Abandoned Mine Sites
The number of abandoned mine sites in North America alone is well over half a million. The majority of these sites present physical and environmental hazards.
Due to past mining practices, substantial damage has been done to our environment. Mercury, used to extract gold from the soil, has caused the greatest harm. Because of its ability to bind to gold, it was used for many years to draw the precious metal from the earth. We now know that it is an extremely toxic element, but the damage has been done and it now permeates soil, our agriculture, and ultimately our bodies.
There are 4 major ways in which mining has damaged and continues to damage our environment. They are:
- Toxic metals used in an attempt to recover gold (i.e. mercury)
- Toxic chemicals for processing (i.e. cyanide)
- Land and stream damage
- Air and water pollution from oil
In early mining practices, 10-30% of mercury used was directly lost into nearby creeks and rivers. Luckily, mercury is rarely used in western world mining. However, the mercury from these early practices still contaminates our water and soil. Furthermore, mercury mining is still a concern in developing countries.
Unfortunately, unlike mercury, the use of toxic chemicals has not ceased. Many hard rock mines use cyanide to dissolve the gold in the ore. Cyanide poses a serious threat to humans, animals, and the environment if not treated properly.
Early miners used equipment called monitors that caused significant damage to land and streams. Use of such was banned in the early 1800's but the damage still remains. Modern equipment creates a large amount of pollution as well, as generators, trucks, and heavy equipment need gas, fuel, and oil to run.
Currently, some of the greatest damage to the environment comes from mine runoff. When gold ore is removed from a mine, sulphide minerals are exposed to the elements. In turn they react and leach out as sulphuric acid resulting in major water and soil damage.
Eden Initiative supports the 'Green Gold' mining practices of M Quest. This innovative mining process extracts gold in the most eco-friendly manner while cleaning the soil and water of toxic metals and chemicals. With your support, we will clean our soil and water, one mine site at a time.
