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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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Biomedy
Offers biological treatment technology for treating and remediating mine wastes, polluted soils and water (surface and underground water), and biological leaching of metal from off-grade or refractory ores.
http://www.biomedy.com
Savci Environmental Technologies, LLC
environmental and engineering services for mining, waste mamanagement, and natural resource industries.
http://www.savci-env.com
Denison Environmental Services
Mine decommissioning and tailings disposal.
http://www.denisonenvironmental.com
Thomas Giles
Geological services including mining consulting, mining plans, environmental impact statements and environmental services.
http://tgeologist.bizland.com/
BC Research Inc.
Offers comprehensive testing, analytical, and environmental consulting services to the mining industry. Locations in western Canada and northwestern U.S.
http://www.bcresearch.com/amd/default.htm
Environment Control
Services and consulting to mining industry, specializing in mining related diseases, ventilation, fires, dust explosions, opencast and underground mining. Johannesburg, South Africa.
http://www.environmentcontrol.co.za
Waddington Kay and Associates
Consultants who predict coal mining subsidence and assess the likely impacts of mining on natural surface features and man-made structures. Based in Australia. Site describes expertise.
http://www.minesubsidence.com
Strum Environmental Services
West Virginia firm specializing in hydrologic studies, overburden assessments, wastewater testing, biological consulting, and related services for coal mining; also offering services to other industries. Describes capabilities.
http://sturmenvironmental.com
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