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84-603: Kinross Gold operates mines in North and South America, and West Africa. In 2022, 58% of Kinross gold production was expected to come from the Americas. This property includes a mill, tailings storage, heap leach facility, the Gil project, and the True North open pit mine, which is closed and under monitoring. Expected to run out of ore in 2021, the mine's life has been extended to 2030 following

168-599: A $ 1 million donation by Kinross in 2010, the University of Guelph created a new chair as part of its BetterPlanet Project. Said Chair is named the Kinross Chair in Environmental Governance, and is held by a "succession of experts". Also with the university, Kinross provided $ 100 thousand towards its Fight Against Hunger. In 2010, Kinross committed to contribute $ 10 million over a three-year period towards developing

252-620: A $ 100 million expansion investment announced in 2018, increasing life-of-mine production by about 1.5 million gold equivalent ounces. The Round Mountain Gold Mine is located in Nye County, Nevada and has operated by Kinross since 2003. They purchased the remaining outstanding interest in the company from Barrick Gold in 2016. Located in White Pine County, Nevada , the Bald Mountain mine

336-675: A Ba1 rating to Kinross, "primarily driven by the company's good scale (2.78 million gold-equivalent ounces (GEO) as of March 2017 LTM), low leverage (1.7x LTM adjusted Debt/EBITDA), and very good liquidity (SGL-1). On March 2, 2020, Moody's announced it had upgraded Kinross's credit rating to investment grade. Their senior unsecured notes rating was upgraded to Ba1, with a stable outlook. Kinross currently holds investment grade ratings from Moody's, S&P Global Ratings, and Fitch Ratings . In 2015, Kinross achieved an A− ranking in Maclean's magazine's annual assessment of socially responsible companies,

420-438: A consequence of the processing of phosphate rock for the production of phosphate fertilizers. In addition to being useless and abundant, phosphogypsum is radioactive due to the presence of naturally occurring uranium and thorium , and their daughter isotopes . Depending on the price achievable on the uranium market , extraction of the uranium content may be economically lucrative even absent other incentives, such as reducing

504-613: A gold mining prospect in Red Lake, Ontario, Canada. Kinross shares dropped 9% after it announced the buyout bid. The deal to acquire Great Bear closed on February 24, 2022. Annual gold production (thousands of ounces) was: Kinross' proven and probable gold reserves were 32.6 million ounces as of December 31, 2021. Kinross Gold's total assets decreased significantly in recent years, from $ US 16.39 billion in 2010 to $ US 7.73 billion in 2015. Kinross suspended dividend payments in 2013. It started paying again in 2020, and that year, also announced

588-817: A joint venture with Teck Resources in Chile. In 2017, Goldcorp announced it had formed a 50/50 joint venture with Barrick Gold to consolidate the Maricunga Gold Belt in the Atacama Region of northern Chile. On June 9, Goldcorp acquired the minority 25% interest held by Kinross Gold in Cerro Casale and 100% interest in the Quebrada Seca exploration project for US$ 260 million and a 1.25% royalty interest in favor of Kinross on 25% of gross revenues from payable metal from Cerro Casale and Quebrada Seca, with Kinross foregoing

672-770: A mining school in Mauritania. The following year, it committed $ 2.5 million to build and equip a medical emergency centre in that country. In 2013, Kinross was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the third consecutive year, as well as the DJSI North American Index, the Ethibel Excellence Investment Register, and the Ethical Global Equity and ECPI Global Carbon Indices. For the fifth consecutive year,

756-447: A pipeline then discharged so as to eventually descend into the depths. Practically, it is not an ideal method, as the close proximity to off-shelf depths is rare. When STD is used, the depth of discharge is often comparatively shallow, and extensive damage to the seafloor can result due to covering by the tailings product. If the density and temperature of the tailings product is not controlled, it may travel long distances, or even float to

840-595: A share buyback program. In 2015 in the wake of declining gold prices, Kinross closed their office in Denver and eliminated 110 corporate positions in Denver, Chile, Spain, and Toronto. In 2016, Standard & Poor's lowered Kinross' credit rating to junk bond status, largely based on the share of their production that came from mines in Russia, which the agency saw as a significant risk. In 2017, Moody's Investors Service assigned

924-569: A source of acid drainage , leading to the need for permanent monitoring and treatment of water passing through the tailings dam; the cost of mine cleanup has typically been 10 times that of mining industry estimates when acid drainage was involved. The greatest danger of tailings ponds is dam failure, with the most publicized failure in the U.S. being the failure of a coal slurry dam in the West Virginia Buffalo Creek Flood of 1972, which killed 125 people; other collapses include

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1008-464: A wide range of methods for recovering economic value, containing or otherwise mitigating the impacts of tailings. However, internationally, these practices are poor, sometimes violating human rights. Tailings are also called mine dumps , culm dumps , slimes , refuse , leach residue , slickens , or terra-cone (terrikon) . The effluent from the tailings from the mining of sulfidic minerals has been described as "the largest environmental liability of

1092-433: Is HDPF – High Density Paste Fill. HDPF is a more expensive method of tailings disposal than pond storage, however it has many other benefits – not just environmental but it can significantly increase the stability of underground excavations by providing a means for ground stress to be transmitted across voids – rather than having to pass around them – which can cause mining induced seismic events like that suffered previously at

1176-567: Is a growing use of the practice of dewatering tailings using vacuum or pressure filters so the tailings can then be stacked. This saves water which potentially reduces the impacts on the environment in terms of a reduction in the potential seepage rates, space used, leaves the tailings in a dense and stable arrangement and eliminates the long-term liability that ponds leave after mining is finished. However although there are potential merits to dry stacked tailings these systems are often cost prohibitive due to increased capital cost to purchase and install

1260-695: Is a lower potential for seepage. However the cost of the thickening is generally higher than for conventional tailings and the pumping costs for the paste are also normally higher than for conventional tailings as positive displacement pumps are normally required to transport the tailings from the processing plant to the storage area. Paste tailings are used in several locations around the world including Sunrise Dam in Western Australia and Bulyanhulu Gold Mine in Tanzania. Tailings do not have to be stored in ponds or sent as slurries into oceans, rivers or streams. There

1344-514: Is an industrial waste generated during the processing of bauxite into alumina using the Bayer process . It is composed of various oxide compounds, including the iron oxides which give its red colour. Over 97% of the alumina produced globally is through the Bayer process; for every tonne (2,200 lb) of alumina produced, approximately 1 to 1.5 tonnes (2,200 to 3,300 lb) of red mud are also produced;

1428-693: Is an open-pit gold and silver mine in the Sánchez Ramírez Province of the Dominican Republic where mining operations started in 2012 and expect to cease in 2041. It is the largest gold mine in Latin America and 13th largest gold mine in the world. The mine is run by Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporation (PVDC), which is 60% owned by Barrick Gold Corporation and 40% owned by Newmont Corporation . Pueblo Viejo employs approximately 2,350 employees and 2,500 contractors. The economic activities of

1512-523: Is being invested in finding better methods for safe storage and dealing with it such as waste valorization in order to create useful materials for cement and concrete . Coal refuse (also described as coal waste, rock, slag, coal tailings, waste material, rock bank, culm, boney, or gob ) is the material left over from coal mining, usually as tailings piles or spoil tips . For every tonne of hard coal generated by mining, 400 kg (880 lb) of waste material remains, which includes some lost coal that

1596-542: Is operated by subsidiary KG Mining (Bald Mountain) Inc. The open-pit Paracatu gold mine, located in northwest Minas Gerais , Brazil. Kinross acquired the Tasiast mine (located in Mauritania ) in 2010, expanding the operation twice by 2017. In 2012, securities class action lawsuits launched in the U.S. and Canada, alleging Kinross Gold overstated the value of Tasiast mine in its financial statements, misrepresented some of

1680-417: Is partially economically recoverable. Coal refuse is distinct from the byproducts of burning coal, such as fly ash . Piles of coal refuse can have significant negative environmental consequences, including the leaching of iron, manganese, and aluminum residues into waterways and acid mine drainage . The runoff can create both surface and groundwater contamination. The piles also create a fire hazard, with

1764-421: Is required to identify and address those that are most at risk from a tailings facility or its potential failure." Historically, tailings were disposed of in the most convenient manner, such as in downstream running water or down drains . Because of concerns about these sediments in the water and other issues, tailings ponds came into use. The sustainability challenge in the management of tailings and waste rock

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1848-424: Is the waste rock or other material that overlies an ore or mineral body and is displaced during mining without being processed. The extraction of minerals from ore can be done two ways: placer mining , which uses water and gravity to concentrate the valuable minerals, or hard rock mining , which pulverizes the rock containing the ore and then relies on chemical reactions to concentrate the sought-after material. In

1932-423: Is to dispose of material, such that it is inert or, if not, stable and contained, to minimise water and energy inputs and the surface footprint of wastes and to move toward finding alternate uses. Bounded by impoundments (an impoundment is a dam), these dams typically use "local materials" including the tailings themselves, and may be considered embankment dams . Traditionally, the only option for tailings storage

2016-733: The Beaconsfield Mine Disaster . Usually called RTD – Riverine Tailings Disposal. In most environments, not a particularly environmentally sound practice, it has seen significant utilisation in the past, leading to such spectacular environmental damage as done by the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company in Tasmania to the King River , or the poisoning from the Panguna mine on Bougainville Island , which led to large-scale civil unrest on

2100-724: The Ok Tedi environmental disaster in New Guinea , which destroyed the fishery of the Ok Tedi River . On average, worldwide, there is one big accident involving a tailings dam each year. Other disasters caused by tailings dam failures are, the 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill and the Ajka alumina plant accident . In 2015, the iron ore tailings dam failure at the Germano mine complex in Minas Gerais, Brazil,

2184-635: The Principles for Responsible Investment . Goldcorp Goldcorp Inc. was a gold production company headquartered in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada. The company stood among the largest gold producers in the world, employed about 15,800 people worldwide, engaged in gold mining and related activities including exploration, extraction, processing and reclamation. Goldcorp’s operating assets included eleven mines in North and South America. In 2019, Goldcorp merged with Newmont Mining Corporation ,

2268-453: The archaea , bacteria , and the gas released from tailings ponds showed that those were methanogens . As the depth increased, the moles of CH 4 released actually decreased. Siddique (2006, 2007) states that methanogens in the tailings pond live and reproduce by anaerobic degradation, which will lower the molecular weight from naphtha to aliphatic , aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and methane. Those archaea and bacteria can degrade

2352-485: The Crixás mine to AngloGold Ashanti in 2012. In December 2017, Kinross acquired mineral rights to Gilmore, or Parcel G, a 709-acre tract adjacent to its Fort Knox Gold Mine , about 25 miles northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska . Estimates of the land valued it as containing 2.1 million ounces of gold. In December 2021, Kinross offered to acquire Great Bear Resources for $ 29 per share, or about $ 1.8 billion, giving it ownership of

2436-605: The Elkview Mine in British Columbia. During extraction of the oil from oil sand, tailings consisting of water, silt, clays and other solvents are also created. This solid will become mature fine tailings by gravity. Foght et al (1985) estimated that there are 10 anaerobic heterotrophs and 10 sulfate-reducing prokaryotes per milliliter in the tailings pond, based on conventional most probable number methods. Foght set up an experiment with two tailings ponds and an analysis of

2520-616: The Leagold's board of directors. In June 2017, Goldcorp announced it had formed a 50/50 joint venture with Barrick Gold to develop the Maricunga District in Chile . The transaction included the acquisition of Exeter Resource Corp. along with a US$ 260 million payment at closing to Kinross Gold . Goldcorp also granted Kinross a 1.25% royalty on the Cerro Casale and Quebrada Seca deposits. A week-long protest and blockade disrupted operations at

2604-537: The PET4K Processing Plant has been used in a variety of countries for the past 20 years to remediate contaminated tailings. The UN and business communities developed an international standard for tailings management in 2020 after the critical failure of the Brumadinho dam disaster . The program was convened by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and

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2688-477: The Peñasquito mine during the first week of October 2017. In Q2 2017, Goldcorp reported net earnings of US$ 135 million and production of 635,000 ounces of gold. In Q1 2017, Goldcorp reported net earnings of US$ 170 million and production of 655,000 ounces of gold. In 2016, Goldcorp produced 2.873 million ounces of gold at all-in sustaining costs of $ 856 per ounce. In 2015, production totalled 909,400 ounces for

2772-603: The Porcupine Joint Venture (51% Placer Dome, 49% Kinross). In January 2003 Kinross TVX Gold and Echo Bay Mines shareholders approved a $ 3-billion merger, combining the three companies, while retaining the name Kinross Gold. The TVX merger resulted in Kinross' stake in the La Coipa open pit mine, the remainder being purchased from Goldcorp in 2007. In 2006, Kinross bought Crown Resources Corporation, which gave it ownership of

2856-497: The Porgera Gold Mine is focusing on developing a method of combining tailings products with coarse waste rock and waste muds to create a product that can be stored on the surface in generic-looking waste dumps or stockpiles. This would allow the current use of riverine disposal to cease. Considerable work remains to be done. However, co-disposal has been successfully implemented by several designers including AMEC at, for example,

2940-402: The archaea and bacteria metabolize and release bubbles within the tailings, the pore water can go through the soil easily. Since they accelerate the densification of mature fine tailings, the tailings ponds are enabled to settle the solids more quickly so that the tailings can be reclaimed earlier. Moreover, the water released from the tailings can be used in the procedure of refining oil. Reducing

3024-521: The area. An investigative report by the CTV Television Network 's W5, published on their website on April 17, 2010, reported criticism by human rights workers about the damage they believe mining companies were doing to the people, the land, and the culture of Guatemala. The same news program ran a four-part documentary entitled "Paradise Lost" which explored some of the controversy surrounding Goldcorp's Marlin mine operation, and investigated

3108-562: The blood of Hondurans living downstream from Goldcorp's San Martín mine, located in the Siria Valley. While people living in the valley had equated their health problems with the mine's operations since it opened in 1999, both the company and the Honduran government disputed the study's findings. Honduran authorities, the company said, took water samples during three visits in 2008 and all pH measurements were normal. They also reviewed and approved

3192-563: The company and none have been proven in a court of law. The company's track record around transparency, policies and practices has improved since a damning 2010 study accused the company of human rights violations. Goldcorp’s operating assets included mines in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America. Goldcorp also has a number of projects including the Coffee, Cochenour and Borden projects in Canada, and NuevaUnión (formerly known as Project Corridor),

3276-881: The company from a struggling enterprise into one of the most profitable in the industry. As of the third quarter of 2014, Goldcorp was the world's fourth-largest producer of gold . In January 2017, Goldcorp announced it had divested two non-core assets through the sales of the Cerro Blanco Gold Project in Guatemala to Bluestone Resources, as well as the Los Filos Mine in Mexico to Leagold Mining. In January 2017, Goldcorp reported preliminary full year 2016 production totaling 2.873 million ounces of gold at all-in sustaining costs of around $ 850 per ounce. The Company expects to increase total annual gold production by over 20% over

3360-623: The company was named to the Jantzi Social Index , and as one of Canada's Best 50 Corporate Citizens by Corporate Knights magazine for the fourth year. In 2021, Kinross was ranked no. 22 out of 120 oil, gas, and mining companies involved in resource extraction north of the Arctic Circle in the Arctic Environmental Responsibility Index (AERI). Kinross Gold reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for

3444-603: The consistent application of its business strategy, Goldcorp has achieved significant growth, industry recognition, and numerous awards. In 2000, Goldcorp founder Rob McEwen launched the Goldcorp Challenge, sharing with the public the company’s geological data with the offer of $ 575,000 in prizes to those who could help locate Red Lake mine’s next six million ounces of gold. The challenge was successful, with more than 110 sites identified and more than 80 percent of sites yielding significant gold reserves. The challenge helped turn

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3528-511: The dams, causing environmental disasters , such as the Mount Polley disaster in British Columbia . Because of these and other environmental concerns such as groundwater leakage , toxic emissions and bird death, tailing piles and ponds have received more scrutiny, especially in developed countries, but the first UN-level standard for tailing management was only established 2020. There are

3612-416: The demand of water can also protect the environment from drought. As mining techniques and the price of minerals improve, it is not unusual for tailings to be reprocessed using new methods, or more thoroughly with old methods, to recover additional minerals. Extensive tailings dumps of Kalgoorlie / Boulder in Western Australia were re-processed profitably in the 1990s by KalTails Mining. A machine called

3696-509: The economic, environmental, and social costs and benefits of Canadian mining operations in Central America. At the request of Goldcorp shareholders, an independent human rights impact assessment (HRIA) was conducted by external auditors in 2010. Goldcorp has since implemented all recommendations from the HIRA, including the publishing of an official Human Rights Policy in 2010. On 15 July 2012,

3780-491: The filter systems and the increase in operating costs (generally associated electricity consumption and consumables such as filter cloth) of such systems. While disposal into exhausted open pits is generally a straightforward operation, disposal into underground voids is more complex. A common modern approach is to mix a certain quantity of tailings with waste aggregate and cement, creating a product that can be used to backfill underground voids and stopes . A common term for this

3864-495: The first $ 10 million payable, a contingent payment of $ 40 million payable after a construction decision at Cerro Casale, and assumption of a $ 20 million obligation to Barrick payable on commercial production at Cerro Casale. In April 2017, Goldcorp closed on the sale of its Los Filos gold mine Guerrero State, Mexico to Leagold Mining for US$ 350 million. The transaction included US$ 279 million in cash and $ 71 million in common shares of Leadgold. Goldcorp also nominated Russell Ball,

3948-413: The fourth quarter and 3,464,400 ounces for the full year 2015, compared to 890,900 ounces and 2,871,299 ounces, respectively, in 2014. Goldcorp was officially incorporated in 1994. Following a period of M&A activity, the company quickly grew to become a leading gold producer. The company is focused on responsible mining practices with safe, low-cost production in areas of low political risk. Through

4032-405: The future. Paste tailings is a modification to the conventional methods of disposal of tailings (pond storage). Conventional tailings slurries are composed of a low percent of solids and relatively high water content (normally ranging from 20% to 60% solids for most hard rock mining) and when deposited into the tailings pond the solids and liquids separate. In paste tailings the percent of solids in

4116-412: The global average is 1.23. Annual production of alumina in 2023 was over 142 million tonnes (310 billion pounds) resulting in the generation of approximately 170 million tonnes (370 billion pounds) of red mud. Due to this high level of production and the material's high alkalinity , if not stored properly, it can pose a significant environmental hazard. As a result, significant effort

4200-402: The harm the radioactive heavy metals do to the environment. Bauxite tailings is a waste product generated in the industrial production of aluminium . Making provision for the approximately 70 million tonnes (150 billion pounds) that is produced annually is one of the most significant problems for the aluminium mining industry. Red mud , now more frequently termed bauxite residue,

4284-753: The highest ranking of any Canadian mining company. For Kinross' cooperation with an environmental group in Washington state , and for five out of eight mines being in compliance with the International Cyanide Management Code (as of May 2013, the Company had eight of its nine mines in compliance with the International Cyanide Management Code), Kinross was recognized as one of Canada's Top 50 Most Responsible Corporations by Maclean's magazine and Jantzi Research in 2009. Through

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4368-614: The island, and the eventual permanent closing of the mine. As of 2005, only three mines operated by international companies continued to use river disposal: The Ok Tedi mine , the Grasberg mine and the Porgera mine , all on New Guinea. This method is used in these cases due to seismic activity and landslide dangers which make other disposal methods impractical and dangerous. Commonly referred to as STD (Submarine Tailings Disposal) or DSTD (Deep Sea Tailings Disposal). Tailings can be conveyed using

4452-538: The large exposed surface area of the minerals. The fraction of tailings to ore can range from 90 to 98% for some copper ores to 20–50% of the other (less valuable) minerals. The rejected minerals and rocks liberated through mining and processing have the potential to damage the environment by releasing toxic metals (arsenic and mercury being two major culprits), by acid drainage (usually by microbial action on sulfide ores), or by damaging aquatic wildlife that rely on clear water (vs suspensions). Tailings ponds can also be

4536-719: The latter, the extraction of minerals from ore requires comminution , i.e., grinding the ore into fine particles to facilitate extraction of the target element(s). Because of this comminution, tailings consist of a slurry of fine particles, ranging from the size of a grain of sand to a few micrometres. Mine tailings are usually produced from the mill in slurry form, which is a mixture of fine mineral particles and water. Tailings are likely to be dangerous sources of toxic chemicals such as heavy metals , sulfides and radioactive content. These chemicals are especially dangerous when stored in water in ponds behind tailings dams . These ponds are also vulnerable to major breaches or leaks from

4620-512: The mine back to Kinross, along with Maricunga Gold Mine in Chile, as part of the merger. Kinross acquired Hollinger Mines in 1999 as part of a land package prior to the bankruptcy of Royal Oak Mines (later sold to Goldcorp in 2006). Also that year, Kinross acquired LA Teko Resources Ltd. through its wholly owned subsidiary, LT Acquisition Inc. division. In July 2002, Kinross and Placer Dome combined their assets in Timmins , Ontario and formed

4704-588: The mine represent 2% of the Dominican Republic’s gross domestic product and Pueblo Viejo is the largest corporate taxpayer in the country. The mine has generated an environmental conflict , because pollution from the tailings dam and windblown particulates have contaminated rivers and killed local livestock who ingested the toxins. Local communities say that the mine has ruined their lives and caused many health problems: skin lesions are common; children are sickened by chemical vapors; and agricultural land

4788-580: The mine's closure plan. In 2009, two studies commissioned by the UK-based advocacy group CAFOD have found the company's methods to extract gold from low-grade deposits also releases other toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead, contaminating streams and groundwater. The first study from Newcastle University detected acidic mine drainage, whereby sulphides in the rock are exposed to oxygen and water and produce sulphuric acid, which can have devastating effects on animals and plants. A follow-up study by

4872-451: The mine's project expansion schedules, and made other false statements . In 2015, the parties reached no-fault settlement agreements which included payments by Kinross totaling approximately $ US 40 million. In June 2016, due to "government allegations of invalid work permits" for expatriate employees, the mine suspended operations, resuming them in August that same year. In May 2020, there

4956-647: The mineral resource Buckhorn Mountain (later Buckhorn Gold Mine) and the associated mineral processing facilities. In 2007, Kinross traded assets with Goldcorp ; Kinross received $ 200 million and the remaining portion of the La Coipa Gold Mine it had acquired with the TVX merger, in exchange for giving up its 49% of the Porcupine Joint Venture and 31.9% of the Musselwhite mine . In 2010, Kinross purchased 91% of Red Back Mining for $ 7.1 billion. The purchase brought with it

5040-471: The mining industry". These tailings contain large amounts of pyrite (FeS 2 ) and Iron(II) sulfide (FeS), which are rejected from the sought-after ores of copper and nickel, as well as coal. Although harmless underground, these minerals are reactive toward air in the presence of microorganisms, which if not properly managed lead to acid mine drainage . Between 100 million and 280 million tons of phosphogypsum waste are estimated to be produced annually as

5124-439: The naphtha, which was considered as waste during the procedure of refining oil. Both of those degraded products are useful. Aliphatic, aromatic hydrocarbons and methane can be used as fuel in the humans' daily lives. In other words, these methanogens improve the coefficient of utilization. Moreover, these methanogens change the structure of the tailings pond and help the pore water efflux to be reused for processing oil sands. Because

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5208-399: The natural topographical depression in the ground. Large earthen dams may be constructed and then filled with the tailings. Exhausted open pit mines may be refilled with tailings. In all instances, due consideration must be made to contamination of the underlying water table, amongst other issues. Dewatering is an important part of pond storage, as the tailings are added to the storage facility

5292-508: The next five years to more than three million ounces annually. In February 2017, Goldcorp announced it had purchased New Gold 's 4% gold stream on the El Morro deposit. The El Morro deposit is part of NuevaUnión, a 50/50 joint venture with Teck Resources that combines the Relincho and El Morro deposits. On 14 January 2019, Goldcorp agreed to a merger acquisition by Newmont Mining Corporation ,

5376-513: The plant's roots can prevent water erosion, immobilise metals by adsorption or accumulation, and provide a zone around the roots where the metals can precipitate and stabilise. Pollutants become less bioavailable and livestock, wildlife, and human exposure is reduced. This approach can be especially useful in dry environments, which are subject to wind and water dispersion. Considerable effort and research continues to be made into discovering and refining better methods of tailings disposal. Research at

5460-442: The potential to spontaneously ignite. Because most coal refuse harbors toxic components, it is not easily reclaimed by replanting with plants like beach grasses. Early mining operations often did not take adequate steps to make tailings areas environmentally safe after closure. Modern mines, particularly those in jurisdictions with well-developed mining regulations and those operated by responsible mining companies, often include

5544-537: The rehabilitation and proper closure of tailings areas in their costs and activities. For example, the Province of Quebec , Canada, requires not only the submission of a closure plan before the start of mining activity, but also the deposit of a financial guarantee equal to 100% of the estimated rehabilitation costs. Tailings dams are often the most significant environmental liability for a mining project. Mine tailings may have economic value in carbon sequestration due to

5628-494: The same university found evidence of "severe" contamination in the form of highly acidic and metal-rich water from the mine site flowing into a stream used by villagers for agriculture and domestic purposes. Since the closure of San Martin mine in 2008, the 1,500 hectare former mine site has been reclaimed into agricultural farmland and the former camp facilities remodeled into an ecotourism hotel. These developments have since provided employment, skills training and new investment to

5712-544: The self-organized International Peoples’ Health Tribunal, a panel of twelve "judges" with backgrounds in science, health, ecology, and human rights met in Guatemala to hear testimony relating to the effects of Goldcorp's South American mines. After the two-day tribunal, the panel found Goldcorp financially liable for health and ecological damages to the communities near its mines in Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. Pueblo Viejo mine

5796-399: The slurry produced from tar sands mining. Tailings are sometimes mixed with other materials such as bentonite to form a thicker slurry that slows the release of impacted water to the environment. There are many different subsets of this method, including valley impoundments, ring dikes, in-pit impoundments, and specially dug pits. The most common is the valley pond, which takes advantage of

5880-441: The surface. This method is used by the gold mine on Lihir Island ; its waste disposal has been viewed by environmentalists as highly damaging, while the owners claim that it is not harmful. Phytostabilisation is a form of phytoremediation that uses hyperaccumulator plants for long-term stabilisation and containment of tailings, by sequestering pollutants in soil near the roots. The plant's presence can reduce wind erosion, or

5964-514: The surrounding environment. The removal of water not only can create a better storage system in some cases (e.g. dry stacking, see below) but can also assist in water recovery which is a major issue as many mines are in arid regions. In a 1994 description of tailings impoundments, however, the U.S. EPA stated that dewatering methods may be prohibitively expensive except in special circumstances. Subaqueous storage of tailings has also been used. Tailing ponds are areas of refused mining tailings where

6048-425: The tailings slurry is increased through the use of paste thickeners to produce a product where the minimal separation of water and solids occurs and the material is deposited into a storage area as a paste (with a consistency somewhat like toothpaste). Paste tailings has the advantage that more water is recycled in the processing plant and therefore the process is more water efficient than conventional tailings and there

6132-415: The toxic chemicals could be potentially hazardous to human health; however, it is also harmful to the environment. Tailing ponds are often somewhat dangerous because they attract wildlife such as waterfowl or caribou as they appear to be a natural pond, but they can be highly toxic and harmful to the health of these animals. Tailings ponds are used to store the waste made from separating minerals from rocks, or

6216-483: The twelve months ending 31 December 2020 at 1,631 Kt (+19/+1.2% y-o-y). There have been not any significant reductions in emissions in recent years. In May 2021, Kinross committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Tailings In mining , tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction ( gangue ) of an ore . Tailings are different from overburden , which

6300-769: The two gold mines in Africa (Chirano and Tasiast). Also that year, Kinross acquired the Dvoinoye deposit and the property in Vodorazdelnaya, about 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of Kinross’ Kupol operation. In 2011, Kinross entered into a share purchase agreement with the State Unitary Enterprise of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, whereby it held 100% of the Kupol mine and exploration licenses. Kinross sold its interest in

6384-400: The water is removed – usually by draining into decant tower structures. The water removed can thus be reused in the processing cycle. Once a storage facility is filled and completed, the surface can be covered with topsoil and revegetation commenced. However, unless a non-permeable capping method is used, water that infiltrates into the storage facility will have to be continually pumped out into

6468-449: The waterborne refuse material is pumped into a pond to allow the sedimentation (meaning separation) of solids from the water. The pond is generally impounded with a dam, and known as tailings impoundments or tailings dams. It was estimated in 2000 that there were about 3,500 active tailings impoundments in the world. The ponded water is of some benefit as it minimizes fine tailings from being transported by wind into populated areas where

6552-477: The world’s second-largest producer of gold, with the merged "Newmont Goldcorp" to be the world’s largest producer. In 2020, the merged company's name was shortened to Newmont . The environmental, economic and human impact of the company’s Latin American mines has been a controversial topic for a number of years. A study by Italian activist Flaviano Bianchini in 2006 found dangerous levels of arsenic and lead in

6636-491: The world’s second-largest producer of gold. In June 2016, Goldcorp was named one of Corporate Knights magazine's Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada. In the same year, the company was also ranked among Canada's Top 100 Employers. Goldcorp has repeatedly been accused of harming the environment, livestock, and public health in multiple studies by advocacy groups and activists, contaminating areas with toxic heavy metals by its mining activities. These allegations have been denied by

6720-633: Was a short strike by unionized employees at the mine, which was suspended at the request of the Mauritanian government. A month later, Kinross reached an agreement in principle with the government, which included revalued royalties . Kinross holds 90% ownership of the Chirano gold mine, with the remainder held by the Government of Ghana . In April 2022, Kinross announced plans to sell its 90% ownership for US$ 225-million to Asante Gold Corp. Kinross Gold Corporation

6804-735: Was founded in 1993, following the amalgamation of three companies: Plexus Resources Corporation, CMP Resources and numbered company 1021105 Ontario Corp., resulting in the new company owning a stake and royalties in a mining property in Fallon, Nevada and the QR Mine in British Columbia . On June 1, 1993, Kinross was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NASDAQ , then on the New York Stock Exchange in 1994. Kinross' first project – now operated by its subsidiary Fairbanks Gold Mining –

6888-523: Was the Fort Knox Gold Mine , an open-pit mining operation in Alaska. The area, including surrounding deposits, was prospected as early as 1913, but no mining took place until 1996. The mine currently produces over 200,000 ounces of gold a year. In 1998, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kinross merged with Amax Gold, forming Kinam Gold, the company's largest subsidiary. effectively transferring ownership of

6972-580: Was the country's biggest environmental disaster. The dam breach caused the death of 19 people due to flooding of tailings slime downstream and affected some 400 km of the Doce river system with toxic effluence and out into the Atlantic Ocean. Tailings deposits tend to be located in rural areas or near marginalized communities, such as indigenous communities . The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management recommends that "a human rights due diligence process

7056-525: Was to contain the tailings slurry with locally available earthen materials. This slurry is a dilute stream of the tailings solids within water that was sent to the tailings storage area. The modern tailings designer has a range of tailings products to choose from depending upon how much water is removed from the slurry prior to discharge. It is increasingly common for tailings storage facilities to require special barriers like Bituminous Geomembranes (BGMs) to contain liquid tailings slurries and prevent impact to

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