LAKES OF METAL WASTE

Flying over the Australian outback, you might glance down and see what appears to be a fiery orange lake. However, this dam isn’t holding back waters erupting from hell, but the waste product produced from aluminium extraction. Known as bauxite tailings, or more commonly as ‘red mud’, it involves dumping the iron-rich waste into dams, which creates vast orange lakes. More than 160 million tonnes are produced each year, and with that comes concerns over the waste’s environmental impact. Containing toxic chemical compounds, the surrounding soil is at risk of damage from these chemicals leaching out and rendering it infertile.