Mining Overview

The General Mining Act (GMA, 1872) Signed by President Ulysses S. Grant. Allowed miners who claimed minerals on federal public land to decide where, when, and how to mine. They had absolute right to mine without standards in place for prudent mine operations, mine site cleanup, reclamation or restoration, or financial responsibility. Put in place to promote development and settlement of public owned land in the Western U.S. Due to the impact on the environment, mining is the most heavily regulated industry in the US.

Subsurface Deposits ~100m Underground/mine shafts Surface Open Pit Strip Mining Mountaintop Removal Placer Which of these do you think have the greatest impact on human health? Environmental health? Subsurface vs. Surface Mining Determined by the resource location and formation

Subsurface Deposits ~100m Underground/mine shafts *Largest Impact on Human Health Surface Open Pit Strip Mining Mountaintop Removal Placer *Largest Impact on Environmental Health

Mining Methods Determined by the resource location and formation

Subsurface mining Mine shafts drilled down to ore deposit

Fisher Creek Mine, MT Acid Mine Drainage

Bingham UT Cu Mine Open Pit- Aerial View

Bingham UT Cu Mine Deepest Open Pit in World- Overhead Aerial View

Terraces to expand the mine- make a series of holes with a sticks of dynamite

Trucks load up ore and carry it away for processing

Dr. Walsh next to one of the massive trucks

Ore milling- crush the tailings to increase SA and extract ore (w/acid)

Waste tailings slurry into pond storage

Anaconda Cu Mine, NV Manmade holding pond with acid Cu waste

Remediation Pump wet waste slurry through limestone CaCO3 gravel sleuce channel. Neutralized waste emptied into artificial wetlands.

Artificial wetlands Plants that take up Cu and other metals Plants then have to be disposed as hazardous waste

Big Sky Mine, MT Strip mining Coal

Victoria, Il Old Coal Strip Mine- Aerial View Closed prior to enactment of SMCRA

Limestone coal mine, Ca Mountaintop Removal

Limestone mine, Ca Terraces into hillside

California Gold Rush

Reprocessing Au mine tailings to recover “microgold” that has become profitable to extract

Tailings reprocessing machine Artificial pond- dump in tailings; has a large panning machine; pulls in slurry at one end, dumps out waste at the other end.

Large microgold panning machine

Biggest Human Impacts Subsurface Mining

Surface Mines Big Environmental Impacts! Removal of topsoil and vegetation Displacement of wildlife Disruption of groundwater and surface water flow Contamination of soil, water, air Noise pollution

Mining Regulations The Clean Water Act (CWA, 1972) &The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA, 1974 ) – Regulates discharge of pollutants and quality standards of surface waters in the U.S. – Ensures the quality of drinking water The Comprehensive Response Compensation and Liability Act (CRCLA, 1980) – Regulates the release of hazardous substances into air, soil, & water The Endangered Species Act (ESP, 1973) – Protects threatened & endangered species and their habitats

The Surface Mining control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA, 1977) Signed by President Jimmy Carter Ensured reclaiming of the land- returning it to its original or better condition after mining. Billions of dollars are spent to clean up abandoned mines. – Set standards to minimize the effects of coal mining on environment – Established funds used to reclaim land and water resources adversely affected by mining

Mine Reclamation Before After

Before After

Mining Methods Determined by the resource location and formation