MINING MINERALS

MINING MINERALS
Before minerals can be used to make products, they must
be removed from the ground. Some are near the surface,
others are deep within. Some are found at a wide range of
depths.
Minerals are only mined if rock contain enough ore.
 SURFACE MINING
•It is a method of
extracting minerals
near the surface of
the Earth.
3 COMMON TYPES OF
SURFACE MINING
 OPEN – PIT OR OPEN – CAST MINING
• It is a surface mining technique of
extracting rock or minerals from the Earth
by their removal from an open – pit.
• Open – pit mines are used when deposits of
commercially useful minerals or rocks are
found near the surface; that is, where the
overburden (surface material covering the
valuable deposit) is relatively thin or the
material of interest is structurally
unsuitable for tunneling.
OPEN – PIT MINING DIAGRAM
 STRIP MINING
• It is a practice of mining a
layer of mineral by first
removing a lengthy strip of
overlying soil and rock
(commonly known as the
overburden).
• It is frequently used to mine
coal.
STRIP MINING DIAGRAM
 QUARRYING
• A quarry is a kind of open – pit mine
from which rock or minerals are
extracted.
• Quarries are normally utilized for
extracting building materials, like
dimension stone.
• Quarries are normally shallower than
other kinds of open – pit mines.
QUARRYING DIAGRAM
EFFECTS OF MINING
 EFFECTS OF MINING
• Extracting rare minerals or elements begin
with mining. Most often, the mining
process uses heavy equipment and
machinery.
• Mining is then followed by refining process
and disposal. These processes pose
negative effects to the environment.
EFFECTS OF MINING ON
LAND
 DEFORESTATION
• Since mining will require large areas of
land, large scale deforestation is adopted by
mining firms. Furthermore, other areas
were converted into residential lots for
miners and other areas were used for
transportation such as construction of roads
and bridges.
• Mining activities also may lead to erosion,
which is dangerous. It destroys river banks,
and changes how the river flows.
 LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY
• Since forest and trees are
the habitat for a number of
organisms and animals,
survival of these animal
species are at risk.
 POLLUTION
• Despite measures being taken to release
the chemical waste into the nearby
rivers through pipes, a large amount of
waste products or mine tailings leak out
onto the land. This changes the
chemical composition of the land which
make it unsuitable for farming.
EFFECTS OF MINING ON
WATER
 POLLUTION
• Chemicals like mercury, cyanide,
sulfuric acid, and arsenic methyl,
are used in various stage of
mining. Most of the chemicals
leak from the pipes and released
into nearby water bodies polluting
it.
 LOSS OF AQUATIC LIFE
• The chemicals that were released into the
bodies of water are usually harmful to life
forms found in bodies of water.
• In addition, mining operations use water
from nearby sources causing reduced water
level of rivers and lakes that may cause
fishes and other living organism to die.
EFFECTS OF MINING ON
HEALTH AND SAFETY
 HEALTH AND SAFETY
• Underground mining is usually more
unsafe than surface mining because of poor
ventilation and visibility, as well as rock
fall hazards.
• The biggest health risks are from dust,
which can cause breathing problems. One
example would be silicosis, which, when
silica is found in the rock, it gets into your
lungs, and rip them apart.
 ACID MINE DRAINAGE (AMD)
• Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), or Acid Rock
Drainage (ARD), is when the pH of water
is lowered and made more acidic. Acidity is
generated when metal sulfides are oxidized
after being exposed to air and groundwater.
The sources of surface water contamination
are leachate (leached material) from mine
openings, seepage and discharges from
waste rock, tailings, groundwater seepage
and surface water runoff from waste rock
and tailing pipes.
 ACID MINE DRAINAGE (AMD)
• Mined materials such as waste rock or
tailings that are used for construction or
other purposes (i.e. road beds, rock drains,
and fill material) can also produce acid
mine drainage.
• Erosion is a major concern because of large
quantities of earthen materials exposed at
sites. Soil erosion takes away valuable top
soil which is the most useful part of the soil
profile for agricultural purposes. The
damage of top soil results in lower crops
and higher production expense.
 RESPONSIBLE MINING
• Mining activities is essential to the modern
civilization and contributes considerably to
the economic development of many
countries. Demand for mining products
continues to grow as population increases
and living standards rise.
• Although mining activities contribute to the
economic development of many countries,
host communities often bear the brunt of
environmental, social and economic
disruption caused by mining operations.
 RESPONSIBLE MINING
• Most new mine developments are in remote
locations in developing countries, where
infrastructure and governance are often lacking.
The challenge is how to understand the full
potential of mineral and metal mining to
positively benefit the economies, develop the
lives of people, and respect the environment.
However, many negative consequences of mining
operations often happen such as environmental
degradation, soil infertility and poisoning,
disrupting social and economic impacts, human
rights manipulations, conflict and soil erosion.
The poisonous wastes that come from mining is
an example of environmental degradation.
 RESPONSIBLE MINING
• Reclamation of the land to
nearly its original state
after mining is completed
is one way to lessen the
undesirable results of
mining operations.