“ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS DUE TO

MINING ACTIVITIES”

Submitted :
Under the supervision of
Sachin Maurya V
Prof: Sudarshan B
(1AY15MI067)
1
 INTRODUCTION
 Due to the worldwide increase in mineral production, it is important that environmental
impacts from mining and mineral processing be properly assessed.
 Environmental issues can include erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and
contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining processes.
 In some cases, additional forest logging is done in the vicinity of mines to create space for
the storage of the created debris and soil.
 Extreme examples of pollution from mining activities include coal fires, which can last for
years or even decades, producing massive amounts of environmental damage.
 Understanding these negative impacts, their sources, and environmental and ecological
implications is necessary if mining and mineral processing is to become more sustainable.
 Mining is an inherently destructive industry, and the mining effects of even a single
operation can have a severe impact on the environment and the wildlife that lives nearby.

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 VARIOUS IMPACTS ON ENVIRONMENT DUE TO
MINING ACTIVITIES
VISUAL IMPACTS
 EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION:
 The exposed hillsides, tailing dams and mine dumps become eroded through mining activities.
 Siltation of drainages and rivers due to erosion contribute to environmental degradation. An
example is the Ok Tedi Mine located in Papua New Guinea.
 Mining activities may render farming or grazing land unproductive. Shallow extraction
techniques, geological discontinuity, and weak overburden can cause sinkholes which create a
large depression on the surface of the mining area.
 Overtime erosion and sedimentation processes have caused the build-up of thick layers of mineral
fines and sediment within
 Regional flood plains and the alteration of aquatic habitat and the loss of storage capacity within
surface waters.

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PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION:

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  ACID DRAINAGE:
 It is generally acknowledged that one of the major environmental problems facing
the mining industry is the formation of acid drainage and the associated mobilization
of contaminants.
 Commonly called acid mine drainage (AMD) or acid rock drainage (ARD) primarily
depends on the mineralogy of the rocks and the availability of water and oxygen.
 Natural discharge from mining deposits poses little threat to aquatic ecosystems.
 Mining and beneficiation operations greatly increase the rate of these same chemical
reactions by removing sulphide rock overburden material and exposing the material
to air and water.
 The addition of alkaline substances (crushed limestone to the overburden before
dumping can reduce the acid drainage) (Wisotzky and Obermann, 2001).
 
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PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE:

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  HABITAT LOSS:
 Mining can lead to the destruction of habitats in surrounding areas. The process
begins with deforestation.
 The land above the mine must be cleared of all obstructions to allow the miners to go
to work. Sadly, most mining companies are quite willing to destroy an entire forest to
get access to mineral wealth.
 Deforestation has several effects. Birds, animals, and creatures that depend on trees
and plants for food or shelter lose their homes or starve to death.
 Toxic chemicals and minerals could go to streams, rivers, and other bodies of water
which can create hazardous marine conditions.

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PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF HABITAT LOSS:

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IMPACTS ON WATER QUALITY

 SURFACE WATER:
 One of the problems that can be associated with mining operations is the release of
pollutants to surface waters.
 The eventual discharge of surface runoff, produced from rainfall and snow melt, is one
mechanism by which pollutants are released into surface waters.
 Impacts on surface waters include the build-up of sediments that may be contaminated
with heavy metals or other toxic products, reduction in pH, destruction or degradation
of aquatic habitat, and contamination of drinking water supplies and other human
health issues.

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PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF IMPACTS ON SURFACE WATER:

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  LOSS OF WATER:
 Mining cause the water table to shrink.
 Water often seeps into areas that contain coal and other valuable products, and that
water needs to be pumped out of the mine to allow the miners to work.
 Aside from pollution, the process would also cause water loss in the ground.
 This puts a strain on the local water supply affecting the nearby residents.
 When the water loss from mining is combined with another large source of strain on
the supply, it leads to a shortage.

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IMPACTS ON AIR QUALITY

 Air erosion on the dump is very low compared to water erosion but it also degrades
the air environment of the mine leasehold area as well as outside the boundary
(Nriagu, 1988).
 The primary air pollutant being the particulate matter.
 US/EPA has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter
with a diameter of less than 10 microns.
 Operation of heavy earth moving machinery in the overburden dumps generate huge
amount of dust and the high wind velocity moves the dust particle to the nearby
residential areas causing problems.

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PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF IMPACTS ON AIR QUALITY:

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 IMPACTS CAUSING NOISE POLLUTION
 The functioning of heavy machineries lead to increase in the noise levels ,various other
activities such as drilling, blasting etc also are major factors contributing to noise
pollution.
OTHER IMPACTS
 GROUND WATER:
 Mining operations can affect ground water quality in several ways. The most obvious
occurs in mining below the water table, either in underground workings or open pits.
 . Ground water quality is also affected when waters (natural or process waters or
wastewater) infiltrate through surface materials (including overlying overburden waste
or other material) into ground water (Thakur, 2013).
 Contamination can also occur when there is a hydraulic connection between surface and
ground water.
 This affects the quantities of water available for the local residents.

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PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF IMPACTS ON NOISE POLLUTION AND
GROUND WATER:

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ECOLOGICAL DISRUPTION/IMPACTS:

 Mining activities cause severe changes to the landscape causing multifarious

environmental problems ranging from erosion and enhancing sediment load in
receiving water bodies, dust pollution, damage to visual and aesthetics, fragmentation
of habitat and overall disturbance of ecosystem.
 Sediments deposited in layers in flood plains or terrestrial ecosystems can produce
impacts on surface waters, ground water, and terrestrial ecosystems.
 The associated impacts could include substantial pH depression or metals loading to
surface waters and/or persistent contamination of ground water sources.
 Contaminated sediments may also lower the pH of soils to the extent that vegetation
and suitable habitat are lost (Barve, 2011).

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IMPACTS ON AQUATIC LIFE:

 The water pollution is caused due to increase in total solids, other minerals and
leachates from the dumps. This results in reduction of dissolved oxygen of water. This
in turn affects the aquatic life.
 Discoloration of water is another facet of pollution from aesthetic point of view.
 In surface waters, elevated concentrations of particulate matter in the water column
can produce both chronic and acute toxic effects in fish and other aquatic life.

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PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF IMPACTS ON AQUATIC LIFE:

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LOSS OF SOIL FERTILITY:

 The run-off water directly going to nearby fields or passing through them changes the
salt content of soil and subsoil layers thereby reducing the fertility of the land causing
loss of yield.
 Apart from this nearby settlements are always affected by the degraded environment
in terms of water and air pollution, which also affect the health as well as their
production from the fields (Nriagu, 1988).
 Physical potential impacts associated with Increased runoff velocities and volumes
can lead to downstream flooding, scouring of stream channels, and structural damage
to bridge footings and culvert entries.

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PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF LOSS OF SOIL FERTILITY:

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SAFETY, RISK AND HEALTH:

 Physical stability of mine is an important long-term environmental concern because of

the amounts of materials involved and the consequences of slope failure
(Mehta,2002).
 Mining operations can result in the formation of slopes composed mainly of
overburden (earth, rock, tailings, other mine wastes, or combinations of materials).
Landslides in the hilly terrain during opencast mining are more common.
 Other than sheer physical impacts, catastrophic slope failure can affect the
environment or human health when toxic materials are released from the failure
especially if it occurs in an area where such a release results in a direct pathway to
receptors (Saxena, 2002).

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CONTAMINATION OF WATER:

 The effects of untreated effluent of mining industries pumping into public water ways,
releasing harmful gas emission into the atmosphere, uncontrolled toxic dust, or
dumping wastage which leeches dangerous chemicals into the groundwater table, has
fatal implications to the people living in the surrounding areas.
 Toxic water includes the contamination of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and
uranium and other pollutants such as arsenic and cyanide (Warhate, 2006).

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PICTORIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF CONTAMINATION OF WATER:

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RESULT AND CONCLUSION
 PRECAUTIONS

 Mining isn’t going to stop anytime soon, but it’s possible to lessen their negative impact on the
environment and wildlife. Among the proposed ideas include the following:

 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING:
 Monitoring plans should be based on environmental risk assessments performed early in the mine
planning stages.
 Baseline and reference data collection should begin before the mine is developed and continue
throughout the life of the mine.
 Impact monitoring plans need to be detailed and specifically geared toward each environmental
attribute being monitored.
 Once data has been collected, data analysis needs to provide information on whether or not
mining activities have impacted each environmental attribute.
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 CONTINUED:

 SHUTTING DOWN UNREGULATED AND ILLEGAL MINES.

 
 ENDORCING ACCURATE REPORTING OF DUMPED TOXIC WASTE.

 BACKFILLING MINE SITES AND PROPER WASTE CLEAN-UP.

 ENCOURAGING AND INVESTING IN THE DEVELEOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE MINING

TECHNOLOGY.
 
 IMPROVING MINING LEGISLATIONS AND REGULATIONS.

 CREATE AWARENESS AMONGST PEOPLE AND MINE WORKERS ON IMPACTS DUE TO

MINING ACTIVITIES AND PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES TO BE TAKEN TO REDUCE THE
ADVERSE EFFECTS.

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CONCLUSION:

 Responsible mining will not only save the environment and wildlife,
but it can also ensure the safety of the people working in the mine
and living in nearby areas.

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 REFERENCES
 Annual Report. 2004-05. Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India.
  Barve, A and
Muduli, K. 2011. Challenges to Environmental Management Practices in Indian Mining Industries.
IPEDR.14(2011)
  Mehta, T.S.2002. The Indian Mining sector: Effects on the Environment and FDI inflows. CCNM global forum on
International investment. 7-8 Feb.
  Nriagu,J.O and Pacyna J.M. 1988. Quantitative assessment of worldwide contamination of air, water and soils by trace
metals. Nature. 333: 134-139.
  Saxena,N.C, Gurddeep, S and Rekha, G . 2002. Environmental Management in Mining Areas. Scientific Publishers
(I). Jodhpur. pp 410.
  Thakur,
B.K., Gupta, V and Chattopadhyay, U. 2013. Arsenic Groundwater Contamination Related Socio-Economic
Problems in India: Issues and Challenges. Knowledge Systems of Societies for Adaptation and Mitigation of Impacts of
Climate Change Environmental Science and Engineering . pp 163-182.
  Wisotzky,
F and Obermann, P. 2001. Acid mine groundwater in lignite overburden dumps and its prevention- the
Rhineland lignite mining area (Germany), Ecological Engineering 17(2-3): 115-123.

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 THANK YOU

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