Grasberg Mine Tailings Inundating Forest in Indonesia
File this under “you gotta be kidding me” — tailings (waste rock, mud, etc.) from the massive open-pit Grasberg copper/gold mine in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, are actually dumped right into the river system. It’s called “riverine tailings disposal.” Sounds very sophisticated. When the fast-flowing mountain streams hit the forested lowlands, though, they slow down and […]