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Report from the field: Tailings dam fails at silver mine in Turkey
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KUTAHYA, Turkey, May 10 Experts are urging residents near a silver mine in Western Turkey to evacuate after the failure of a dam holding back 15 million cubic meters of cyanide-laced mining waste. Heavy rain expected for the next three days could cause the dam to collapse, sending a river of deadly waste toward drinking water supplies and the Black Sea.
The dam, part of the mine operated by Eti Silver Corporation, failed Saturday, once again underscoring the inherent danger in dumping toxic mining waste in pools held back by dams. Hasan G kvardar, a mining engineer who is working with non-government organizations in the region to assess the situation, provided this firsthand report and accompanying photos:
Tagged with: cyanide, tailings dam, silver, failure, turkey, kutayha
Newmont at a crossroads: which path will it take?
Yesterday was Newmont Mining Corporation s annual general meeting, held in Delaware.
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Mass protest in 2004, the last time Newmont proposed expanding its Yanacocha mine into Cerro Quilish. Credit: GRUFIDES |
In the weeks leading up to the AGM, reports started to trickle in about the world s second largest gold mining company s activities around Cerro Quilish, a mountain in northern Peru that is of spiritual significance and a water source for thousands of residents in and around Cajamarca.
This news was a turnaround from Newmont s decision to back off from its proposal to mine Cerro Quilish, following weeks of protest by the region s residents in Fall 2004, which temporarily shut down Newmont s operations at the Yanacocha mine near Cajamarca.
In the years since then, Newmont has taken steps that suggest it is trying to improve on this checkered track record with communities:
Tagged with: no dirty gold, newmont, peru, cajamarca, cerro quilish
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