Why Choose Recycled Gold?
Mining can be one of the most ecologically destructive activities on the planet, and sadly, gold mining is among the most destructive types of mining. Gold mining produces massive amounts of solid waste – as much as 18 tons of waste for every gold ring produced – and frequently employs a process called heap leaching, which uses a toxic cyanide solution to remove the gold from a pile of ore. The toxic waste this produces is dumped in enormous piles, some as high as a thirty story building. Gold mining also frequently pollutes nearby surface and groundwater thanks to leaching of cyanide and heavy metals. Mine tailings, a form of semi-solid waste, are aother source of water pollution. Tailings are often stored in dammed reservoirs, which have been known to leak or burst through their dams. In 1994, a broken dam in Guyana leaked 3 billion liters of cyanide-contaminated tailings from a nearby gold mine into the Omai River, destroying all aquatic life. Other mining companies have legally or
