Mining
By: Ashley L-R.
What is Mining?
Mining is the removal of minerals and metals from the earth. Some things that are mined are copper, tin, nickel, bauxite (aluminum ore), iron ore, gold, silver and diamonds.
What Drives a Company to Make the Choices they do in their Practices?
Mining companies are influenced by global company devlopments. With economic growth and international market, influencing both the demand for resources and mining companies’ profitability. Companies choose to do some things, and choose not to do others. The complex operating environment in which mining companies operate results in difficult choices. Monitor Deloitte assists mining companies to make difficult decisions based on a series of cascading choices. Mining companies should be abled to answer any question on the cascade.
What does Mining do to the Earth?
Mining is usually very destructive to the enviroment. It is one of the main causes of deforestation. In order to mine, trees and other plants in the area are cleared and burned. With the ground empty, large scale mining operations use bulldozers and a excavator( someone who removes things carefully from a site to mine ) to take the metals and minerals from the soil. They use chemicals such as cyanide, mercury, or methylmercury. These chemicals go through pipes, and most oftenly are released in rivers, streams, bays and oceans. This pollution contaminates all living organisms within that body of water. The people who depend on these fish for their main source of protein can no longer eat this fish.
How Does Mining Affect the People?
The people who are exposed to the toxins from the tailing become sick. They develop rashes, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. In fact, the symptoms of mercury poisoning are very similar to the symptoms of malaria. The mining pits left over are left as water-pools as a place for the mosquitoes and other water-born insects. The people living near these water-pools have a high possibilty of getting water-born diseases, like Malaria. Not only does the toxins affect the people around the mining site, but it affects the miners working there also. Mining affects the Miners health and safety. Mining releases Coal Mine Methane, also known as coal dust ( a greenhouse gas 20x more powerful than carbon dioxide.) This coal dust causes black lung disease when inhaled. Plus, mining accidents kill many miners and people living nearby.
The Mount Mulligan Mine Disaster
This mining accident occured September 19, 1921 in Mount Mulligan, Far North Queensland, Austraila. There was a series of explosions in this mine, taking the lives of 75 miners working there. It is the third worst coal mining accident in Austraila. Only 11 of the bodies were found. The Mount Mulligan Mine was new at the time of the explosion.
Sustainable Mining
Planning for the Future - Sustainable Mining
The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) and the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) have made a criteria for sustainable mining.