The extraction and mining industries are a significant component of present-day economies as they supply necessary commodities such as metals, minerals, and oils. From the mining metals such as gold and silver to crushing stones for construction purposes of similar stones, these are core to development. Living environmentally friendly is still more of a slogan that is practiced rather than questioned. However, their environmental impact is gradually being questioned. These processes tend to bring about sociopolitical and economic transformations that affect the natural ecosystem negatively by vitiating the area’s physical character, water, and soil quality. Appreciating these effects is critical in capturing the economics, as well as the impacts on the environment.
This article seeks to explain how and in what ways mining and extractive industries harm the environment and the impact assessed in the short and long run. Learning about these points contributes to understanding the necessity for proper resource management and searching for new micro-level strategies to reduce negative environmental effects while fulfilling people’s material necessities.
Types of Mining and Extractive Industries
Mining and extraction are operations in which resources are acquired from the ground or water sources. These activities can be categorized based on the techniques used:
Surface Mining
- Open-pit Mining. It is a method where holes with large openings are made on the ground to deem the desired ore. This method is quite popular for ores such as copper and iron.
- Strip Mining. The overburden, including the topsoil and rock layers, is cleared to reach the near-surface deposits of ores. They are frequently applied in such deposits as coal and tar sands.
Underground Mining
- Shaft Mining. Vertical and inclined shafts are deep holes in the earth with horizontal tunnels that are used to find gold, silver, diamonds, and many other minerals.
- Subsurface Mining, also known as drift or tunnel mining, involves digging horizontal tunnels to access the layers of the ore deep in the ground.
Oil and Gas Extraction
- Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking). Drilling entails establishing a well for the production of oil and natural gases. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses pressure to release gases or other fluids trapped in the rock layers.
Quarrying and Sand Mining
- Sand and Gravel Extraction. It entails dredging sand and gravel from riverbeds, beaches, and quarries, which are major materials used in construction.
- Stone Quarrying. In large chunks, coarse granite, limestone, and marble are quarried for construction, monuments, and industrial applications.
Environmental Impacts
Here is how extractive industries impact the environment:
Land Degradation
- Deforestation. Mining is one of the main activities that involves removing forests on a large scale, thus robbing species of their habitat and affecting all related processes.
- Habitat Destruction. Mining interventions cause habitat destruction, which poses a great danger to species and minimizes the ecosystem’s ability to recover.
Water Pollution
- Contamination from Heavy Metals. Some heavy metals, such as mercury and lead, obtained through mining pollute water sources that people use for drinking, and anything alive in the water is affected.
- Acid Mine Drainage. Mining exposes sulfide minerals, which causes acid mine drainage. This is mainly due to the action of water on exposed minerals, releasing sulfuric acid and dissolved heavy metals into water bodies, which are dangerous for aquatic life forms.
Air Pollution
- Dust and Particulate Matter. Mining activities result in dust formation and fine dust particles that damage human and animal life and cause air pollution.
- Emissions from Machinery and Processing. Some treatments using heavy machinery and raw materials release gases and other contaminants into the air, which worsens air quality and may also be hazardous to human health.
Climate Change
- Carbon Footprint of Mining Operations. The continued application of fossil fuels, especially in the mining sector, leads to the emission of greenhouse gases, thus increasing the effects of global warming and climate change.
- Methane Emissions from Fossil Fuel Extraction. The extraction of fossil fuels, especially coal and natural gasses, emits methane, which is way more dangerous to the climate than carbon dioxide.
Ecosystem Disruption
In particular, ecosystem disturbance by factors such as tree cutting, emissions of poisonous substances, and climate change represent critical threats to biological diversity and the steady condition of the environment.
Impact on Biodiversity
The various initiatives show that ecosystem exploitation greatly endangers plant and animal species. Changes, such as deforestation and urbanization, narrow the ranges within which species exist; this leads to decreased variation within the gene pool, thereby raising species’ extinction risks. For instance, deforestation in the Amazon region threatens hundreds of species’ lives by eliminating their homes.
Disturbances to ecosystems also impact food chains, resulting in either the reduction of or complete elimination of keystone species, which are significant in sustaining balanced ecosystems. When such species deteriorate, repercussions are carried to other trophic levels, thereby escalating other imbalances and, at times, even leading to crashes of more trophic levels.
Soil Erosion and Sedimentation
Soil erosion causes land instability, which results in landslides and low agricultural yields. These are caused by people’s activities such as farming and the destruction of vegetation. The erosion of the upper layer enriched with nutrients demeans the territory’s utility, as it becomes less fertile and has a higher tendency to turn into a desert.
Sedimentation caused by eroded soil that finds its way into water courses affects fish breeding grounds, water quality, and the proper flow of rivers and streams. Sediment accumulation can also bury the plants that grow in the water, which are important in supporting aquatic life. Thus, sedimentation, together with soil erosion, deleteriously affects both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and hence disrupts them.
Human Health Concerns
People also have to suffer because of extractive industries. Here are the main impacts on human health:
Respiratory and Cardiovascular Issues
- Air pollution is also a great hazard to public health and is statistically linked to complications in the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
- PM2.5, NO2, and O3 are notable pollutants associated with asthma, bronchitis, and lung cancer.
- Prolonged breathing of polluted air leads to heart diseases, high blood pressure, and stroke and is more dangerous to children and the elderly.
Waterborne Diseases
- The effects of consuming water contaminated with bacteria and viruses are cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis.
- Contaminated water and unsatisfactory treatment mean sewage contains pathogens, rendering the subsequent water dangerous.
- Such populations are also more susceptible to gastrointestinal diseases and other diseases related to poor water treatment processes.
Community Displacement
- Habitat loss, for any reason, from logging and poisoning to climate change, leads to the displacement of the local people.
- It dislocates people, thus eradicating cultural norms, framing the community as poorer, and causing or aggravating mental issues among them.
- In the economic aspect, the integration of displaced persons affects their employment opportunities, healthcare, and housing, increasing social inequalities among them. The areas requiring attention include displacement of households and individuals, lack of livelihoods for households and individuals whose income depends on natural resource base, and property losses.
Regulatory and Mitigation Measures
The government tries to take measures and regulate the impact of extractive industries. Here are several actions to consider:
Key Regulations & Standards
- These major principles include the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
- Other control standards, like ISO 14001, offer the best standard for regulating and controlling environment management in mining and extraction.
Compliance & Enforcement Challenges
- Implementing laws protecting the environment becomes complex in such areas or countries, especially those that are hard to reach.
- That is why some regulatory agencies are known to be flawed. They need more resources to conduct monitoring and enforcement effectively.
Best Practices in Mining & Extraction
- This is because applying energy efficiency measures alongside the effective use of water decreases negative environmental impacts.
- The precision mining process reduces the amount of land space and utilized resources.
Innovations in Reducing Environmental Impact
- Carbon capture technologies applied to extraction processes can reduce greenhouse gas emissions easily.
- Coming up with environment conservation chemical formulas to minimize the harmful emission of waste in mineral processing facilities.
Techniques for Land Reclamation
- The two methods, soil amendment, and revegetation, are fundamental approaches to rehabilitating ecosystems after mining.
- Hydroseeding and erosion control measures should be implemented to try and avoid further damage.
What to Expect?
The mining industry is now trending towards the use of environmentally friendly technologies. Technological advancements, comprising electric mining equipment, automation, AI, and other relevant processes, are now reducing impacts on the environment. New solutions related to disposal methods with the utilization of tailings, as well as innovative water recycling technologies, are less threatening to the environment. Besides, using Blockchain to record the origin of minerals is making the supply chain more responsible and ethically sourced.
As for the changes, it is imperative to mention the new focus on renewable resources and energy in mining. Exploration of clean energy sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal energies are being incorporated into the electricity supply to mining operations to minimize the use of fossil-based power. Moreover, it is searching for copper needed for electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, and metals used in energy storage, including lithium, cobalt, and rare earths.