The downside of mines

The few people that may actually read the blog posts on mine exploration I write here are at risk of viewing old mines as beautiful venues of leisure activity. As I do, in a way! But, of course, the whole raison d'etre of a mine is unusual mineralogy, and another word for that is pollution (that's cutting corners, but hey! This isn't my science blog). It's true that all these metals mined, including the heavy ones, run the risk of partially ending up in the environment. I saw a very interesting article on the BBC website about this. It has some nice pictures too!

The colour of the water in this mine doesn't bode well for its wholesomeness... and indeed, it has the kind of chemistry you don't want released into your estuary in large quantities.