Environmental impact of mining 1

Question 1

What are 5 of the environmental impacts of mining?

Answer 1

Air pollution
Water pollution
Damage to land
Loss of biodiversity
Long term effects

Question 2

How does mining lead to air pollution?

Answer 2

Air quality is affected by mining operations, waste deposit and processing (smelter) operations due to the release of airborne particles

Question 3

How does mining lead to water pollution?

Answer 3

Metal contamination of surface and grounwater, increased sediment levels in streams, acid mine drainage

Question 4

How does mining damage land?

Answer 4

Open pits, waste rock piles, destabilisation of the ground (underground mining)-> physical destruction of the land

Question 5

How does mining cause loss of biodiversity?

Answer 5

Habitat loss for flora and fauna due to modification of pre-mined landscape

Question 6

What are the 8 steps of the mining process?

Answer 6

Location drilling
Blasting
Mining
Hauling
Crushing
Leaching
Processing
Pouring

Question 7

What is the biggest visual impact of mining?

Answer 7

Waste material from mining activity, not the hole itself

Question 8

What is an example of a large scale mining disaster?

Answer 8

Aberfan soil heap failure
144 dead, mostly children

Question 9

What is soil heap failure relate to?

Answer 9

High pore pressures (and rainfall)

Question 10

What is the definition of a tailing?

Answer 10

Mixtures of crushed rick and processing fluids from mils, washeries or concentrators that remain after extraction of economic metals or minerals