Every stage in the mineral extraction process poses significant dangers. The initial extraction of ore deposits often involves bulldozers destroying vegetation and removing layers of soil. Mineral-bearing ores contain only a small fraction of the desired mineral, so milling of ore results in massive amounts of waste material, called tailings. Tailings are stored in enormous ponds or simply dumped in or near rivers. Tailings often contain toxic heavy metals and acid- generating wastes which can poison water for decades.

A variety of techniques are used to extract minerals. In gold mining, a highly toxic cyanide solution is often used to leach gold from piles of rubble, posing an immediate threat to nearby communities and wildlife. A tailings dam at the Omai Gold Mine in Guyana broke in August 1995, discharging 3.2 billion liters of cyanide-laced water into the Omai and Essequibo Rivers. Mining practices established for dry regions of the U.S. were used at the rainforest site at Omai, with tragic results. E-LAW U.S. has worked with grassroots attorneys in Guyana seeking compensation for river communities poisoned by cyanide.

The final stage of mining — mine reclamation — is often neglected. Mining companies frequently abandon their wastes, leaving a legacy of environmental damage for future generations.

Grassroots attorneys in Peru, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa are calling on E-LAW for help protecting communities from adverse mining impacts.

In Peru, protests have forced the government to give local residents the final say on whether a Canadian company can develop a massive copper deposit. Wastes from the mine may ruin the area`s agricultural production. Responding to a call from local lawyers helping the community, E-LAW`s scientists reviewed the EIA and identified several flaws in the mining project design.

In Kenya, an environmental lawyer recently convinced a judge to stop development of a large- scale titanium mine. E-LAW`s scientists are reviewing the EIA for the proposed operation. In Tanzania, several people have died after allegedly coming into contact with cyanide-laced effluent from a gold mine near Lake Victoria. E-LAW`s scientists helped local lawyers find low- cost, portable test kits that can be used to identify whether the mine is the source of deadly cyanide leaks.

E-LAW U.S. Staff Scientists are working with pro bono scientists across the U.S. to get advocates the exact information they need to protect the environment and public health.