I.

TITLE: Environmental Impacts of Mining

II. SUMMARY

Mining of minerals, being an environmentally unfriendly activity, has attracted

attention from the stand point of environmental impacts and their mitigation.
Furthermore, mining operations usually happen in rural areas since mineral
resources are typically found in deep parts of land that are untouched and
formed from a long time ago. Minerals that are being mined are non-renewable
resources, once used, it cannot be used again. Although mining provides jobs,
precious resources, and alleviates poverty, it destroys the environment, affects
the livelihood of the food producers, and harms the ecology of the Philippines.
components are discussed briefly in the following paragraphs:
1. Removal of all vegetation (flora) and thereby fauna from the area required for
mining and other purposes.
2. Pollution of water in the surrounding water bodies due to leaching from
overburden dumps and due to the pollutants from the other activities. This affects
the aquatic ecology of these water bodies.
3. Dust in atmosphere, contributed by mining and associated activities, when
deposited on the leaves of the plants in the surrounding areas may retard their
growth.
4. Noise and vibrations due to blasting and operation of the machines drive away
the wild animals and birds from the nearby forests.
5. Water scarcity caused due to the impacts of opencast mining on water regime
affects the growth of vegetation and agriculture in and around the complexes.
III.INTRODUCTION

Mining is the first step in the commercial exploitation of a mineral or an

energy resource. Mining has been defined as the extraction of material from the
ground in order to recover one or more component parts of the mined mineral
At a mine site, mining is nearly always accompanied by some form of mineral
processing or metallurgical extraction system. Both of these associated
procedures produce waste and have the potential to cause serious effects on the
surrounding environment. Before, during and after mining operations there are
many factors that play a contributing role in impacting the environment. Air, soil
and water can all be affected and harmed in numerous ways.
The art of mining itself comes in many different forms, and incorporates many
different styles and techniques in obtaining precious resources from the
ground .The two main classifications of a mine site are underground and open
pit which employ different methods like dredging, drilling and water application to
remove minerals from the ground.
From beginning to end of a mine sites life there are the immediate disturbance
and long term destruction of natural habitat, sites and cultural significance .
Emission of heat, noise and the release of contaminate, gas, solid or liquid, all
contribute to the degradation of a surrounding environment .Many of the impacts
from mining are caused from a direct release of harmful elements and
compounds .The main forms of air pollution are dust created by strong winds
disturbing mine waste which contains small particles, ex; coal dust. Also, the
release of sulphur into the atmosphere is another issue created from the roasting
of sulphide ores, which can later lead to acid rain.
 IV. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Definitions, Processes and Methods of Mining

Mining is the removal of minerals from the earths crust in the service of
man The Encarta encyclopedia also defines mining as the selective recovery of
minerals and materials, other than recently formed organic materials from the
crust of the earth.
Mining has also been defined as the extraction of valuable minerals or other
geological materials from the earth. Materials recovered by mining include
bauxite, coal, diamonds, iron, precious metals, lead, limestone, nickel and
phosphate. Mining in a wider sense can also include extraction of petroleum,
natural gas, and even water
There are eight steps to mining process. These are as follows:
1. Prospecting to locate ore.
2. Exploration to defining the extent and value of ore where it was located.
3. Conduct resource estimate to mathematically estimate the extent and grade of
the deposit.
4. Conduct mine planning to evaluate the economically recoverable portion of the
deposit.
5. Conduct a feasibility study to evaluate the total project and make a decision as
whether to develop or walk away from a proposed mine project.
6. Development to create access to an ore body.
7. Exploitation to extract ore on a large scale.
8. Reclamation to make land where a mine had been suitable for future use.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF MINING

The art of mining itself comes in many different forms, and incorporates
many different styles and techniques in obtaining precious resources from the
ground. This, as a result, creates a large number of possible threats that have
the ability to bring an imbalance to an ecosystem.
Impacts on water resources
Perhaps the most significant impact of a mining project is its effects on
water quality and availability of water resources within the project area.
At modern mine sites, mine water is collected in settling ponds and tailing
dams to prevent entering the environment. However, uncontrolled discharge of
mine waters carrying dissolved minerals and particulate matter does inevitably
occur and once in contact with receiving water bodies, lakes, rivers or streams
the waters can cause undesirable results.
Many environmental impacts occur from mine waters, which is water that
has undergone compositional modifications due to mineral-water reactions at
mine sites. At modern mine sites, mine water is collected in settling ponds and
tailing dams to prevent entering the environment. However, uncontrolled
discharge of mine waters carrying dissolved minerals and particulate matter does
inevitably occur and once in contact with receiving water bodies, lakes, rivers or
streams the waters can cause undesirable results. The worst form of poor mine
water is Acid mine drainage (AMD).

Impacts of mining projects on air quality

Mining has a great effect on the quality of the air. Since mines need to
blast through rock to get to an ore, dust may be produced in the process. Coal
mines release methane, which contributes to environmental issues because it is
a greenhouse gas.
Some cooling plants may release ozone-depleting substances, but the amount
released is very small. Non-vegetated or uncapped tailings dams release dust.
The gold mining industry is one of the most destructive industries in the world,
because of all of the toxins that are released into the air. Every year, 142 million
tons of sulfur dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere because of smelting. Thats
13% of total global emissions.
Impact of mining projects on soil quality

There are many environmental concerns about the effects mining has on the
land. Trees need to be cut down in order to have a mine built, and whole forests
could be destroyed. Some mines make an effort to return the rock and land to its
original appearance by returning the rock and overburden to the pit that they
were taken out of. Copper mines sometimes extract ore that has very little copper
actually in it (less than 1%). Almost all of the mined ore of non-ferrous metals
becomes waste. Mining activities also may lead to erosion, which is dangerous
and bad for the land. It destroys river banks, and changes how the river flows,
where it flows, what lives in it, etc. Open-pit mining leaves behind large craters
that can be seen from outer-space.

Impact of mining projects on ecosystem

Mines are highly damaging to the ecosystems surrounding them. Many

different types of mines affect many different types of ecosystems. For example,
deep-sea mines are at high risk of eliminating rare and potentially valuable
organisms. Mining destroys animal habitats and ecosystems. Pits that mines
create could have been home to some animals. Also, the activity that surrounds
the mine, including people movement, explosions, road construction,
transportation of the goods, the sounds made, etc. are harmful to the ecosystems
and will change the way the animals have to live, because they will have to find a
new way to cope with the mine and live around it. Spills of deadly substances
obviously have a very negative effect on animals and ecosystems in general.

V. LEARNING INSIGHT/ DISCUSSION

Mining officials say that mining is the answer to the countrys poverty and
unemployment rate but a critical assessment of the literature under review
showed that much of the negative environmental and health effects of mining
activities have been documented. Mining affects and disrupts aquatic habitats,
terrestrial habitats and wetlands that contain diverse ecosystems and organisms
that rely on these areas for survival. Mining is dependent on fossil fuels, which
are nonrenewable, to generate the energy needed for its operations. Dust
released during the break up of materials causes lung problem and poses health
risks for miners and people that live in the surrounding area. Since the dawn of
time, man and environment has always clashed. With increasing developments
in modern technology, humans power to utilize the rich resources the earth can
provide is constantly expanding. The impacts from mining have been known for
many years, but the way in which the effect can be treated and the community
together can recognize and share the goal of environment protection and
conservation the needs of today can be meet without spoiling those of tomorrow.

VI. CONCLUSION

Mining activities are unsustainable not only because they exploit non-
renewable resources, but also because they leave behind them destruction of the
environment and society, which is very often irreversible. Because of its impacts,
mining is one of those activities that need to be strictly controlled at all stages,
from prospection and exploitation to transportation, processing and consumption.
Environmental quality must be sustained in areas affected by surface mining.
This requires designing and developing environmentally sensitive strategies for
extraction and land reclamation. It demands a more rigorous control of
environmental impact assessment and more attention to ensuring productive and
sustainable land restoration.
Mining and its allied activities have taken big strikes during the last century
contributing significant infrastructure development and raising the living
standards of mankind. However, they have also brought in their wake,
degeneration and degradation of natural resources, pollution, health risk and
socio-ecological instabilities. Environmental impacts of mining operation at
individual site may be local phenomena, but numerous mining sites clustered at a
particular area may eventually led to environmental problems of larger
magnitude.
VII. Bibliography

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