Tonnes of Toxic Waste from Gold Mining This Year
CURRENT TOTAL
Live Counter Notable Facts
(Data shown in the table is for 2025. Counter shows current estimate)
Annual Toxic Waste
Per Second Rate
Waste to Gold Ratio
Understanding Tonnes of Toxic Waste from Gold Mining This Year
This counter tracks the enormous volume of toxic waste generated by gold mining operations worldwide. The gold mining industry generates approximately 180 million tonnes of toxic waste annually, often containing dangerous chemicals like arsenic, lead, mercury, and cyanide.
Mining companies around the world routinely dump toxic waste into rivers, lakes, streams and oceans. Companies mining for gold and other metals in total dump at least 180 million tons of toxic waste into water bodies each year—more than 1.5 times the waste that U.S. cities send to landfills annually.
The waste, usually a gray liquid sludge laden with deadly cyanide and toxic heavy metals, is often stored in massive tailings dams. At the world's estimated 3,500 dams built to hold mine waste, one or two major spills occur every year, causing catastrophic environmental damage.
Gold Mining Toxic Waste Overview
- For every gram of gold produced, artisanal gold miners release about two grams of mercury into the environment. Together, the world's 10 to 15 million artisanal gold miners release about 1000 tons of mercury annually, accounting for 35% of man-made mercury pollution.
- The manufacture of an average gold ring generates more than 20 tons of waste. Heap leaching operations can leave behind immense toxic piles reaching heights of 100 meters, nearly the height of a 30-story building, that can contaminate groundwater for generations.
- Many gold mines dump their toxic waste directly into natural water bodies. The Lihir gold mine in Papua New Guinea dumps over 5 million tons of toxic waste into the Pacific Ocean each year, destroying corals and other ocean life.
- Acid mine drainage from gold mining can persist for centuries. Roman mining sites in England are still causing acid mine drainage more than 2000 years later, with water 20 to 300 times more acidic than acid rain.
Gold Mining Waste Terminology
- Tailings: Fine particles of crushed rock mixed with processing chemicals left after gold extraction
- Acid Mine Drainage: Sulfuric acid produced when sulfide minerals in waste rock react with air and water
- Heap Leach Pad: Lined area where ore is piled and sprayed with cyanide solution
- Slimes Dam: Containment structure for liquid mine waste, also called tailings storage facility
Toxic Waste Composition
- Cyanide compounds: Primary processing chemical
- Heavy metals: Mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium
- Acid-generating minerals: Pyrite and other sulfides
- Processing chemicals: Xanthates, frothers, flocculants
- Radioactive materials: Uranium, thorium in some ores
Major Waste Disposal Methods
- Tailings dams: 45% (high failure risk)
- Ocean dumping: 10% (highly destructive)
- River disposal: 8% (illegal in most countries)
- Dry stacking: 15% (safer but costly)
- Underground backfill: 22% (best practice)
Environmental Damage Examples
- Mount Polley, Canada (2014): 25 million m³ spilled
- Mariana, Brazil (2015): 19 people killed, river destroyed
- Ok Tedi, PNG: 80 million tonnes/year into river
- Grasberg, Indonesia: 3 billion tonnes total waste
- 3,500 mine waste dams worldwide at risk
Data Sources and References
Methodology and Data Collection
Toxic waste estimates are based on industry reports, environmental assessments, and research showing that gold mining produces approximately 20 tonnes of waste per gold wedding ring, scaled to global production levels.
The real-time counter applies a generation rate of 5.7 tonnes per second based on annual toxic waste production of 180 million tonnes, reflecting continuous mining operations and waste generation worldwide.
Frequently Asked QuestionsAbout Tonnes of Toxic Waste from Gold Mining This Year
This counter provides estimates based on Earthworks environmental reports and UNEP Global Mercury Assessment data. The 180 million tonnes annual figure is derived from industry waste-to-gold ratios and verified environmental impact assessments.
Our primary sources include Earthworks Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining, UNEP Global Mercury Assessment, Mining Watch Canada reports, and academic research on mining waste streams and tailings dam inventories.
Gold ore contains only tiny amounts of gold—typically 1-5 grams per tonne of rock. This means mining one tonne of gold generates approximately 58,000 tonnes of toxic waste containing cyanide, arsenic, lead, and mercury used in extraction processes.
Gold mining generates approximately 180 million tonnes of toxic waste annually—about 5.7 tonnes every second. This waste, often stored in massive tailings dams, contains dangerous chemicals like cyanide and heavy metals that can contaminate water and soil.
The world's 3,500 mine waste dams experience 1-2 major spills annually. Recent disasters include Brumadinho, Brazil (2019) which killed 270 people, and Mount Polley, Canada (2014) which released 25 million cubic meters of toxic waste.