Submarine/Subaqueous Tailings Disposal

(Ottawa) The Auditor General of Canada has accepted two Environmental Petitions recently submitted by MiningWatch Canada, questioning how the federal government can permit the permanent destruction of entire fish-bearing freshwater ecosystems by mine wastes in light of the government’s stated commitment to sustainable development.

Catherine Coumans, Ph.D.

The geochemistry of the Tapian ore body is such that acid drainage and metal leaching from exposed tailings, such as those in the causeway, must be expected. The sulphide mineral nature of the Tapian ore body, which is linked to acid drainage and metal leaching is well documented.

"The principal sulphide copper mineral is chalcopyrite. (...) Pyrite [iron sulphide] is intimately associated with the chalcopyrite..."

(The Philippine Mining Journal: October 1969).

Submarine Tailings Disposal ("STD" in industry jargon) is the practice of dumping mine tailings into the sea through a submerged pipe. It is a serious and growing threat to ocean ecosystems especially in the Pacific. This package brings together case studies and background information on the ocean dumping of mine wastes. Published jointly by MiningWatch Canada and Project Underground, June 2002, in English and Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia). Available as a series of PDF files.

Under large banners with a dead fish as a logo and the slogan "Laut Tidak Untuk Tailing - The Ocean is not for Tailings," some eighty people from island southeast Asia and the Pacific region - Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia - came together in Indonesia to discuss the latest and most rapidly evolving threat to their coastal resources from international mining.