Mining is one of the oldest industries that is essential for survival. It extracts solid materials and minerals that are necessary to produce many of the modern products in everyday life that we are enjoying nowadays. However, it has environmental impacts felt beyond mines and their vicinity that could harm the people and any living organisms if not to be taken into account the said RESPONSIBLE MINING.
Mining Companies have their environmental responsibility that includes the protection of land, water and air in their mining are and the near vicinity. In here, I will discuss the effects that mining causes in this particular aspects:
AIR
All mining methods can affect the quality of air, as unrefined materials will go to the surface when mineral deposits are exposed from the mine site. Mining requires the soil to be removed to extract the minerals and when that happens vegetation is also removed which eventually exposes the soil to weather, causing the particles to become airborne through road traffic and wind erosion. The unrefined particles may or can be composed of toxic materials such as cadmium, lead and arsenic. Such particles can adversely affect the health of humans thus, contributing to illnesses related in the respiratory systems such as emphysema. However, the particles can also be absorbed through the skin or ingested.
EROSION
The absence of forests and subsequent mining operations disturb the soil. Strip mining is particularly responsible for the soil erosion as the top soil is blasted away to reach the shallow seams of coal. The displaced fertile topsoil is eroded away to the vicinity leaving unfit for growing any trees.
LAND
Mining can cause physical destruction to its surrounding land by creating landscape holes such as open pits and piles of waste rock. Such breakdowns can contribute to the retrogression of the area's flora and fauna. There will be also a huge possibility that many of the surface features that were present before the mining activities started cannot be replaced after the process has ended if not rehabilitated. Landscape declination caused by the movements of the ground on the surface of the earth as a result of collapsing overlaying sheets can cause damage to roads and buildings in the vicinity land.
WATER
One of the effects of irresponsible mining is water pollution and can include contamination of metals, increased in sediment levels in streams, and acid mine drainage. The sources of water pollution as a result of irresponsible mining can include processing plants, pond's tailing, mining underground irresponsibly, improper waste-disposal areas, active or abandoned surface. The sediments are most likely from the increasing soil erosion that can cause siltation or the smothering of stream beds. Siltification caused by mining can affect irrigation distribution, swimming, fisheries, domestic water supplies, and other that uses water from streams. Irresponsible mining results in unnaturally high concentrations of chemicals such as arsenic, mercury and sulfuric acid over a wide area surrounding the mine.
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Those are the major effects of irresponsible mining in the environments thus, there exist RESPONSIBLE MINING in which those effects could be lessen or even restore. That's what we called REHABILITATION it is the last stage of Responsible Mining. Watch out for my next science post as I discuss about it. :) HOPE YOU LEARNED SOMETHING!
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