Understanding Mining Laws and Environmental Impact

1. Understanding Mining Youtube 1872 Mining Law and pollution and restoration (best) 6 min http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYWVqDLJCoo&feature=related Cobalt needs for US 2 min http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WfvoMinFvU

2. General Mining Law of 1872 • Purpose was to encourage extraction of mineral resources • Increases national wealth • No environmental protections • No royalties paid to U.S. government • $5/acre for lode rock mining • $2.50/acre for placer mining • Must develop mine or lose lease. • Different for Coal Mining

3. Abandon Mines • Acid Mine Drainage • Leaching of toxic chemicals from mine, spoil bank, and tailings • Superfund sites– Government pays to clean up.

4. How do Minerals and Ores form? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIN3nc6RwJA

5. Types of Mines • Surface Mines (Surface habitat destruction) • Placer Mining (Riparian Destruction) • Strip Mining • Pit Mining • Mountain Top Removal • Shaft Mines • In situ Mines

6. Surface Mining Terms • Overburden • Spoil Bank • Ore: Gangue and Mineral • Tailings/Tailing Pile/Tailing Pond

7. More Terms • Ore: Minerals and Gangue • Placer Mining (Riparian destruction) • Shaft (deep ore/small deposits) • In Situ mining • Surface mining (Shallow ore) • Overburden • Spoil Bank- silt/Toxin runoff

8. Processing (Refining) • Separating Ore (Metal from Gangue) • Gangue →Tailings • Tailings (waste (gangue) from processed ore) • Smelting • using heat to separate minerals by melting or vaporization point • Creates toxic air emissions • Slag can be toxic • Heap-Leach Method • Uses acids and cyanide to dissolve and remove minerals.

9. Placer Mining

10. Placer Mining

11. Heap Leach Extraction

12. Heap Leach Extraction

13. Heap Leach Extraction

14. Open Pit Mining

15. Open Pit Mining

16. Underground and Surface Mines

17. Mountain Top Removal

18. Overburden

19. Overburden

20. In situ mining

21. In situ mining

22. Tailing Pile

23. Copper Tailing PondAnaconda Mine in Montana: A Superfund site

24. Tailings Pond Overflow (Arizona)

25. Smelting

26. Copper Smelter in Utah

27. Scrubber

28. Acid Mine Drainage

32. Acid Drainage Remediation

33. AMD

34. AMD

36. Environmental Problems from Mining • Acid mine drainage • Toxins in surface and ground water • Destruction of surface habitat • Erosion/Deforestation • Destruction of riparian habitat (Silt/Turbidity) • Climate Change • Human safety and health • Particulates • Acid Rain from SO2 • Aesthetic destruction

37. Solutions/Mitigations

38. Mineral Substitution • Plastic or glass for aluminum or steel containers • Glass fiber optics instead of copper

39. Mitigation of Mining Damage • Reclamation vs. Restoration http://www.onearth.org/blog/reclamation-restoration-and-mountaintop-removal Blog • Restrict water infiltration (caps, plants, etc) • Bioremediation • Wetlands • phytoremediation (using plants) • Using bacteria • Treatment of leachate • Recycling/Reuse of metals and minerals • Using less metals and minerals in products • Finding non-metal and non-mineral substitutes for metals and minerals

40. Pebble Mine in Alaska • “Dirty Gold” boycott • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH_TzBju8rU 3:00

41. Important Laws • General Mining Law of 1872 • Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (Coal Only) • CERCLA (Superfund) • UN Conference on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) • Madrid Protocol (Antarctica) • Clean Air Act • Clean Water Act • Endangered Species Act

42. Important Laws • General Mining Law of 1872 • Encouraged mining. No environmental protections • Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act • Coal Only requires reclamation of land after • CERCLA (Superfund) • The government uses this fund to clean up abandon mine sites • UN Conference on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) • Sets national boundaries on undersea mineral extraction. International Seabed Authority (ISA) grants permits. Must share profits with poor countries

43. Madrid Protocol (Antarctica) • Prohibits mineral exploration in Antarctica • Clean Air Act • Sets limits, monitors air quality, levees fines, educates public. • Clean Water Act • Sets limits, monitors water quality, levees fines, educates public. • Endangered Species Act • Identifies endangered species • Protects critical habitat

44. Reform the mining act • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62ndawMJPZY&feature=related • 1872 Mining Law and pollution and restoration (best) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYWVqDLJCoo&feature=related • Strip Mining Animation • http://uccpbank.k12hsn.org/courses/APEnvironmentalScience/course%20files/multimedia/lesson47/animations/4b_Area_Strip_Mining.html • Borax Mine video http://uccpbank.k12hsn.org/courses/APEnvironmentalScience/course%20files/multimedia/lesson47/videos/4b_BoraxMining.html • Ore processing • http://uccpbank.k12hsn.org/courses/APEnvironmentalScience/course%20files/multimedia/lesson48/animations/4b_Ore_Processing.html • Tailings dam break • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsi15QRUZ68 • Dirty Gold boycott • http://www.earthworksaction.org/PR_OBB_Ad54Jewelers.cfm • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH_TzBju8rU • Heap leach mining • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofN1aLMwcUI • Bio Heap leach process • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nutaiy7R0og

45. Open pit mining slides (1:14) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VW54YjsgLM&feature=fvst • Placer mine (5:00) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dqWTapAInA • South Africa Mining Environmental Damage 17:00 Talky Overview • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxF9l6bedZU • Mitigating acid mine drainage (coal mines) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il0UOMa-WPA&feature=related • Acid mine drainage problems in northern California • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GOcJSTLuAo&feature=related

46. Websites • Good PDF Downloads • http://www.agiweb.org/environment/publications/metals.html • Environmental health publications • http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2001/109-10/innovations.html