The mining industry probably gets the least amount of press coverage for doing among the most environmental damage. And we’ve learned that some of the biggest mining corporations in the world have been simply dumping toxic sludge directly into the ocean.

Mine tailings -- a horrible mix of heavy metals, toxic coagulants and chemicals -- are a by-product of nearly every mining project and their disposal is one of the biggest challenges in the industry. But at least 16 mines in eight countries are using the “Deep Submarine Tailings Disposal” system (DSTD): industry-speak for “dump it in the sea.”

This toxic sludge covers the seabed, pollutes the water and poisons local marine life. Hundreds of millions of tons of mine waste have already been dumped worldwide -- and the only studies undertaken are grim. We need to end this terrible practice.

Will you join our international call to stop dumping toxic mine waste into the ocean?

Newmont Mining, the world’s second-biggest gold mining corporation, has been dumping 160,000 tons of waste from its Batu Hijau copper and gold mine in Indonesia every single day into the Pacific ocean.

If Newmont Mining sounds familiar to you it’s because over 160,000 SumOfUs members fought it when it tried to kick Máxima Acuña de Chaupe off her family farm to build an enormous gold mine in Peru. We raised our voices -- and Máxima won. But that’s only one small part of the damage Newmont -- and a dozen corporations just like it -- are doing on a daily basis to our world’s ocean ecosystems.

Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Norway are leading the way with this despicable practice. In Chile, some mines are even proposing to build toxic tailings waste pipelines 50-100 kilometres so they can dump it into the canyons of the Pacific Ocean off of the Chilean coast. Tailings ocean dumping is only going to get more popular unless we do something to stop it.

Join us as we demand that mining corporations end toxic mine waste dumping in our oceans.

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