Why is cyanide used in gold mining? What is the mining industry doing to find alternatives to cyanide?
Cyanide effectively and efficiently extracts gold from ore. While a number of other chemicals are available to extract gold‚ such as chloride bromide‚ thiourea‚ and thiosulfate‚ these form less stable complexes with gold and thus require more aggressive conditions and oxidants to dissolve the gold. The alternative chemicals are generally more expensive to use and also present risks to health and the environment that are similar to or greater than that presented by cyanide. The industry continues to search for cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to cyanide. See Cyanide Facts for more information.
