Five major MINING-

INDUSTRY RELATED
IMPACTS in the environment
Mining
is the process of extraction of valuable
mineral from the earth.
MINING INDUSTRY

•Involved in the extraction of valuable

mineral and other geological material.
The extracted minerals are transformed into a
mineralized form that serves an economic
benefit to the prospector or miner.
Advantage of Mining:

Mining provides us with essential ingredients

for everyday items such as cookware and
electronic components; we also rely upon
mining for the raw materials we need to build
cities, ships, automobiles, and other artifacts of
technology.
The Environmental Impact of
Mining:
Air Pollution
Water Pollution
Soil Erosion
Habitat Damage
Damage the health
Air Pollution

Ore dust and gases released by the mining

process are bad for the health of miners as well
as the environment. Exposure to the dust can
lead to serious disease and scar the tissue in the
lungs.
Mitigating measures
Dust suppression system (water spraying)
Water Pollution

Materials left over by the mining process can easily make

their way into local water systems, leading to increased
acidity and heavy metal contamination that can destroy
wildlife and render water undrinkable.

Some forms of mining also require the draining of

underground water reservoirs called aquifers, which can
cause serious impacts — like drying up springs, cutting off
rivers and degrading local ecosystems.
Mitigating measures:

Acid Mine Drainage is a watershed issue of

importance to the full range of public
stakeholders and inventory and cleanup existing
acid generating mine sites
 Soil Erosion
Pit mining, one of the most common techniques, hollows
out land to extract raw materials. It blasts away land and
strips vegetation, leaving the area vulnerable to soil erosion,
the wearing away of the topsoil layer of time. Topsoil is
necessary for plants to grow, and without it, mining sites
can’t truly recover.

Worse, soil erosion can often spread, meaning that mining

can lead to effects on the soil beyond the site.
Mitigating measures

A common approach used in dealing with

contaminated soil is to move it to specially
designed repositories.
Habitat Damage

All these different effects add up to serious on-site habitat

damage. Mining also creates knock-on effects like water
pollution, air pollution and vegetation loss as a result of soil
eruption. This can lead to greater habitat loss beyond the
immediate location.

Habitats can be restored after mining operations are

finished, but some impacts will linger. Even in sites that are
rehabilitated, biodiversity will typically be lower than it was
before.
Mitigating measures

companies can significantly reduce surface

disturbance at mining sites, lower soil erosion
and move less material that would need
backfilled.
Acid Rain

Acid rain is the term for wet and dry material

from the atmosphere that contains pollutants and
has become acidic because of mining operation.
Mitigating measures

prevent sulfuric acid from forming, neutralize

the acid after it forms, or collect runoff/seepage
to contain the acid. To stop the formation of
sulfuric acid, the waste rock and tailings from a
mine must be prevented from coming in contact
with oxygen.
THANK YOU!