Do you think mining is destructive for our enviroment and community? Why?

Answer 1

That is obviously a controversial question with a controversial answer.

Mining is not constructive, and therefore could be considered destructive but the destructive effects can be easily mitigated. We also need to consider what does "destructive" mean, as the definition will vary from person to person. In the US for example (the world's third largest gold producer), areas disturbed by mining are less than 0.005% of the areas disturbed by roads, airports, factories, cities, buildings, and military facilities.

First, let's look at why there are mines. If you are sitting on your computer asking this question, then you are using the rewards of mining. Your computer is manufactured from mined products like copper, aluminum, glass, iron, plastics etc. The electricity consumed by your computer is most likely produced by uranium or coal which came from mines.

All the metals and minerals we use come from mining - gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, magnesium, titanium, kaolin, tungsten, diamonds, talc, gravel, gypsum, salt, uranium, potash; the list would get very long. Without mines, there would be no metals or minerals and life as we know it would not be possible.

Some mines are more destructive than others. The three types of mines are strip, open pit, and underground - in order of decreasing destruction. The type of mine used to mine an orebody depends on the geometry and value of the ore deposit. Near-surface, low value minerals such as coal are usually mined by strip mines, eg Knicely coal mine in West Virginia. Large mineral deposits within about 500 meters of surface are mined by open pit, eg, Bingham, Utah. Small, high value, and/or deep mineral deposits are mined by underground methods, eg Witwatersrand, South Africa.

You also need to consider how toxic the mineral deposits are. Some ore deposits are chemically inert, eg the Ekati diamond mine in Northwest Territories, Canada is just a mixture of diamonds and rock - there are no poisonous chemicals in the ore or used in the processing.

Sometimes mineral deposits contain natural toxic components as undesirable byproducts such as cadmium, arsenic, and mercury, eg, Kidston in Australia. Sometimes the ore contains a lot of sulfide minerals which cause acid rock drainage, eg Kennicott in Alaska. And sometimes the mining process uses potentially dangerous chemicals such as cyanide to recover the valuable minerals, eg Omai in Guyana. The mining companies have to be careful to minimize environmental impacts when dangerous substances are present - either naturally or introduced as part of the mining/recovery process.

Modern mines in modern countries like Sweden, US, Canada, and Australia are much less destructive than they were 20 or 50 years ago. Mining companies and their employees take great pride in minimizing environmental disturbances, and when the mineral deposit is exhausted, the land is reclaimed so that it would be difficult to tell there was ever a mine there.

The bottom line is, we need mines, and the mines need to cause as little destruction to the environment as possible.

"If it isn't grown, it has to be mined" - slogan of Nevada Mining Association.

Answer 2

Yes...I shall enumerate it...
1. It can cause erosion, which can cause landslide, which can cause death...
2. You can inhale toxic, which can cause death...
3. People working in mining areas can be killed beacause the place they are working on will collapse, which can cause death of your loved ones...
...oxoxox...