List of gold mining disasters


This is a list of gold mining disasters resulting from dam failure, cyanide leaking into the environment and inappropriate toxic waste discharge related to gold mining using the gold cyanidation technique.
YearMineLocationMajority OwnerCompany LocationDetails
1971Certej MineRomania1971 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 MinePapua New GuineaBroken Hill Proprietary Co.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 mineUnited StatesGalactic ResourcesCanadaA 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 mineGuyanaOmai Gold Mines Canada3 million cubic metres of cyanide-tainted waste was spilled into the Omai river and then the Essequibo river following a dam failure.
1996Mt. TapianPhilippinesMarcopper MiningCanadaMarcopper 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 MineKyrgyzstanCenterra GoldCanadaA 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 MareRomaniaEsmerelda Exploration LimitedAustralia2000 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 minePapua New GuineaDome ResourcesAustraliaA 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.
2009Ahafo gold mineGhanaNewmont MiningUSAOverflow 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.
2014Mount Polley mine, British ColumbiaCanadaImperial MetalsCanadaMount Polley mine disaster: A tailing pond breach at Imperial Metals Corp's open-pit mine resulted in 10m cubic meters of water and 4.5m cubic meters of toxic slurry being spilled
2015Veladero mine, San Juan provinceArgentinaBarrick GoldCanada1,072 cubic meters of cyanide solution reached the Potrerillos River due to a valve failure.