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HIDDEN DANGERS OF LYDIAN INTERNATIONAL'S GOLD MINE. CYANIDE
Lragir.am
Country - 22 December 2014, 15:36
People who are concerned about the environmental issues in Armenia
one more time got convinced that the environmental examination in our
country does not serve its intended purpose, but only automatically
confirmd the political decisions that have been made for realizing
this or that program. Another evidence of this was the environmental
impact assessment report #76 given on October 17, 2014 by the Ministry
of Environmental Protection of Republic of Armenia (RA) to the mining
complex working draft presented by Lydian International/Geoteam CJSC.
There was no professional analysis and evaluation of the environmental
hazards of this mega and disastrous project done by the ministry
experts, but there was only a documentation study done and a ten-page
summary was established which doesn't give much information to
the public.
As the authorized state bodies did not do their duties assigned to
them by the laws and decisions of the RA, we have to reflect on the
uncontrolled dangers of Amulsar mine in series of analytical short
articles, so that the public will be informed of the true situation.
In these first series of articles we will present the hidden dangers
of the method of sodium cyanide heap leach gold and silver mining.
Sodium cyanide (NaCN) is an extremely strong and fast-acting toxic
substance, which penetrates into human organism within 2-4 hours and
causes a painful death. For an adult only 0.3 grams of cyanide is a
deadly quantity. If it passes to the lungs through breathing it will
cause almost instant death within a minute.
"Geoteam" CJSC owned by Lydian International Limited, registered in
offshore zone, is planning to carry out the extraction of gold using
this highly toxic substance, only 1km away from Arpa River which feeds
the whole Vayots Dzor region, 1.2 km away from the nearest village
settlements Gndevaz and 7.6 km away from Jermuk rehabilitation center.
We should note that 2000 tons of sodium cyanide and 1,000 tons of
hydrochloric acid (HCl), will be used per year and, 18 000 tones
of cyanide, or 60 billion lethal dose during the nine years of mine
operation.
Let's try to understand how reliable is this method and what advantages
and disadvantages it has and in general, why to use cyanide? Cyanide
leaching method has been used for more than 100 years, but only in
the last 30 years it got to be widespread, due to the possibility of
large volumes of ore processing as a result of installation of the
so-called closed systems.
Only the application of this method makes it a profitable deal to
operate mines with less than one gram per ton gold content (in the case
of Amulsar it's 0.7-0.8 g / t). And this is the only and most important
reason why Lydian / Geoteam have chosen this method of extracting gold.
But behind the cyanide leaching method serious primary and secondary
risks are hidden which in many cases are uncontrollable. Primary
risks include fires in cyanide warehouses, accidents in technical
constructions, the emissions of toxic solvents, natural disasters,
terrorist acts and other related accidents, the consequences of which
can be very serious both for people and the environment.
The catastrophic consequences of cyanide related incidents in different
parts of the world over the last 20-25 years only confirm this claim
(Romania - 2000, 2004, Kazakhstan - 2011, Kyrgyzstan - 1998, 2004,
Russia - 1998, 2009, 2012, Ghana - 2006, Turkey - 2011, Japan 2013,
Mexico - 2014, USA, Canada, etc.).
As for the secondary risks, their nature is much more complex and
their negative impact stays forever. During the operation the gold
and silver containing ore is being crushed and as a result all of the
elements or metallic and non-metallic compounds are extracted. This
mass is processed by cyanide and water mixture, and as the result of
the chemical reaction gold is disconnected. However, cyanide comes
into reaction not only with gold but also with ore-free and many
other materials, elements and heavy metals, which result in nitrates
and other chemical compounds. In the case of Amulsar the ore contains
many precious and heavy metals such as cobalt, copper, iron, nickel,
mercury, zinc, tungsten, bismuth, chromium, lead as well as harmful
toxic elements such as arsenic, selenium, beryllium, cadmium, which
will stay in the waste and in the future will pollute and endanger
both the environment and people's health as well as ecosystems.
Currently, the scientific world has not come up with a means of
neutralizing these compounds and hazardous wastes that are dumped
directly into the environment and forever remain as a "gift"
for generations to come. Therefore, the extraction of gold or
silver through the use of cyanide is only profitable if the mining
company does not pay any fees for the generated waste. If the future
generations attempt to neutralize the compounds and hazardous wastes,
then it will most likely cost them a lot more than the profits
generated from extraction and sale of gold. Residents of Armenia
will receive 100 million tons of extraction waste containing heavy
metals and toxic elements as a "gift" in return for 60 tons of gold
extracted from the Amulsar mine.
In response to the 2000 Romanian Baia Mare cyanide spill that resulted
in an environmental disaster, the European Parliament and the European
Council adopted Directive 2006/21/EC, which discusses the management
and regulation of waste generated by the extractive industry. Article
13 clearly prohibits the deposit of waste containing more than 10
grams of weak acid dissociable cyanide per ton into the environment.
In accordance with the requirements of Article 14, the extractive
companies are required to provide financial guarantees for clean-up,
rehabilitation and restoration of the contaminated areas after the
closure of the mine. Of course, these and many other liabilities set
by international standards have been neglected by Lydian International
Limited, Geoteam and Armenian public authorities.
We conclude that the extraction of gold through the use of cyanide is
not effective for mankind, and to permit the construction of cyanide
heap leach in the immediate vicinity of rivers and settlements is
simply insane, and the resulting effects on the environment and mankind
is not possible to predict nor to manage, not to mention the daily
environmental pollution occurring as a result of the gold extraction.
And we keep hearing verbal promises, such as "Nothing is going to
happen, "This is a safe technology, "We are working in accordance with
the international standards", etc. Can they guarantee safety? Are we
obligated to listen to them? How can people exposed to this danger
sleep peacefully? It seems the longing for immediate profit has
blinded everyone and for the sake of profit they are ready to "play"
with cyanide. Yes, to "play" with cyanide, because it is with the
help of cyanide that they can get more money.
Pan-Armenian Environmental Front (PAEF)
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/country/view/33347#sthash.2cqCI68h.dpuf
Lragir.am
Country - 22 December 2014, 15:36
People who are concerned about the environmental issues in Armenia
one more time got convinced that the environmental examination in our
country does not serve its intended purpose, but only automatically
confirmd the political decisions that have been made for realizing
this or that program. Another evidence of this was the environmental
impact assessment report #76 given on October 17, 2014 by the Ministry
of Environmental Protection of Republic of Armenia (RA) to the mining
complex working draft presented by Lydian International/Geoteam CJSC.
There was no professional analysis and evaluation of the environmental
hazards of this mega and disastrous project done by the ministry
experts, but there was only a documentation study done and a ten-page
summary was established which doesn't give much information to
the public.
As the authorized state bodies did not do their duties assigned to
them by the laws and decisions of the RA, we have to reflect on the
uncontrolled dangers of Amulsar mine in series of analytical short
articles, so that the public will be informed of the true situation.
In these first series of articles we will present the hidden dangers
of the method of sodium cyanide heap leach gold and silver mining.
Sodium cyanide (NaCN) is an extremely strong and fast-acting toxic
substance, which penetrates into human organism within 2-4 hours and
causes a painful death. For an adult only 0.3 grams of cyanide is a
deadly quantity. If it passes to the lungs through breathing it will
cause almost instant death within a minute.
"Geoteam" CJSC owned by Lydian International Limited, registered in
offshore zone, is planning to carry out the extraction of gold using
this highly toxic substance, only 1km away from Arpa River which feeds
the whole Vayots Dzor region, 1.2 km away from the nearest village
settlements Gndevaz and 7.6 km away from Jermuk rehabilitation center.
We should note that 2000 tons of sodium cyanide and 1,000 tons of
hydrochloric acid (HCl), will be used per year and, 18 000 tones
of cyanide, or 60 billion lethal dose during the nine years of mine
operation.
Let's try to understand how reliable is this method and what advantages
and disadvantages it has and in general, why to use cyanide? Cyanide
leaching method has been used for more than 100 years, but only in
the last 30 years it got to be widespread, due to the possibility of
large volumes of ore processing as a result of installation of the
so-called closed systems.
Only the application of this method makes it a profitable deal to
operate mines with less than one gram per ton gold content (in the case
of Amulsar it's 0.7-0.8 g / t). And this is the only and most important
reason why Lydian / Geoteam have chosen this method of extracting gold.
But behind the cyanide leaching method serious primary and secondary
risks are hidden which in many cases are uncontrollable. Primary
risks include fires in cyanide warehouses, accidents in technical
constructions, the emissions of toxic solvents, natural disasters,
terrorist acts and other related accidents, the consequences of which
can be very serious both for people and the environment.
The catastrophic consequences of cyanide related incidents in different
parts of the world over the last 20-25 years only confirm this claim
(Romania - 2000, 2004, Kazakhstan - 2011, Kyrgyzstan - 1998, 2004,
Russia - 1998, 2009, 2012, Ghana - 2006, Turkey - 2011, Japan 2013,
Mexico - 2014, USA, Canada, etc.).
As for the secondary risks, their nature is much more complex and
their negative impact stays forever. During the operation the gold
and silver containing ore is being crushed and as a result all of the
elements or metallic and non-metallic compounds are extracted. This
mass is processed by cyanide and water mixture, and as the result of
the chemical reaction gold is disconnected. However, cyanide comes
into reaction not only with gold but also with ore-free and many
other materials, elements and heavy metals, which result in nitrates
and other chemical compounds. In the case of Amulsar the ore contains
many precious and heavy metals such as cobalt, copper, iron, nickel,
mercury, zinc, tungsten, bismuth, chromium, lead as well as harmful
toxic elements such as arsenic, selenium, beryllium, cadmium, which
will stay in the waste and in the future will pollute and endanger
both the environment and people's health as well as ecosystems.
Currently, the scientific world has not come up with a means of
neutralizing these compounds and hazardous wastes that are dumped
directly into the environment and forever remain as a "gift"
for generations to come. Therefore, the extraction of gold or
silver through the use of cyanide is only profitable if the mining
company does not pay any fees for the generated waste. If the future
generations attempt to neutralize the compounds and hazardous wastes,
then it will most likely cost them a lot more than the profits
generated from extraction and sale of gold. Residents of Armenia
will receive 100 million tons of extraction waste containing heavy
metals and toxic elements as a "gift" in return for 60 tons of gold
extracted from the Amulsar mine.
In response to the 2000 Romanian Baia Mare cyanide spill that resulted
in an environmental disaster, the European Parliament and the European
Council adopted Directive 2006/21/EC, which discusses the management
and regulation of waste generated by the extractive industry. Article
13 clearly prohibits the deposit of waste containing more than 10
grams of weak acid dissociable cyanide per ton into the environment.
In accordance with the requirements of Article 14, the extractive
companies are required to provide financial guarantees for clean-up,
rehabilitation and restoration of the contaminated areas after the
closure of the mine. Of course, these and many other liabilities set
by international standards have been neglected by Lydian International
Limited, Geoteam and Armenian public authorities.
We conclude that the extraction of gold through the use of cyanide is
not effective for mankind, and to permit the construction of cyanide
heap leach in the immediate vicinity of rivers and settlements is
simply insane, and the resulting effects on the environment and mankind
is not possible to predict nor to manage, not to mention the daily
environmental pollution occurring as a result of the gold extraction.
And we keep hearing verbal promises, such as "Nothing is going to
happen, "This is a safe technology, "We are working in accordance with
the international standards", etc. Can they guarantee safety? Are we
obligated to listen to them? How can people exposed to this danger
sleep peacefully? It seems the longing for immediate profit has
blinded everyone and for the sake of profit they are ready to "play"
with cyanide. Yes, to "play" with cyanide, because it is with the
help of cyanide that they can get more money.
Pan-Armenian Environmental Front (PAEF)
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/country/view/33347#sthash.2cqCI68h.dpuf