Gogebic Taconite Mine Report

Imagine drifting slowly on a canoe while fishing one of Minnesota's crystal clear waters on a beautiful, sunny day. Now imagine being interrupted by the loud, ongoing sounds of drilling and being told the fish were too dangerous to eat. This is only one of many potential harms of sulfide mining. PolyMet, a new mining company would like to bring sulfide mining, also known as copper-nickel mining to Minnesota. This would involve the extraction of copper and various other metals from sulfide, hence the name. The sulfide that comes out of this type of mining can have serious consequences on the environment. Events that occurred in the past and facts mentioned in the books titled Taconite Dreams by Jeffrey Manuel and Fractured Land by Lisa

My first reason States that mining will affect many jobs including farmers and fishermen. I think this because, without good water, it would be hard for farmers to get good water for irrigating

Sulfuric acid is a colorless oily liquid that is corrosive to tissue and metals. If there is a leak from the mine, because of where the mine would be located, the sulfuric acid could pollute the boundary waters. This could damage fish and waterfowl. Over 1,000 acres of wetland will be destroyed for the mine. Mining by products will put humans at higher risk for cancer and other illnesses. Almost 99% of rocks mined for copper are waste. There have been several instances of copper mines leaking. In the Coquimbo region, Los Pelambres dumped 13,000 liters into the Choapa

Sulfide mines extract copper, nickel, and other metals, but they have a bad history. The Mount Polley Copper Mine in Canada went wrong, causing the public to pay $500 million. There is a 100% track record of pollution for sulfide mines, which means that the public had to pay each time a mine failed. No sulfide mine has ever operated without polluting nearby bodies of water. Pollution isn’t predicted. The Mount Polley Copper Mine assured people that there was no pollution, yet the drinking water became undrinkable, rivers became toxic, and hundreds of millions of people’s money was wasted. Wildlife

Mining is the process or industry of obtaining coal or other minerals from a mine. A new mining project, called the Back Forty, is was proposed and is located on the Michigan and Wisconsin border. This project is said to begin around 2020 and created concern for some people. The Aquila Resources Inc. is the company behind this proposal, and they said “it will invest more than $300 million to extract gold, zinc, copper and silver along the Menominee River” (Bergquist, 2016). The Menominee river is part of the border between Wisconsin and Michigan. The mine will have large effects on the environment and economy for Lake Michigan and Wisconsin. The next paragraphs will discuss the positive and negative effects that the Back Forty could create. One side would be for the mine and say that the economic benefits would outweigh the negative effects on the environment, while the opposing side would say the opposite.

and the impact of its use on the environment and the habitat around the coal mining sites.

Great environmental, ecological and physical damage was caused due to the magnitude involved in the release of the content of the trailings pond. However, considering the world wide demand for Copper and the mine’s willingness to rectify the error the decision was made to re-open the mine. Should this particular mine, not have been allowed to re-open another mine elsewhere would have been developed to supply the demand for Copper. Should the Mount Polley mine, not have reopened the mine would not have needed to carry the responsibility to rehabilitate the damage done to the ecological system by the said disaster. Thus the re-opening of the Mount Polley mine is justified.

For the most part, the concerns were similar. The author’s consistently brought up that local facilities can be affected due to chemical slips in the water and affect health because there is a possibility that citizens can consume it. Another is fracking can cause earthquakes due to the pressure from the water, which then creates the crack and makes the ground more unstable. From these sources, (Biello,

Mining had been practicied for centuries already and has helped humans develop through civilizations and years of innovation. Even though we have been the benficiaries of mining, there has been a catch to all of this. Mining isnt beneficial because of companies treating miners really bad and because of its harm to the environment, therefore creating more of a danger to us. Even if the mining industry seems to never have an end to it, it can surpressed, in order to ensure a better environment for future generations to come.

My first reason is that it is near the boundary waters. 85% of predicted not to pollute mines have polluted. If this specific mine pollutes then it could potentially destroy the boundary waters. There are little places like this in the world and not worth the risk to ruin that. My second reason this mine is a bad idea is that we get to pay for it, yay! (Not) also if there is dam familiars it costs $543 million and we would pay for that to! Also it would effect our drinking water. And my Third reason is that people keep saying "if it doesn't happen here then it will happen somewhere else. So why not, Why not build it somewhere else where there is

Method: Before companies being a mining project, they must first have suitable and registered plans for the rehabilitation of the mine site once mining is completed. They are required to (within NWS) produce an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which collects and surveys the features and conditions of the proposed mine site prior to commencement of mining. The EIS is used to predict the future impact of the mining operation and rehabilitation on native flora and fauna, so appropriate

Although mining positively benefits the needs of people in our daily lives, but it has a negative downfall when it comes to environmental issues. To be capable of extracting the ores from deep below the earth’s surface, it requires miners to excavate the land, removing all necessary living things just to construct a pit to proceed with the operation. Forests being harvested, wildlife habitats being destroyed, Rivers being diverted to some other areas making other plantations die in dehydration. Not only the animals and plants suffer from the impacts of mining, people also faces problems ahead of them too. Mining impacts the people by forcing residents out from their lands, preventing the residents’ access to clean water source. The worst of all, residents exposed themselves to

This source discuss about how mountaintop removal coal mining is a common procedure that has been carried out at least 500 appalachian peaks. Mountaintop removal is extremely costly to the environment since the debris from mining has buried most of the streams that are crucial to the mississippi river. The residue from cleaning coal have contaminated ponds and underground mines which is dangerous since it can release toxic acid that may end up in groundwater. Individuals are prone to health issues when working in the mines. Sulfide is an occupational hazard and exposure to sulfur can make an individual have headache, irritability and poor memory. Coal dust exposure can cause cardiovascular and lung disease, and cancer. The source stated that

What did you notice on the sides of the roads on your way to Northland College? Did you notice those huge machines in the air, with numerous sand mounds piled around it? Did they catch your eyes at all? Did you wonder about what they were doing and how it was affecting our land? On one hand what the sand mines are doing is effective, but at the same time there are so many different issues that are causing problems with the environment. Even though Sand Mining keeps gas prices at a super low, it should be stopped because it’s causing the environments air pollution by putting Crystalline Silica dust in the air and chemical emissions, water contamination, and is killing animal’s natural habitats.

The environmental impacts of this mining process can be minimized but are still relatively impactful. The ocean has already been damage by overfishing, industrial waste, debris and