Is Cyanide in Its Autumn Hours? Greener Gold and the International Implications of a Romanian Ban on Cyanide

When the European Commission rejected an EU-wide ban on cyanide leaching in gold extraction, it noted that EU law requires the use of "best available technologies". But what if the best available technologies no longer have to be cyanide-based?
There are alternatives, such as thiourea, thiosulphate, thiocyanate, coil-oil agglomeration, and halides. In addition, there are two significant industry alternatives such as the promising Haber Gold Process, and the "YES-Process." The Haber Gold Process in particular has passed the proof-of-concept stage and is now being implemented at an industrial level in Arizona. All of these have their own pros and cons and some can be more efficient than cyanide. For example, the "YES-Process" uses a cyanide-free biocatalyzed leaching process that is 200 times less toxic than cyanide.
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