Destroying the Amazon A gold mining boom is accelerating the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, a biologically diverse ecosystem that acts as a check on global warming. Artisanal, or small-scale, gold miners are tearing down the forest to access the rich gold deposits beneath. One study found that deforestation rates in the Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon have increased six-fold due to gold mining. Gold mining is also responsible for releasing large amounts of mercury into the Amazon’s air and water. The mercury is poisoning plants, animals, fish, and people. In one city in the Peruvian Amazon, unsafe mercury levels were recorded in 80 percent of local residents. The gold mining boom does not bode well for the Amazon or the people, both locally and globally, who depend on it. Further Reading Discovery News As Gold Prices Go Up, Forests Are Coming Down Mining.com Mercury pollution linked to illegal gold mining in Peru reaches lethal levels    

Share ProducesGoldMining MethodUndergroundLocationSouth AfricaReserves39.1 million ozOwnerGold FieldsContractorsMurray & Roberts Expand body.single-projects .post-content :not(p) img, body.single-post .post-content :not(p) img { display: none; } Previous South Deep gold mine has a current depth of 2,995m below the surface. Image courtesy of Gold Fields. South Africa's South Deep Gold Mine is the second largest gold mine and the seventh deepest mine in the world. Image courtesy of Gold Fields. Head gear attached to the ventilation shaft at the South Deep gold mine. Image courtesy of Gold Fields. The processing plant has a capacity of 220,000t of ore per month. Image courtesy of Gold Fields. South Deep gold mine has a current depth of 2,995m below the surface. Image courtesy of Gold Fields. South Africa's South Deep Gold Mine is the second largest gold mine and the seventh deepest mine in the world. Image courtesy of Gold Fields. Next1234 jQuery( document ).ready(function() { /* Companies carousel */ jQuery('.carousel').slick({ dots: true, infinite: true, speed: 300, lazyLoad: 'ondemand', slidesToShow: 1, slidesToScroll: 1, adaptiveHeight: true }); jQuery('.myImg').click(function(){ // Get the modal var modal = document.getElementById('myModal'); // Get the image and insert it inside the modal - use its "alt" text as a caption //alert(jQuery(this).attr('src')); //var img = document.getElementById('myImg').getAttribute("src"); var img = jQuery(this).attr('src'); var modalImg = document.getElementById("img01"); var captionText = document.getElementById("caption"); captionText.innerHTML = jQuery(this).attr('alt');; modal.style.display = "block"; modalImg.src = img; var arrow = document.getElementsByClassName('slick-arrow'), i; for (var i = 0; i < arrow.length; i ++) { arrow[i].style.display = 'none'; } // Get the <span> element that closes the modal var span = document.getElementsByClassName("close")[0]; // When the user clicks on <span> (x), close the modal span.onclick = function() { modal.style.display = "none"; var arrow = document.getElementsByClassName('slick-arrow'), i; for (var i = 0; i < arrow.length; i ++) { arrow[i].style.display = 'block'; } } }); }); The South Deep gold mine, in the Mpumalanga region of South Africa, is the second biggest gold mine in the world. It is also the seventh deepest mine in the world with a depth of 2,995m below surface. It has a current mine life of 80 years. The mine produced 77,800oz of gold during the June quarter of 2013.