ENV100H1 Lecture 56: 56 – Mineral Resources and Mining (II)

• School: UTSG
• Department: School of Environment
• Course: ENV100H1
• Professor: Barbara Murck

Document Summary

Many towns exist mainly because of their mining history. Different types of mines that depend on what you are mining and what type of deposit. Surface: strip mine, mountaintop removal, open-pit mine, placer operations. Subsurface: deep and dangerous, can have mine collapses, use dynamite, toxic fumes. Can affect people years after they close: acid drainage, polluted groundwater, sinkholes damage roads and homes, etc. Surface disruption is less than other forms of mining. Solution mining (in-situ recovery: resources are dissolved in a liquid and siphoned out. Less surface area disturbed than in other methods: acids, heavy metals, uranium can accidentally leak into groundwater, subsidence, ground collapse. Stuff that is fairly close to the surface. Overburden overlying soil and rock that is removed by heavy machinery. After extraction, each strip is refilled with overburden. Used mainly for coal, oil sands, sand, gravel. Destroys natural communities over large areas and triggers erosion. Social and health impacts for people living near sites.