“Dams near the Waihi gold mine hold 40 million tonnes of toxic waste. Imagine dams holding millions of tonnes of toxic waste in the hills around Whangaroa or Puhipuhi. Where would these huge dams go in areas famous for flooding?” says Dean Baigent-Mercer Chairperson of Forest and Bird’s Far North Branch.
“The design life of a tailings dam is 100 to 150 years - that's if, and only if, they are well designed to hold the type of toxic waste you get from mining gold, silver or copper. But these dams would need to keep things safe a lot longer than that, we’re talking timespans of thousands of years.”
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