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Gold mining produces 40,000 pounds of waste for an 18-karat gold ring, including toxic waste rock that must be separated from the gold using substances like cyanide. Laws regulate waste disposal to prevent contamination of water supplies. Cyanide use in gold mining is estimated at 182,000 tonnes per year. The waste generated from producing an 18-karat gold ring weighs as much as 10 cars. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that waste rock dumped by the mining industry contains hundreds of millions of pounds of toxic substances.
Gold mining is estimated to create 40,000 pounds (18,000 kg) of waste to produce enough gold for an 18-karat gold ring. When gold is mined from the ground, it is typically mixed with other rocks that must be separated to process the gold. This excess rock is known as waste rock. Waste rock generally has no other use and is disposed of. Some mines treat the waste rock with toxic substances, such as cyanide, to help separate it from the gold. Many countries have specific laws on how waste rock should be handled, to prevent contamination of water supplies, for example.
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Gold mines around the world are estimated to use a total of 182,000 tonnes (165 million kg) of cyanide each year.
The waste generated from producing the gold needed for an 18-karat gold ring will weigh about as much as 10 average-sized cars.
Waste rock dumped by the mining industry in the United States contains hundreds of millions of pounds of toxic substances, according to estimates by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and some estimates go as high as hundreds of billions of pounds.
