Types Of Mining And Fracking
Mary and Dakota
Surface Mining
Strip- Rectangular cuts in the ground where minerals can be extracted
Open Pit- tunneling into the earth to extract rocks and minerals
Mountain Top Removal- coal seams are extracted by removing the summit of a mountain
Open Pit
Because they are mining for specific materials and they often are only found in small quantities, the amount if ground needed to mine increases. It can expose radioactive elements that were hidden in the ground.
Strip
Often leaves permanent scars on mountains from blowing them apart. It increases pollution because the runoff of minerals into waterways, it also destroys landscapes.
Mountian Top
Often causes flooding because of the water inside the mountain gets released. Creates cracks in wells, roads, homes. Also, can send boulders flying hundreds of feet into homes. Many people almost die from the toxins.
Subsurface
Slope- The slope makes it easier for the oil and coal to 'slide' out
Drift- Horizontal Mining accessed by adits
Shaft- Near vertical shaft to get oil
Slope
It creates disruptions in the land and the oil can contaminate the water because when it slides out it can go into groundwater.
Drift
The use of this is dangerous for the workers and creates a large unsupported hole in the side of a mountain, the use of coal creates pollution which harms the environment.
shaft
Materials that are used to get to the minerals will leak into the groundwater and contaminate it , the resources are nonrenewable.
Fracking
Water and over 600 other types of chemicals are forced into well to fracture shale rock to get gas energy.
It contaminates water
72 trillion gallons of water and 360 billion gallons of chemicals are used
Fracking explained: opportunity or danger