Prompt, effective action could have prevented disaster. There are cases other than Summitville. Cyanide solution leaks also have been detected at the Zortman-Landusky Mine in Montana and the Gilt Edge Mine in South Dakota. There are other alternatives. Cement grout or another sealant can be pumped into the area.
Monitoring is the key.
And citizen monitoring is best. In too many instances monitoring reports that signal a problem are ignored both by the operator and regulatory agencies. At the Summitville mine, state regulators allowed the operator to continue pumping cyanide solution on a badly designed pad when both the operator and the regulators knew there was a continuous leak of cyanide solution. Mineral Policy Center recommends that mine operators build in leak detection systems and allow independent citizen monitoring. The U.S. chemical industry has learned the value of allowing a facility's neighbors to be part of its monitoring operations.