Mining can be an extremely destructive practice that often has very negative impacts on the surrounding environment. Because the material that is mined for is surrounded by other ore and rock, mining creates large amounts of mineral waste in the form of waste rock and tailings. Waste rock consists of all of the earth surrounding the ore that must be removed in order to access the desired minerals, metals, and gems. Tailings are the waste material from the ore processing phase, and often contain toxins left over from the ore separating process along with small amounts of heavy metals that were not fully removed.

Lead is almost always contained in sulfide ores as galena, or lead sulfide⁴⁵.  Waste rock material from mines that contain metal sulfides can lead to sulfuric acid drainage when left out in the open air. Tailings also contain minerals and materials that can lead to dangerous runoff and water contamination when stored improperly. Some mine waste and tailing dump sites are structurally unsound and often overflow and break, allowing contaminants to spill out over the surrounding environment. In some cases, mines will have long pipes or waste canals that carry tailings to waterways for dumping.