Mining in Tibet has an alarming potential to pollute land, air and water. And not just in Tibet—in the nations downstream from Tibet. The consequences of any mining disaster could be far-reaching if heavy metals should leach into Tibet's rivers. Given China's abysmal mining safety record, this situation is an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen.
At the Gyama mine site, there have been numerous reports by Tibetan nomads of toxic leaks poisoning their yaks. Backing up this assertion is a paper published in 2010 in Science of the Total Environment (Dutch academic journal), which found elevated concentrations of six metals in the surface water and streambeds in the middle and upper reaches of Gyama valley. The paper concluded this posed very high risks to the local environment and a great potential threat to downstream water users.
Toxic substances such as mercury and cyanide may be released during the operation of small gold-mining ventures. And digging itself could cause toxins like arsenic to be released. Arsenic can ruin grazing and agricultural lands, poison groundwater, and cause humans and animals to become very ill and die with long-term exposure. Arsenic occurs naturally at varying soil-depths in the Himalayas. Major arsenic poisoning has haunted Bangladesh from the digging of scores of tube-wells for drinking water.
