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List of gold mining disasters
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This is a list of gold mining disasters including environmental, such as those arising due to dam failure, cyanide leakage into the environment, as well as inappropriate environmental toxic waste discharge due to the gold cyanidation technique used in gold mining. Other disasters at gold mines such as those resulting in loss of life are also listed.

YearMineLocationMajority OwnerCompany LocationDetails
1882Creswick AustraliaNew Australasian Gold Mine disaster: Australia's worst below-ground gold mining disaster.
1971Certej Mine Romania1971 Certej dam failure: A dam failure resulted in the leak of 300,000 cubic metres of cyanide-contaminated flood Certeju de Sus, resulting in 89 deaths.
1984-2013Ok Tedi Mine Papua New GuineaBHP AustraliaOk Tedi environmental disaster: Unrestricted waste discharges from the mine had strong effects on the environment and the 50,000 people who live downstream. Over 2 billion tons of untreated mining waste were thus discharged.
1984-2013Summitville mine USAGalactic Resources CanadaA Canadian-based company used gold cyanidation process to extract gold, resulted in 610,000 m³ of stored toxic water. Following the company's bankruptcy, the US government spent over $155 million to clean the site.
1995Omai mine GuyanaOmai Gold Mines (subsidiary of Cambior) Canada3 million cubic metres of cyanide-tainted waste was spilled into the Omai river and then the Essequibo river following a dam failure.
1996Mt. Tapian The PhilippinesMarcopper Mining CanadaMarcopper mining disaster: A fracture of the drainage tunnel for a tailings pit led to discharge of toxic waste into Makulapnit-Boac river system, causing large-scale destruction of crops, burying one village with mud and requiring 20 other villages to be evacuated.
1998Kumtor Gold Mine KyrgyzstanCenterra Gold CanadaA truck carrying 1,762 kg of sodium cyanide fell into the Barskaun River. An international independent group of experts studied the impact of the accident and concluded that no one was killed or poisoned as a result of the accident.
2000Baia Mare RomaniaEsmerelda Exploration Limited Australia2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill: A dam failure resulted in the leak of 100,000 cubic metres of cyanide-contaminated water which spilled into the Someş and Tisza. Pollution flowed into Europe's second largest river, the Danube, and finally into the Black Sea, across six countries. Hungary asserted the spill killed 1,241 tonnes of fish in Hungary alone.
2000Tolukuma gold mine Papua New GuineaDome Resources AustraliaA one-tonne cyanide crate fell from a helicopter into the jungle, while heavy rain in the area washed 100–150 kg of it into a river.
2006Beaconsfield gold mine AustraliaBeaconsfield Mine collapse: 1 miner was killed and 2 were trapped underground for a fortnight.
2009Ahafo gold mine GhanaNewmont USAOverflow of process solution containing sodium cyanide occurred within the processing plant site at Newmont Ghana's open pit Ahafo Mine. This resulted in water contamination and fish mortality.
5 August 2015Gold King Mine USA USA2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill: In Silverton, Colorado, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personnel, along with workers for Environmental Restoration LLC, caused the release of toxic waste water into the Animas River watershed.
2015Veladero mine, San Juan province ArgentinaBarrick Gold Canada1,072 cubic meters of cyanide solution reached the Potrerillos River due to a valve failure.
2019Kampine mine, Kampine town, Maniema Democratic Republic of the Congo22 illegal miners dead in an illegally run mine.
2020Kamituga mine, Kamitung town, South Kivu Democratic Republic of the Congo50+ people died after a mine collapse due to heavy rain. Three tunnels to the mine were blocked as a result of the heavy flow of water.
7 November 2021Kondago village Niger NigerNiger gold mine collapse - 30+ miners killed.
21 February 2022Gbomblora Burkina FasoInformal site Burkina FasoGbomblora explosion - 60 people killed; over 100 people were injured.
13 February 2024Çöpler Gold Mine, İliç, Erzincan TurkeySSR Mining, Anagold Mining USA,  Turkey9 miners under cyanide containing soil landslide.
2024Eagle Gold Mine CanadaVictoria Gold Corp CanadaOn June 24, 2024, 300,000 cubic metres of cyanide-contaminated water leaked from a heap leach failure in Victoria Gold Corp's Eagle Gold Mine site near Mayo, Yukon. The failure resulted in the company being forced into court ordered receivership and its stock being delisted from the TSX.

References

  1. Design, UBC Web. "Australasian Mining Disaster | Creswick Museum". www.creswickmuseum.org.au. Retrieved 2021-11-27. https://www.creswickmuseum.org.au/exhibitions/the-mining-room/australasian-mining-disaster/ ↩

  2. Cyanide from mine threatens Guyana river The Independent August 23, 1995 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/cyanide-from-mine-threatens-guyana-river-1597531.html ↩

  3. "The International Scientific Commission's Assessment of the Impact of the Cyanide Spill at Barskaun, Kyrgyz Republic, May 20, 1988" (PDF). www.centerragold.com. 1988. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 2015-05-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090602/http://www.centerragold.com/sites/default/files/final_report_of_the_international_commission_on_th_1998_cyanide_spill.pdf ↩

  4. "Hungary to sue Australian company over cyanide spill". ABC. 2000-07-11. Retrieved 2014-12-21. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2000/07/11/150431.htm ↩

  5. "Cyanide seeps into PNG rivers", BBC, March 23, 2000 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/687913.stm ↩

  6. "Grave concerns held for trapped miners. 26/04/2006". ABC News. 2006-04-27. Archived from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 2021-11-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20060427214056/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200604/s1623633.htm ↩

  7. "Newmont Gold Mine to Pay Ghana Millions for Cyanide Spill". Environment News Service. 2010-01-22. Retrieved 2014-12-21. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2010/2010-01-22-01.html ↩

  8. "Silverton to seek federal cleanup help after Gold King Mine disaster - 7NEWS Denver TheDenverChannel.com". 2015-09-06. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 2021-11-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20150906130553/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/silverton-to-seek-federal-cleanup-help-after-gold-king-mine-disaster ↩

  9. "Barrick's cyanide spill five times larger". Buenos Aires Herald. 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-09-24. http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/199455/barrick%E2%80%99s-cyanide-spill-five-times-larger- ↩

  10. Adebayo, Bukola (3 October 2019). "At least 22 killed in Congo gold mine collapse, authorities say". CNN News. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/03/africa/congo-illegal-gold-mine-collapse-intl/index.html ↩

  11. "At least 50 killed in collapsed gold mine in east Congo, says NGO". The Guardian. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/11/at-least-50-killed-in-collapsed-gold-mine-in-east-congo-says-ngo ↩

  12. "Niger gold mine death toll rises to 32". The Ghana Report. 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2021-11-09. https://www.theghanareport.com/niger-gold-mine-death-toll-rises-to-32/ ↩

  13. "About 60 killed in blast at informal gold mine -Burkina Faso state TV". Reuters. 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2022-03-22. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/least-55-killed-explosion-burkina-faso-gold-mine-site-2022-02-21/ ↩

  14. "Video. Video: Massive landslide in Turkey captured on camera". euronews. 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-02-14. https://www.euronews.com/video/2024/02/14/nine-workers-at-a-gold-mine-missing-in-turkey-after-a-landslide ↩

  15. Hong, Jackie (July 30, 2024). "'We're not out of the woods yet': Victoria Gold CEO speaks publicly for 1st time since heap leach failure". CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/john-mcconnell-victoria-gold-ceo-speaks-publicly-1.7280401 ↩