5. ENVIRONMENTAL MINING ISSUES

6. Acid Mine Drainage(AMD)  Pyrite (any sulfide) + Water = sulfuric acid  FeS 2 + H 2 O H 2 SO 4 + Fe  Aka sulfide mining  Sulfuric acid lowers the pH  Happens in both surface and underground mines  Metal (Cu, Zn) or Coal mines

8. Yellow Boy Soluble Iron Yellow boy in a stream receiving acid drainage from surface coal mining

9. Berkeley Pit, Montana Abandon Copper Mine

10. MINE WASTE  Waste makes up a larger % of the mine than the ore  More so in surface mines  Sand and Gravel mines- least amount of waste  Hard Rock mines- most amount of waste

11. What’s the problem with MINE WASTE?  Piles are an eyesore  Acid runoff

12. Tailings pile

13. Eagle Project  Nickel/copper mine in Marquette, MI  People are against it- BIG TIME!  Latest news: Mining will begin in 2013-2023 Nickel is used in stainless steel and hybrid batteries

14. What are citizens worried about?  collapse of the roof of the mine, which lies directly beneath the Salmon Trout River.  acid mine drainage (see information on Sulfuric Acid Mine Drainage below)  air pollution from a 50-foot tall stack (annually "at least 20 tons of dust containing sulfides and metals")  loud noise levels from mining and rock crushing at the site  80 ore truck trips a day impacting the region's roads (including spreading acid dust on roadsides)

16. video  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t - TrOCibjk&safety_mode=true&persist_ safety_mode=1&safe=active http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t - TrOCibjk&safety_mode=true&persist_ safety_mode=1&safe=active  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p defD_SBiL4&safety_mode=true&persi st_safety_mode=1&safe=active http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p defD_SBiL4&safety_mode=true&persi st_safety_mode=1&safe=active

17. Other Water Issues  Mining lowers water table Must pump water out to keep mine dry  Usually surface mines  May decrease water quality Lead causes neurological damage Mercury can cause kidney problems

18. Itai-Itai disease  Caused from cadmium mining waste dumped in rivers and then used for irrigation of crops  Japan, 1950  “Ouch-ouch” disease; extremely painful; attacks bones

19. MINE SUBSIDENCE  Mainly from underground or solution mining  Land above mine sinks

21. Wink Sink, TX 1980 Salt

22. Measuring subsidence from satellites

23. AIR POLLUTION  Dust from tailings  May be reduced by: Spray on latex coating Spray on water revegitate

25. Reclamation Act of 1977  Must prove that land can be reclaimed before permits are issued  restore to “useful” land  tax of $.35/ton

27.  Posting a Reclamation Bond: To ensure that the disturbed lands will be reclaimed, the government often requires that the miner set aside some or all of the amount of money needed to reclaim the disturbed lands.

28. Asbestos mining  Carcinogen- mesothelioma  Fibrous group of minerals  Imbedded in lung tissue  Canada

29. COAL MINING  Fires Can spontaneously combust from coal dust  Black Lung disease Coal dust gets embedded in lung tissue 1500 people/year Usually from older mines when regulations weren’t in place