Negative Impacts Of Mining Essay

The happy and sad faces of mining activities and communities

Mutenda Richmore (MPI)

Introduction

• Modern societies rely on mining, minerals and metals to function. Nearly everything in the built environment – from buildings to roads to computers and trains – contains materials extracted from the Earth’s surface.

• Mining is a complex and intensive process that causes environmental and social change no matter where it occurs. Mining-related disruptions impact the physical environment through, for instance, loss of habitat and contamination of surface and ground waters and local communities through, for instance, displacement of livelihoods and cultural impacts.

• However it is important to note that negatives about mining is not the whole story of mining since mining has its positive impacts which we ought to draw

Sustainable mining activities. water • Water is used in a number of applications at mine sites. By diverting surface water and pumping groundwater, mining operations can reduce both the quantity and quality of water available downstream for aquatic ecosystems, community domestic uses and other industrial and municipal water users, especially in areas with arid climates.

• In response to water scarcity in many mining regions, a number of innovative water conservation practices are being developed and implemented to reduce water use. In Canada, mining has one of the highest water recycling rates among the industrial sectors, and between 1996 and 2005 reduced its total water intake by 33%.This drop in water use occurred at the same time as the value of production increased 48%, meaning the water intake per dollar of production (or water-use intensity) has also declined.