Environmental impacts of gold mining

Nature 
Gold mining releases more mercury than all mercury mining and disposal combined.
Background 
Asia is number one in the world in per-capita consumption of gold and platinum.
Incidence 
Illegal gold-mining camps in Ghana provide impoverished locals with a means to earn some much-needed cash -- but at a high environmental price. The mercury that small-scale miners use to purify gold not only threatens the miners' own health but also the health of whole communities, as mercury concentrations build up in waterways and fish.
Type 
(G) Very specific problems