Reply #4: It depends if they do cyanide leaking or not. [View All]

I doubt they do since that is the most regulated gold mining activity. Cyanide causes huge ecological problems so most companies avoid it if possible simply because they get sued and then are forced to clean up their mess. Now then, more then likely they move several tons of earth to get a single ounce of gold and that is indeed the standard in mining today. It can be done profitably under those conditions but in several countries mining companies aren't required to back fill their massive holes which means perminent scares are left on the Earth's surface. Now, if the companies back fill the area then little perminent harm should be done provided they keep the top soil seperate from the bed rock and over burden.

Not sure that is what really occurs or not though.