Mining, simply put, is the extraction or removal of minerals and metals from the earth. Manganese, tantalum, copper, tin, nickel, aluminum ore, iron ore, gold, silver, and diamonds are some of the elements that are commonly mined. It is worth knowing that mining is a business in which not only mining companies thrive, but the government also raises huge revenue.
It is well known that minerals and metals are very valuable and highly demanded products. It should be noted that manganese is a key component of inexpensive stainless steel. It is also used to discolor glass by removing greenish tones. Tantalum is used in cell phones, pagers, and laptops. Copper and tin are used to make pipes, kitchen utensils, etc. It goes without saying that silver and diamonds are used to make jewelry.
Mining is generally divided into two categories: large-scale mining and small-scale mining. Large-scale mining is usually carried out by large companies that use many employees and a huge workforce. The company mines on large sites and continues operations until the ore or metal is fully excavated. A classic example of a large-scale mine, which one easily remembers, is the Serra Pelada mine in Brazil, which produced 29,000 tons of gold from 1980 to 1986 and employed 50,000 workers. Small-scale mining is done by a relatively small group of wandering men. They travel together and identify sites that they believe will produce gold or any other valuable metal or mineral. Small-scale mining occurs in places like Suriname, Guyana, and Central Africa, among other places. Some researchers believe that small-scale mining is more damaging to the environment and causes more social problems than large-scale mining.
It cannot be denied that both large-scale and small-scale mining are generally very destructive to the environment, as mining is one of the main causes of deforestation. Trees, plants and all vegetation are cut down and burned to leave the ground completely bare for mining operations. Large-scale mining also involves the use of huge bulldozers and excavators to extract metals and minerals from the ground. In addition, to amalgamate the extractions, they use chemicals such as cyanide, mercury or methyl mercury. These poisonous chemicals are often discharged into rivers, streams, bays, and oceans. This pollutes all living organisms within the body of water and people who depend on fish and other sea creatures for their main source of livelihood are severely affected.
Small-scale mining is equally devastating to the environment. Groups of 5-6 men migrate from one mining site to another in search of precious metals, particularly gold. There are two types of small-scale mining: land dredging and river dredging.
Mining affects people’s health as they are exposed to toxic waste from tailings. They develop skin rashes, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. and the symptoms of mercury poisoning are very similar to the symptoms of malaria. Unfortunately, many people who cannot afford to go to a doctor, or who live in a town where a doctor is not available, often do not receive treatment for their illnesses. If the water is contaminated, people cannot use it to bathe, cook, or wash their clothes.
Mining takes place regularly in many places around the world, including the United States. In South America, mining is widely practiced in the Amazon region, Guyana, Suriname and some other countries. In Central Africa, mining devastated a National Park called Kahuzi-Biega in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). South Africa is internationally known for diamond mining. Mining also occurs in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries.