Though development of the Arco Minero might not include the use of mercury (which has caused and is still causing widespread water pollution across the entire Amazon basin), toxic waste generated by modern mining includes water contaminated with cyanide, which is stored in large tailings dams.
The Venezuelan government promises that the Arco Minero will be a model 'clean' and 'eco-socialist' mining project. However, even in state-of-the-art mining operations, tailing dams are prone to leaking and contamination of waterways. Just over the last year, two cyanide spills occurred at Barrick Gold's mega-mines in Argentina, and the company was forced to suspend operations temporarily.
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