16-6 Environmental Effects of using Mineral Resources

What Are the Environmental Impacts of Using Nonrenewable Mineral Resources? Degradation, Waste, and Pollution

The mining, processing, and use of mineral resources take enormous amounts of energy and often cause land disturbance, soil erosion, and air and water pollution. Mining can harm the environment in a number of ways:

  1. One is scarring and disruption of the land surface.

  2. Another problem is collapse of land above underground mines. This subsidence can cause houses to tilt, sewer lines to crack, gas mains to break, and ground- water systems to be disrupted.

  3. Toxin-laced mining wastes can be blown or deposited elsewhere by wind or water erosion.

  4. Another problem is acid mine drainage. It occurs when rainwater seeping through a mine or mine wastes carries sulphuric acid (H2SO4, produced when aerobic bacteria act on iron sulphide minerals in spoils) to nearby streams and groundwater.

What Is the Typical Life Cycle of a Nonrenewable Metal Resource? Going Around in Circles

Ore typically has two components. One is the ore mineral containing the desired metal and the other is waste material called gangue. Removing the gangue from ores produces piles of waste called tailings. Particles of toxic metals blown by the wind or leached from tailings by rainfall can contaminate surface water and groundwater.

After gangue has been removed, smelting is used to separate the metal from the other elements in the ore mineral. Without effective pollution control equipment, smelters emit enormous quantities of air pollutants, which damage vegetation and soils in the surrounding area. They also cause water pollution and produce liquid and solid hazardous wastes that must be disposed of safely.

Are There Environmental Limits to Resource Extraction and Use? A Serious Problem

The environmental impacts from mining an ore are affected by its percentage of metal content, or grade. The more accessible and higher-grade ores are usually exploited first. As they are depleted, it takes more money, energy, water, and other materials to exploit lower-grade ores. This in turn increases land disruption, mining waste, and pollution.

Currently, most of the harmful environmental costs of mining and processing minerals are not included in the prices for processed metals and the resulting consumer products. Instead, these costs are passed on to society and future generations, which gives mining companies and manufacturers little incentive to reduce resource waste and pollution.