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Olympic Dam Mine Research Paper

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The Olympic Dam Mine is notorious for being one of the biggest mines in South Australia, and the wide range of minerals obtained from the mine. From miners, to engineers, the Olympic Dam Mine has created many jobs for South Australians. As well as this increase, South Australia and Australia have benefited significantly from the mine economically, and created many bonds with other countries through trading. The mine has recently created plans to expand and, although the plans may have been controversial throughout South Australia, this initiative could not only help South Australia, but the world.

The Olympic Dam Line or the BHP Olympic Dam, located 560 km north-west of Adelaide, is in central South Australia, right next to the Lake-Torrens. …show more content…

If they see or locate any Uranium, the mine will continue to excavate soil and find Uranium in that area. Uranium is extracted, especially in two different ways. Open Pit Mining, one of the most common extraction techniques for uranium, is used by stripping away the excess soil near the mineral, and then, after cutting away the sides of the ore, pumping the Uranium ore out of the rock or soil. Another excavation technique, Underground Mining, is a technique used when Uranium ore is too deep for Open Pit extraction. When Uranium is too deep to mine by hand, the soil or rock will be drilled and the sediments are taken away to a mill to separate. Once this debris has been taken to a mill and the soil has been separated from the Uranium, a significant amount of waste is exported into rivers and natural …show more content…

One of Uranium’s largest environmental impacts is the quality and quantity of surface water near Uranium mines. Once Uranium is extracted from mills, a significant amount of Uranium products are released into rivers and lakes. This significantly increases the concentration of Uranium in surface water. Radon, a product produced from the decaying of Uranium, if consumed by the animals, can create serious lung and stomach issues. Inhaling radon has a similar effect. Uranium, once the material dissolves into the soil, can also significantly influence the soil quality in a given area. Soil, after this process, can’t provide moisture for plant growth and many underground living organisms die. Considering the Olympic Dam Mine is next to a large river, these issues are occurring more and more near the

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