Accidents and spills

Chronology of Accidents and Spills (1998 - 2006):

Ghana - Cyanide spill at the Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL) tailings dam in June 2006 polluted the so-called Ajoo stream; killing fish and lobsters. A joint of the main tailings pipe got loose and cyanide-laden tailings poured into the external environment. It has been reported that 30 community members who drank the water or ate the fish and lobsters needed medical care (source: Mineral Policy Institute, June 2006)

Romania – A cyanide spill from the Baia Borsa mining exploitation in Romania is suspected to have contaminated the Hungarian part of Tisza River on 28 November 2005. (source: Bucharest Daily News). No news was reported regarding the contamination this accident might have caused to relevant Romanian river basins.

Philippines – Lafayette's Rapu Rapu polymetallic project in the Philippines had two spills of process treatment water allegedly causing cyanide contamination of nearby waters with the first causing a small fish kill on 31 October 2005 (source: www.minesandcommunities.org).

Laos – A cyanide spill occurred at the Phu Bia gold mine in Laos, operated by the Australian company Pan Australian Resources. The cyanide killed fish in the nearby rivers and poisoned villagers within at least 3km of the mine site. Numerous sources in Laos, including government officials have reported that at least 60-100 villagers fell ill as a result of eating contaminated fish and drinking contaminated water (source: Mineral Policy Institute, 20 June 2005).

Australia – A report commissioned by the Western Australian government into the tailings dams at the Kalgoorlie Gold mine confirmed that the mine had for numerous years been leaking cyanide into surrounding groundwater sources. Surrounding community members had been complaining of such impacts for over a decade but the company had previously denied the allegations (source: Robin Chapple, MLC, WA Legislative Council, 30 January 2004).

Papua New Guinea – Cyanide discharged from the Misima mine, a subsidiary of Placer Dome, during the decommissioning of the mine site polluted ocean waters around the small island. The discharge resulted in poisoning of marine life, with reports of dead fish found floating in the oceans. These confirmed by the company as being linked to the discharge (source: ‘The National’, PNG, 11 August 2004).

China – The State Council of China reported seven cases of leaks of lethal chemical products for over a week in June 2004, which claimed a total of 21 lives across the country. The latest was a hydrogen cyanide gas leak from a gold mining plant in Beijing's suburban district of Huairou which killed three people and left another 15 hospitalized (source: ‘People's Daily Online’, 25 June 2004).

New Zealand – About thirty-five people were evacuated from the Lower Hutt transit depot as emergency services mopped up a toxic chemical spill. Two 180-litre drums of cyanide solution were damaged inside the main freight depot, possibly by a forklift (24 March 2004).

Romania – Romania's Siret River, a tributary of the Danube, was reported to be contaminated by cyanide. The chemicals involved in the spill leaked from a deactivated chemical processing plant, where storage conditions may not have been up to international standards. Estimates are that "10 tons of toxic substances leaked into the river" (source: Reuters, March 2004).

Nicaragua – A cyanide spill at the Greenstone/Bonanza mine in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region operated the Canadian gold-mining company Hemconic lead to cyanide leaking into the so-called Bambana River. Health workers from local Indigenous communities reported the deaths of twelve children who were suspected of having been poisoned by drinking water from the Bambana River (source: WRM's bulletin Nº 74, September 2003).

Honduras – A massive cyanide spill at the San Andrés mine in January 2003, in the Copán region, Western Honduras, contaminated the Lara River, which feeds into the river providing drinking water for the town of Santa Rosa de Copán. Even though local inhabitants reported witnessing company employees hauling away evidence, they managed to amass some 18,000 dead fish; a testament to the environmental destruction caused to the now lifeless river and to the ecosystems it nourished.

Nevada, USA – Twenty-four thousand gallons of cyanide solution were spilled at the Twin Creeks Mine owned by the US giant miner Newmont Mining. A Nevada official said 10,000 gallons entered a creek. In recent years, the owner of the proposed Crandon mine spilled cyanide twice, including a 13,000 pound spill of cyanide in Arizona. In another accident, 300,000 cubic yards of mine wastes were spilled into an Arizona creek (source: Humboldt County News - 16 May 2002).

China – In November 2001 eleven tons of liquid sodium cyanide leaked into a tributary of the Luohe River in Henan province, China after a transport accident. The Luohe River is a shallow tributary of the Yellow River.

Ghana – Villages in the Wassa West District of Ghana's western region were hit by the spill of thousands of cubic metres of mine wastewater contaminated with cyanide and heavy metals when a tailings dam ruptured at a mine operation owned by the South African company, Goldfields (October 2001).

Papua New Guinea – Rio Tinto's Lihir mine spilled cyanide into the ocean. The Australian Government's Export Finance and Insurance Company (EFIC) provided $US250 million in finance guarantees to this mine (June 30, 2001).

Nevada, USA - The Gold Quarry mine released about 245,000 gallons of cyanide-laden waste into two local creeks. In 1989 and 1990, a series of eight cyanide leaks occurred at the McCoy/Cove gold mine, releasing almost 900 pounds of cyanide. Source: Mineral Policy Center Issue Paper “Cyanide Uncertainties” 1998, Robert Moran Ph. D.

South Dakota, USA - In 1998, 6-7 tons of cyanide-laced tailings spilled from the Homestake Mine, killing fish in Whitewood Creek, Black Hills. Source: Mineral Policy Center Issue Paper “Cyanide Uncertainties” Robert Moran Ph. D. 1998.

Idaho, USA - The Grouse Creek gold mine, operated by Hecla with "state-of-the-art" technology in 1993-97, polluted surface and groundwater with cyanide due to a leaking tailings impoundment. Signs were posted to warn the public not to drink the water. Source: U.S. EPA, “Removal Action Memorandum: Grouse Creek Mine Tailings Impoundment Dewatering” May 2003

Guyana - In 1995, over 860 million cyanide-laden tailings were released into a major river when a dam collapsed at the Omai gold mine. Source: “Cyanide Uncertainties” Robert Moran Ph.D. 1998.

Kyrgyzstan - A truck transporting solid cyanide to the Kumtor mine plunged off a bridge in 1998; spilling 2 tons of cyanide into local water ways. Within days after the spill, hundreds of local residents sought treatment at medical. (source:“Cyanide Uncertainties” Robert Moran Ph.D. 1998)

South Carolina, USA - In October 1990, following heavy rains, 10 to 12 million gallons of cyanide solution (100 ppm cyanide) and several tons of sediment spilled into Little Fork Creek and the Lynches River in South Carolina from the Brewer Gold Mine. During the same storm, debris blocked a collection channel and caused a 420,000-gallon spill containing 170 ppm cyanide. The spill resulted in a fishkill for 49 miles down Lynches River (Doyle 1990; South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control 1990).