Environmental Dangers Of Mining

When asked to think of coal mining, what comes to mind? A mountain with a hole cut into the side of it with a set of railroad tracks disappearing into it? Maybe an old mine car or two full of some rocks or coal, with a pickaxe and shovel leaning against it. A few guys with hard hats covered in a black powder coming walking out of the mine pushing a car or two full of coal. The technology has advanced but the process is basically still the same as well as the outcome. Coal is retrieved from underground and taken to factories to be burnt to create electricity or to fuel the steel mills.

Imagine drifting slowly on a canoe while fishing one of Minnesota's crystal clear waters on a beautiful, sunny day. Now imagine being interrupted by the loud, ongoing sounds of drilling and being told the fish were too dangerous to eat. This is only one of many potential harms of sulfide mining. PolyMet, a new mining company would like to bring sulfide mining, also known as copper-nickel mining to Minnesota. This would involve the extraction of copper and various other metals from sulfide, hence the name. The sulfide that comes out of this type of mining can have serious consequences on the environment. Events that occurred in the past and facts mentioned in the books titled Taconite Dreams by Jeffrey Manuel and Fractured Land by Lisa

I would have to say that from the reading that it can be very harmful for the coal mining chemicals to seep into the ground into our drinking water.

Everyday minerals from the earth are extracted, removed and formed into something new, when you look back, to pause and ponder at what has been formed, the human mind will be amazed. "This.. Came from that?" beautiful rubies have been created from very specific minerals which are combined together, and glittery diamonds have been formed from coal which has been under great pressure, but it isn't such a magical story when the curtains are unveiled, and the truth is shown. Where are the ethical principles which hold this industry together? A shovel is dug back into the ground, the wind blows onto the small particles of dirt, revealing the business conduct of the mining industry, but the ethical principles have been crushed just like how the

economic, social and environmental responsibilities, while making a positive and lasting contribution to the environment and communities in which it operates. However there is also a large amount of informal alluvial diamond digging – which is not currently regulated and therefore neither is its impact on the environment. This document, as the majority of diamond mining is formal, focuses on the environmental impact on this sector.

Minerals can affect society in many ways for example; Surface mining destroys vegetation across large areas, increasing erosion. Open-pit mining uses huge quantities of water. Acid mine drainage is pollution caused when dissolved toxic materials wash from mines into nearby lakes and streams. Minerals is approximately 80 percent of mined ore consists of impurities that become wastes after processing. These wastes, called tailings, are usually left in giant piles on the ground or in ponds near the processing plants (Figure 12.9). The tailings contain toxic materials such as cyanide, mercury, and sulfuric acid. Left

Some argue that, economically, the mining operation will be a net gain in money for the working class and that 75 to 80 percent of the jobs in northern Minnesota will be local [1]. However, for the project to fully go through, it requires “$200 million to $400 million in financial protections, and would overall be a financial liability for taxpayers” [2]. So despite how many jobs the project will create, it could result in a net loss of money for the people living in that area. Another problem that PolyMet thinks they have solved is the mass amount of pollution that will surface during the mining process. They say they will “use the most advanced mining procedures to extract the materials and prevent pollution during the mines 20 year life” [3]. Not only is this solution incredibly vague in its description, but many argue that “the pollution will be a problem long after the mine plays out and PolyMet is gone. The latest studies shows a possibility that the mine’s wastewater could flow north to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness” [3]. The argument that advanced procedures would be used against pollution falls short of satisfactory when their description is so ill-defined.

The Mining Act does a very good job at protecting certain aspects of the environment such as ensuring that over exploitation of minerals does not occur, or making it mandatory to have a plan in place for closing the mine as well as assuring that there is money to do so. Although there are many things that this Act does right, there are also areas in which there are issues and should be improved. One of the first issues pertaining to this Act is the impact that it fails to mitigate regarding water quality. In areas where mining development occurs, the water quality is drastically affected and a study found that “water from waste rock piles has an ionic profile distinct from unimpacted catchments” (Carey, Wellen, & Shatilla, 2015), meaning that in order to mitigate the impact of the runoff measures must be put in place to limit it. Secondly, the Act does not involve

Open pit mining creates a hole where groundwater will collect instead of flowing naturally into the watersheds. What water will flow into those watersheds will be contaminated by mercury--from the processing of the ore into taconite pellets and sulfuric acid, causing incredible damage to the ecosystem of the rivers and Lake

We, the state of Minnesota, have a big decision coming up when it comes to mining the copper and nickel in the boundary waters. Sulfide mining has been stereotyped as a major pollutant to nearby waterways. As this may have been proven true with other mining corporations, PolyMet Mining has found a new way of reusing the sulfide as renewable energy instead of flushing it back into the waterways. Minnesota is home to one of the largest deposits of copper, nickel, and other precious metals. Currently there is only one copper and nickel mine currently being used in the United States. With the U.S consuming more than 202,000 tons of nickel annually, there could be a shortage of copper and nickel in the near future. Many commonly used equipment has copper and nickel in it. Some examples of this equipment and common everyday things include: Food preparation equipment, mobile phones, medical equipment, transportation, buildings, and power generation. With a high demand for copper and nickel, not being able to replace these metals may result in an increase of prices of these commonly used items (Where). For those people who are against the mining, imagine life without mobile phones and medical equipment. Copper and nickel is more important than most people think.

The polymet mine will affect the lives of today's youth. The people left to deal with any problems should know what they are getting into before a decision is made. Although the Polymet Mining Company says they will be providing about 360 direct jobs, much of the operation will be run by computers. There are many risks to the environment. A small leak to of the chemicals used could contaminate million of gallons of water in nearby lakes and wetlands affecting both people and wildlife habitats. Pollution from their trucks and cooling system will pollute the air in the entire region. Although Polymet says there is very little chance of the water traveling up towards the boundary waters, Paul Danicic, the executive director for Friends of the

I believe that deep sea mining will mostly help people and the environment, just as long as miners and mining companies take in count what they are doing and that they do everything in a way that won't harm the environment as much. The deep sea mining is very beneficial. For example, it harms the environment less and allows people to stay in their homes, it also would make a lot of money.

Another threat to the environment is acid mine drainage (also known as acid rock drainage). Acid mine drainage is "the outflow of acidic water from a mining site." This acid is formed by the oxidation of iron sulfide. The oxidation occurs when iron sulfide is exposed to the air or to dissolved oxygen in the water, which causes the iron to rust and the sulfur reacts with the water to forum sulfuric acid (Coil, D., McKittrick, E., and Higman, B., 2010). Figure 2 illustrates the sulfuric acid that is formed.

Another perspective to look at it is that social impact mining has. Though it can be difficult to separate the economic impact from the social, because many social issues are the result of poverty. Meaning that if the mining

The mining industry has seen an explosive growth from the past few decades. It has played an important role in economic growth, infrastructure development and a raise in the living standard of the whole world. According to the Australian National Accounting System, the mining sector has made contributions of 9.8% GDP growth to the Australian economy between 2008 to 2009 (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2012). However, the mining industry has caused many environmental issues such as adverse effect to air, land and water quality and continues to affect global environment as a whole. According to the World Health Organization, it evaluated that 25% of worldwide death are directly associated with environmental pollution (Blacksmith Institute, n.d). This essay will outline the environmental issue raised by the mining industry with pinpoint focus on the effects to air, water and land. It will also provide strategies for mining companies to improve the environmental conditions.