2 ms·

I'm not sure the belt of pyrite is best labelled as the cause here. It might have something to do with the inferred activities of Rio Tinto, a transnational co

• duskwuff 2y ago
  The river was polluted millennia before the Rio Tinto company came into existence. There's been mining operations along the Rio Tinto since ca. 3000 BC.
  • mapt 2y ago
    Yes. Sure. But before the mining operations? Probably not very polluted. It's the mining doing the polluting, not the belt of pyrite simply existing.
    • pfdietz 2y ago
      > But before the mining operations? Probably not very polluted. From the wikipedia page: "The discovery of multiple oxide terraces mediated by microorganisms at up to 60 metres above the current water level, and as far away as 20 kilometres from the current river's path, may suggest that the unusual ecosystem is a natural phenomenon since before human mining activities started in this region.[9]"