Whatismining?

Miningistheextraction(removal)ofmineralsandmetalsfromearth.Manganese,tantalum,cassiterite,
copper,tin,nickel,bauxite(aluminumore),ironore,gold,silver,anddiamondsarejustsomeexamplesof
whatismined.

Whymine?
Miningisamoneymakingbusiness.Notonlydominingcompaniesprosper,butgovernmentsalsomake
moneyfromrevenues.Workersalsoreceiveincomeandbenefits.

image:http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/peru/600/peru_aerial_1524.jpg

MininginPeru.PhotosbyRhettButler

Whatarethemineralsandmetalsusedfor?
Mineralsandmetalsareveryvaluablecommodities.Forexample,manganeseisakeycomponentof
lowcoststainlesssteel.Itisalsousedtodecolorglass(removinggreenishhues),butinhigher
concentrations,itactuallymakeslavendercoloredglass.Tantalumisusedincellphones,pagers,and
laptops.Cooperandtinareusedtomakepipes,cookware,etc.Andgold,silver,anddiamondsareused
tomakejewelry.

Largescaleminingversussmallscalemining:
Largescalemining
usuallyinvolvesacompanywithmanyemployees.Thecompanyminesat
oneortwolargesitesandusuallystaysuntilthemineralormetaliscompletelyexcavated.An
exampleofalargescalemineistheSerraPeladamineinBrazilwhichyielded29,000tonsofgold
from1980to1986andemployed50,000workers(Kricher,1997).
Smallscalemining
usuallyinvolvesasmallgroupofnomadicmen.Theytraveltogetherandlook
forsiteswhichtheythinkwillyieldgoldoranothervaluablemetalormineral.Smallscalemining
occursinplacessuchasSuriname,Guyana,CentralAfrica,andmanyotherplacesaroundthe
world.Someresearchersbelievethatsmallscaleminingismoreharmfultotheenvironmentand
causesmoresocialproblemsthanlargescalemining.Thiswillbecomeapparentlaterinthe
lesson.

Howdoesminingaffecttheenvironment?
Miningisgenerallyverydestructivetotheenvironment.Itisoneofthemaincausesofdeforestation.In
ordertomine,treesandvegetationareclearedandburned.Withthegroundcompletelybare,
largescale
mining
operationsusehugebulldozersandexcavatorstoextractthemetalsandmineralsfromthesoil.In
ordertoamalgamate(cluster)theextractions,theyusechemicalssuchascyanide,mercury,or
methylmercury.Thesechemicalsgothroughtailings(pipes)andareoftendischargedintorivers,streams,
bays,andoceans.Thispollutioncontaminatesalllivingorganismswithinthebodyofwaterandultimately
thepeoplewhodependonthefishfortheirmainsourceofproteinandtheireconomiclivelihood.

image:http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/peru/600/peru_aerial_0148.jpg

MininginthePeruvianAmazon.

Smallscalemining
isequallydevastatingtotheenvironment,ifnotmore.Groupsof56menmigratefrom
oneminingsitetoanotherinsearchofpreciousmetals,usuallygold.Therearetwotypesofsmallscale
mining:
landdredging
and
riverdredging:
Landdredging
involvesminersusingageneratortodigalargeholeintheground.Theyusea
highpressurehosetoexposethegoldbearinglayerofsandandclay.Thegoldbearingslurryis
pumpedintoasluicebox,whichcollectsgoldparticles,whileminetailingsflowintoeitheran
abandonedminingpitoradjacentforest.Whentheminingpitsfillwithwaterfromthetailings,they
becomestagnantwaterpools.Thesepoolscreateabreedinggroundformosquitoesandother
waterborninsects.Malariaandotherwaterborndiseasesincreasesignificantlywheneveropen
poolsofwaterarenearby.
Riverdredging
involvesmovingalongariveronaplatformorboat.Theminersuseahydraulic
suctionhoseandsuctionthegravelandmudastheymovealongtheriver.Thegravel,mud,and
rocksgothroughthetailings(pipes)andanygoldfragmentsarecollectedonfeltmats.The
remaininggravel,mud,androcksgobackintotheriver,butinadifferentlocationthanwhereitwas
originallysuctioned.Thiscreatesproblemsfortheriver.Thedisplacedgravelandmuddisruptthe
naturalflowoftheriver.Fishandotherlivingorganismsoftendieandfishermencannolonger
navigateintheobstructedrivers.

Howdoesminingaffectthepeople?
Thepeoplewhoareexposedtothetoxicwastefromthetailingsbecomesick.Theydevelopskin
rashes,headaches,vomiting,diarrhea,etc.Infact,thesymptomsofmercurypoisoningarevery
similartothesymptomsofmalaria.Manypeoplewhocannotaffordtogotoadoctor,orwholivein
avillagewhereadoctorisnotaccessible,areoftennottreatedfortheirillnesses.
Ifthewateriscontaminated,thepeoplecannotuseitforbathing,cooking,orwashingtheirclothes.
Ifthemanofthehouseholdisasmallscaleminer,heoftenleaveshiswifeandchildreninsearchof
work.Thismeansthatthewifeandchildrenmustworkandprovideforthemselves.Theymustalso
protectthemselvesfromthieves.
Theft,drugs/alcohol,prostitution,rape,andsexualabuseareunfortunatelysomeoftheeffectsof
mining.
Culturaldegradationalsooccursinminingvillages.Forexample,miningoftendestroyssacredsites
andcemeteries.InGuyana,aspecialfishingeventcalled
Haiari

Fishing
unfortunatelycannottake
placeiftheriverhasbeendredgedforgold.Remember,thedisplacementofthegravelandmud
obstructthenaturalflowoftheriver.Asaresult,fishandotherorganismsdie.

image:http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/indonesia/600/kalbar_2270.jpg


MiningroadinIndonesia.

Wheredoesminingoccur?
Miningoccursinmanyplacesaroundtheworld,includingtheU.S.InSouthAmerica,miningisparticularly
activeintheAmazoniaregion,Guyana,Suriname,andotherSouthAmericancountries.InCentralAfrica,
miningdevastatedaNationalParkcalledKahuziBiegaintheeasternDemocraticRepublicofCongo(DRC).
SouthAfricaisalsoverywellknownforminingdiamonds.MiningalsooccursinIndonesiaandotherS.E.
Asiancountries.
Threecasestudies:
Guyana
,
DemocraticRepublicofCongo(DRC)
,and
Indonesia
:

In
Guyana
,bothlargeandsmallscaleminingoccur.Intheearly1980's,thepriceofgoldspiked
from$100$150perounceto$700perounce!Thiscreatedhugeincentivesforgovernmentsto
allowminingcompaniestocomeintotheircountries.Omaiminingcompanyestablishedan11,000
acresiteinthemiddleofGuyana.From1986to2001,thiscompanyexcavated3/4ofallthegoldin
Guyana.Notonlywastheminingcompanymakinghugesumsofmoney,buttheGuyana
governmentwasalsobenefitingfromtherevenuesowning5%ofthecompaniesshares.However,
in1995thetailingsdam,whichwasfilledwiththreemillioncubicmetersofcyanidewaste,collapsed
andspilledintotheEssequiboRiver,thebiggestriverinGuyana.Thetoxicwastedrainednorth
exposing10,000people(bothresidentsandecotourists).Allofthefishintheriverdied,and
althoughnoonediedfromthetoxicexposure,manypeopledevelopedskinrashesandrespiratory
problems.Inadditiontolargescalemining,smallscaleminingisverypopularinGuyana.Miners
applyforpermitsfromthegovernmentandmineatsiteswheretheresidentsdonothaveofficial
landtitles.Thismakesresidentswhoneverreceivedofficiallandtitlesfromthegovernmentvery
vulnerabletoboththedetrimentalenvironmentalandsocialeffectsofmining.Asmentioned
previously,smallandmiddlescaleminingisoftenworsethanlargescaleminingbecauseofthe

areacovered.Forexample,Omai(alargescaleminingcompany)mined11,000acres,whereas
smallscaleminersmined234,000acres,andmiddlescaleminersmined2millionacres!
That'sa
lotofdegradationthatbothsmallandmiddlescaleminerscancause!

Inthe
DemocraticRepublicofCongo(DRC)
theKahuziBiegaNationalParkwasdesignateda
WorldHeritageSitein1980becauseofitsrichbiodiversityinbothplantsandanimals.Infact,86%
oftheGrauer'sgorilla,asubspecieswhichisendemictothisregion,wasfoundinthispark.
However,allthathaschanged.Inthelate1990's,armedfactionsinvolvedinthecivilwarsetup
miningoperationswithintheboundariesoftheparktoextractvaluablemineralssuchastantalum
andcassiterite.ThousandsofCongolesewhoseliveshadbeendevastatedbythewar
subsequentlyfloodedtotheminesinsearchofaquickbuck(Furniss,2005).Anestimated15,000
peoplewerethoughttobeworkingataboutahundredsitesthroughoutthepark.Tragically,not
onlyweretantalumandcassiteriteextracted,butalsotrees,vegetation,andlargemammals.The
minershiredhunterstofeedthepeopleworkingattheminingsites.Gorillas,elephants,
chimpanzees,buffaloesandantelopeatfirstwereeasilyfoundwithinproximitytothepark.But,as
themonthspassed,itbecameincreasinglymoredifficulttofindlargemammals.Hunterssearched
longerandfarther.ByMarchof2001,mostofthelargeanimalshadallbeenkilled.TheGrauer's
gorillasufferedthemost,sincethisuniquegorillasubspeciesisonlyfoundinthisarea.Beforethe
mining,thetotalpopulationwasestimatedtobe17,000with86%livingintheKahuziBiega
NationalPark.Now,itisestimatedthatonly23,000Grauer'sgorillasremain.AccordingtoIan
Redmond,thechairmanoftheApeAlliance,
"Ifthesenumbersareconfirmed,itwouldbe
catastrophicforthesubspecies."
HealsostatesthattheremainingGrauer'sgorillapopulationis
fragmentedwhichmakesthemmorevulnerabletopoachingandinbreeding.Thefateofthis
subspeciesisunknownatthistime.

In
Indonesia
,
aU.S.miningcompanybasedinDenver(Newmont)hasbeenextractinggoldsince
1996.Thiscompanynolongerminesinthisregionfortworeasons:(1)in2004,theyextractedall
thegold,and(2)thecompanyiscurrentlybeingsuedbytheIndonesiangovernmentforintentionally
dumpingpoisonouswaste,suchasarsenicandmercury,intotheBuyatBay.Thiswastehas
poisonedthefishinthebay.Thiswas,sadly,theirmainsourceofproteinandeconomiclivelihood.
Inaddition,manypeopleinthisregionhavecomplainedofheadaches,breathingdifficulty,andskin
rashesandtumors.Onenewbornwasbornwithbirthdefectsanddiedattheageof3months.The
companyhasdeniedanywrongdoingandblamesthesesymptomsandincidentsonpoorsanitation
andnutrition!

Whatcanwedoasglobalcitizenstocurbtheeffectsofmining?
Makecompanieswhoexploitdevelopingcountriesaccountablefortheiractions.
Boycottproductsproducedbycompanieswhodonotmineisenvironmentallyresponsibleways.
Starttalking.Tellyourfamilymembers,friends,teachers,andmembersinyourcommunityabout
theeffectsofminingandhowjewelrymadeforgold,silver,anddiamondscanbesubstitutedfor
othermetalswhichareminedinresponsibleways.
Writeletterstogovernmentswhodonotproperlycompensatepeoplewhohavebeenaffectedby
pollutionfromminingcompanies.
Spreadawarenessofthisissuebysharingyourknowledge.Thisishowchangeoccurs.Here'sa
greatquotetokeepinmind,