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Mining is an open-pit copper mine]]
Mining refers to the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body or vein. Materials commonly recovered by mining include bauxite, coal, copper, diamonds, iron (from haematite and limonite), gold, lead, manganese, magnesium, nickel, phosphate, platinum, salt, silver, tin, titanium, uranium, and zinc. Other highly useful materials that are mined include clay, sand, cinder, gravel, granite, and limestone.
History
The first mining operation on Earth may have been the turquoise mine operated by the ancient Egyptians at Wady Maghareh on the Sinai Peninsula. Turquoise was also mined in pre-Columbian America in the Cerillos Mining District in New Mexico, where a mass of rock 200 feet in depth and 300 feet in width was removed with stone tools; the mine dump covers 20 acres.
Mining techniques
Mining techniques can be divided into two basic excavation types: 1) open-cast or open-pit mining and 2) tunneling by shafts into the earth.
- Open excavations
- Tunnel mines
Bioleaching is the application of bacteria to extract metals from an ore.
Environmental effects
Mining can have devastating impacts on the environment due to the massive rearrangement of minerals within the earth. The result can be unnatural high concentrations of some chemical elements over a significantly wider area of surface. Combined with the effects of water and the new 'channels' created for water to travel through, collect in, and contact with these chemicals, a situation is created where mass-scale contamination can occur.
Some examples of environmental problems associated with mining operations are:
- Tar Creek, an abandoned mine in Northeastern Oklahoma that is now an Environmental Protection Agency superfund site. Water in the mine has leaked through into local groundwater, contaminating it with metals such as lead and cadmium. [1]
- Scouriotissa, a copper mine in Cyprus that has been abandoned. Contaminated dust blows off this site.
- Berkeley Lake, an abandoned pit mine in Butte, Montana that has filled with water which is now acidic and poisonous.
See also
References
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Visual Impacts of Mining
Paper on visualization of the visual impacts of mining and quarrying.
http://www.gnest.org/Global_Issues/VisualImpacts.htm
Mining Calendar of Events
Worldwide database of conferences and exhibitions on mining and environment.
http://www.miningcalendar.com/
U.S. EPA -- Mining Wastes
Acid rock drainage and other topics related to metals mining and the environment.
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/other/mining.htm
Mineral Resources Forum
An Internet framework for international co-ordination on the theme of minerals, metals and sustainable development. News and information about mining and the environment world-wide.
http://www.natural-resources.org/minerals/
Steep Rock Iron Mines Naturalization
Describes the successful restoration of an iron ore mine site in northwestern Ontario, Canada.
http://steeprock.freeservers.com/
MiMi-Mitigation of the environmental impact from mining waste
Swedish research programme directed to improve handling and remediation of mining waste, financed by the Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research.
http://mimi.kiruna.se
CANMET Environment Laboratory
Canadian government institution that addresses the environmental concerns of the minerals and mining industries, including effluent processing, safe disposal of waste materials, and decommissioning of closed plants and mines.
http://envirolab.nrcan.gc.ca/
Oxfam Community Aid Abroad: The Mining Campaign
Monitoring Australian mining companies' impact on the environment and vulnerable communities.
http://www.caa.org.au/campaigns/mining/index.html
Mines and Communities Website
News and other information, including the Minewatch and Partizans archives, intended to empower activists and those affected by global mining trends, particularly in the Pacific region.
http://www.minesandcommunities.org/
USGS Plasenzuela Project
Background and preliminary findings of a US-Spain study of the environmental impact of the Roman mineral industry at Plasenzuela, Extremadura, Spain.
http://minerals.usgs.gov/east/plasenzuela/background.html
No Crandon Mine
Site provides links to organizations opposed to, and information about, the proposed Wolf River Crandon mine in Wisconsin
http://www.nocrandonmine.com/index.html
Mercury Network - Hg-Net
Internet expert forum on the effects and environmental impacts of mercury use and abuse, with special emphasis on small-scale gold mining. [English and Spanish]
http://www.hruschka.com/hg-net
Defenders of Weetootla
Activist site describes basis for opposition to magnesite open-cut mines in the Gammon Ranges National Park in South Australia.
http://homepages.picknowl.com.au/greenh/pages/default.htm
Environmental Processes that Affect Mineral Deposits in the Eastern United States
Describes USGS research efforts on environmental aspects of massive sulfide mineral deposits. These have a high potential for adverse environmental impact due to high sulfide content and low acid-buffering capacity of host rocks.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/info-handout/seal1/
Mine Water Research at The University of Newcastle
About research on the hydrochemistry, hydrogeology, and treatment of mine effluents.
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/minewater/
Abandoned Mineral Lands in the U.S. National Parks
About the legacy of mining in the national parks, the environmental impacts of mining, and the hazards associated with abandoned mine lands. Many photos.
http://www2.nature.nps.gov/grd/distland/about_aml.htm
Sudbury Soils Study - Sudbury, Ontario
A public process that will evaluate the levels of metals and chemicals such as nickel, copper, cobalt and arsenic in the local environment.
http://www.sudburysoilsstudy.com
Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Mine Lakes
The Centre, located in Western Australia, is a research hub creating smart mine lakes that are of value to communities, the environment and the economy.
http://www.csml.curtin.edu.au
USGS Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative
Detailed plans, pictures, data and reports of the USGS initiative to remediate the contamination left at abandoned mine sites at the Boulder River basin in southwestern Montana and the Upper Animas River basin in southwestern Colorado.
http://amli.usgs.gov/amli/
Reclamation of Phosphate Mining Sites
Nature of soils and commercial tree planting on phosphate mining clay settling pond areas. Explains challenges and procedures for achieving land reclamation of such artificially altered areas.
http://www.treepower.org/soils/main.html
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