Mine tailings

Very little business activity does not create waste and pollution. A fundamental part of capitalist activity is to produce consumer goods – that is, to turn raw materials into finished commodities. In mining, for example, we may have to mine over 200 tons of ore to furnish enough gold for twelve wedding bands. The ore is often washed with a mix of water and cyanide to extract the gold and other minerals such as sulphur and mercury. Ideally, the leftover slurry is treated and kept in holding tanks.

Mines often bring prosperity to the surrounding areas – local people are employed, roads are constructed, and the company may develop local health clinics and other community initiatives – yet they remain controversial. In Turkey, the world's largest gold mining company, Newmont, based in Denver, Colorado, closed its operations on the Aegean coast after residents complained to the European Court of Human Rights about excessive cyanide pollution, despite government support for the development at the local and national level. Newmont also admitted that it released more than 17 tons of mercury into the atmosphere and dumped 16 tons into the sea near Sulawesi Island in Indonesia during a five-year period between 1997 and 2002, but said that the emissions complied with all US and local regulations. By way of comparison, companies in the United States are required to restrict emissions and contain them as much as possible: for instance, the Xcel Energy plant in Pueblo, Colorado, released only 16 pounds of mercury vapor in 2003, while their filters captured another 118 pounds.