The Effect Of Polymet Mine On The Environment

Although mines like these can be very successful, some did lead to negative impacts on the environment. Some of these impacts where fracking, sinkholes,

Some argue that, economically, the mining operation will be a net gain in money for the working class and that 75 to 80 percent of the jobs in northern Minnesota will be local [1]. However, for the project to fully go through, it requires “$200 million to $400 million in financial protections, and would overall be a financial liability for taxpayers” [2]. So despite how many jobs the project will create, it could result in a net loss of money for the people living in that area. Another problem that PolyMet thinks they have solved is the mass amount of pollution that will surface during the mining process. They say they will “use the most advanced mining procedures to extract the materials and prevent pollution during the mines 20 year life” [3]. Not only is this solution incredibly vague in its description, but many argue that “the pollution will be a problem long after the mine plays out and PolyMet is gone. The latest studies shows a possibility that the mine’s wastewater could flow north to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness” [3]. The argument that advanced procedures would be used against pollution falls short of satisfactory when their description is so ill-defined.

The Polymet mine is going to be constructed close to the Boundary Waters. No sulfide mine has operated without polluting nearby water. Leading into the next topic, pollution is not always predicted.

They have tried to resolve the issue over the years by digging up the resident’s yards and replacing it with uncontaminated soil. Instead, they put clay which doesn’t absorb water, which caused other issues. The damage has been done, no one was held responsible. The responsibility of the clean-up should have been put on the mining companies and at the cost of the mining companies. They forcibly came into the land, abused the land and the people in the area, then left. It will take decades for the land to ever recover from the damage they caused for a

This mine would expose us to many dangerous metals and minerals that, if not handled correctly could contaminate the water we drink, the food we eat, and the air we breathe. The minerals that could be found in the formation are mercury, asbestos, arsenates, sulfates, silicate dusts, and many other poisonous or potentially poisonous minerals.

Of all the values plaguing Montana socially and environmentally, the issue of mining plays the greatest role in the state. Although recognized as being one of the largest pillars of Montana’s economy, mining poses a serious threat to the ecosystems surrounding it. The main problem within this industry is that after mining takes places, there are many toxic materials, like arsenic and zinc, that remain in the waste rock and tailings. These toxic substances are harmful to people as well as wildlife and once they enter the groundwater, rivers, or soil, they become a very serious health hazard. Currently, there are government regulations for all mining companies that assure none are participating in these harmful practices. Although many new companies

One consequence on the environment would have been from the pollutants the mine would have given off. One of these pollutants would be Mercury. In the process of getting iron ore from taconite pellets, which is what is mined, the taconite must be heated up, one element that is given off during the heating process is Mercury (WI DNR, 2003, 22-25). When Mercury is in it’s gaseous form, it enters the water cycle and helps form acid rain (WI DNR, 2003). When the acid rain is released as precipitation, it enters the waterways and pollutes the waters. In the case of Northern Wisconsin, this acid rain would help pollute the Bad River Watershed, one of the biggest tributaries of Lake Superior, which would be polluted from the Mercury. Pollution of Lake Superior would be devastating. Lake Superior is the world’s largest freshwater lake and it’s water flows through the Great Lakes, down the St. Lawrence River, and into the Atlantic Ocean, all of which would be polluted. Also, Lake Superior is a huge source of drinking water for a huge portion of cities located right on the lake including Ashland and Superior in Wisconsin, Duluth and Cloquet in Minnesota, Sault St. Marie and Marquette in Minnesota, and Thunder Bay in Canada just to name a few (Lake by Lake, 2003). Another major pollutant is Sulfate. Sulfate is one of the major parts of taconite mine runoff. Sulfate does the same as Mercury except it is mixed in the water right away instead of being in acid rain, though it is a component to acid rain (WI DNR, 2013, iv). Sulfate directly ran off into watersheds creates more problems than if it were just in acid rain. In the Bad River Watershed, wild rice is a prominent crop grown in the water for the Ojibwe. That runoff can form Sulfide, and it has been shown in Minnesota to be toxic to wild rice, helping destroy a means of income for so many people (“Wild Rice Sulfate, 2014, 5-6).

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

The families that live near the mine also face being diagnosed with dangerous side effects. Since the ground becomes polluted with the chemicals, most homes in the surrounding area don’t have running water because the aquifers are polluted by said chemicals that originate from the mine. And the air becomes toxic also, toxic levels of arsenic, fluorine, mercury, and selenium is emitted by coal fires, entering the air and the food chain of those living nearby. These pollutants affect the water also, making it dangerous to any living life form. It causes deformities and creates birth defects if ingested into the body (Breitenender 2). And to an extent, causes death if the water is drunk regularly. It can go unnoticed also if people don’t check their water. And if a person is unfortunate enough to live near these areas, then he likely has no running water due to the pollution of his local aquifer. People are deprived of a vital source to live and they travel far to get water. And these areas are arid which means water is a necessary

Minerals can affect society in many ways for example; Surface mining destroys vegetation across large areas, increasing erosion. Open-pit mining uses huge quantities of water. Acid mine drainage is pollution caused when dissolved toxic materials wash from mines into nearby lakes and streams. Minerals is approximately 80 percent of mined ore consists of impurities that become wastes after processing. These wastes, called tailings, are usually left in giant piles on the ground or in ponds near the processing plants (Figure 12.9). The tailings contain toxic materials such as cyanide, mercury, and sulfuric acid. Left

I would have to say that from the reading that it can be very harmful for the coal mining chemicals to seep into the ground into our drinking water.

Phosphorus mining is inherently destructive to the land, and many issues such as soil and water contamination are common due to strip mining and the associated run-off. Other issues preventing progress are those surrounding certain state and private institutions that hold stake in the mining industry, and who have resisted the idea of environmental protection for decades.

So often humans extract for resources like Lead, Aluminum, coal, marcellus shale, natural gas, or asbestos, and over time leave behind a environmental contaminated location. When nearby people start getting sick, showing up with health issues linked to the contamination in their environment, then the EPA usally gets involved. In a different light, the ecological effects from these sites can be things like habitat fragmentation, or in particularly vulnerable species, extinction. For example, in Wyoming, when the coal extraction began, a nearby lake is inevitably going to be contaminated with acid mine drainage. Say a specialists amphibian lived symbiotically with a moss or algae in the lake ecosystem, and without intervention the species dramatically suffer. Superfund sites are a popular topic sustainability and conservation biologists should use their popularity in the nation to aide in the local community remediation methods. For example, I am working to sample vegetation, water quality, fish biomass, and macro invertebrates biomass in local acid mine drainage remediation sites here in Indiana. This is a direct impact from human

The mining industry has seen an explosive growth from the past few decades. It has played an important role in economic growth, infrastructure development and a raise in the living standard of the whole world. According to the Australian National Accounting System, the mining sector has made contributions of 9.8% GDP growth to the Australian economy between 2008 to 2009 (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2012). However, the mining industry has caused many environmental issues such as adverse effect to air, land and water quality and continues to affect global environment as a whole. According to the World Health Organization, it evaluated that 25% of worldwide death are directly associated with environmental pollution (Blacksmith Institute, n.d). This essay will outline the environmental issue raised by the mining industry with pinpoint focus on the effects to air, water and land. It will also provide strategies for mining companies to improve the environmental conditions.

In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.