Business, Environment, Mining

Peruvian authorities seize more than 6,300 tons of highly toxic mine tailings in Juliaca

Peruvian Tourism and Ecological Police in Juliaca, the largest city and capital of Peru’s highland San Román province, have seized more than 6,300 tons of highly toxic mine tailings in 2008, said Juliaca Police Chief Andrés Apaza Machaca.

“We have worked hard and well this year and that is why we have seized this large quantity of (mine tailings) that harms the ecology,” Apaza was quoted saying Monday in  comments to Puno daily Los Andes. “We know that there is more and that (what we have seized) is only a part of the large quantities (of tailings) that are never discovered.”

In 2007, approximately 40 tons of tailings were seized by police from trucks and private homes in and around Juliaca. This year, police have seized a shocking 6,300 tons, of which most is believed to have originated from the La Rinconada and Untunca gold mines.

Tailings, also known as slimes or gangue, are produced when mechanical and chemical processes are used to extract the desired product from the worthless ore and are usually stored on the surface in retaining structures such as dams.

Common materials and elements found in these tailings include arsenic, barite, radioactive materials, mercury, cadmium, hydrocarbons, and sometimes cyanide and sulphuric acid. All pose a serious threat to the environment and human health.

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