Copper is a common material used in our daily lives. We use it for electrical generators and electrical wiring. It is used in our phones and other technology. With the increase in demand for technology, the need for copper for those products has also increased. Twin Metals is a Minnesota mining company that wants to open an underground copper mine near the boundary waters. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is a Minnesota preserve in the Superior National Forest that has hiking trails and lakes for canoeing. They do not allow motorised vehicles on the preserve. The question I’m investigating is “Can Twin Metals open and safely operate a copper mine near the BWCAW?”
Twin Metals has spent more than five years conducting environmental studies that they plan to use in their Environmental Impact Statement. The copper mine will produce tailings which are waste left over from mining and extracting resources. Twin Metals plans to store half of the tailings as cemented backfill in the mine. The rest will be stored in the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF). Twin Metals also conducted tests that show the tailings will not generate acid. Another pro is that they will create about 650 full time jobs and 1,300 additional jobs in industries.
…show more content…
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
Well, there are a few bad things about copper but there are much more positive effects than negative. An example of a negative effect would be the rain water reacting with the side products of a mine. Also the mining harms the environment in a few ways. The fact that we discovered copper lead made mining more valuable which leads to the fact that Copper is a small reason that humans mined so much. Also copper is used in military equipment such as bombers, or nuclear submarines. This equipment can be seen as either good or bad but since its only purpose is to kill people or win a conflict I am against
Some important things made from metals include cars, bridges, appliances, power generation, infrastructure, and obviously many more. Everything electrical needs copper, (which is mined), to function. A major concern for the mine is that it will pollute and destroy the nearby natural
There are many factors that contribute to Idaho’s pollution problem, but mining may be the biggest. Mining is a huge industry in Idaho, hence the nickname “The Gem State”. The biggest product from Idaho’s mines is silver. Silver mines are some of the largest polluters in the state. Bunker Hill, or Silver Valley, as the Coeur d’Alene region is known for its numerous mines, was recently named a Superfund site. A Superfund site is a site under protection for removal of toxic wastes by the EPA. Although that beautiful valley was also once known for its abundant wildlife, now the rivers are flooded with phosphorous, selenium, zinc, lead, silver, cadmium, and arsenic, all from tailings of several mines in the region. Lake Coeur d’Alene now contains over 70 million tons of toxic waste sediments in its bottom. This pollution has endangered people in the area for years. In Smelterville, where a smelter ran for nearly 100 years, a large number of people have been diagnosed with health complications caused by extremely high levels of lead and other toxins in their blood. These conditions, for most, have existed nearly all their lives. Many remember being ill for most of their childhood and on. In 1973, before the smelter was closed, the average lead toxin level per deciliter of blood in children tested was 70. A reading of 10 is considered high alert. Rocky Hill, who grew up in Smelterville and
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
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.
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
The worlds copper needs can easily be met from other mining company’s and locations around the world that are safer and more practical. The mine would most often than not destroy the worlds most valuable salmon habitat and kill a ton of fisherman’s jobs. Fisherman can take up to 50% of the pacific salmon
In the past 22 years, there has been a relatively consistent trend of a constant or no detectable concentration of copper in all of the waterways, except for the Beaver Mud Dump, after the initial dramatic decrease after 1995 in some areas. Of the three concentrations analyzed, sulfate has the most fluctuation in data reports. In some years, the concentration levels exceed or come close to meeting the levels that were present in 1995. Schinzel Flats and the Headwaters of Wightman Fork have consistently had some of the lowest concentrations of sulfate, while Alum Creek and the Beaver Mud Dump have
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
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.
What is the scope of Twin Metals Minnesota's (TTM) authority to conduct exploration or other activities on its reinstated federal mineral leases prior to an approved mine plan? And what additional authorizations are needed from federal or state agencies to conduct various activities on the leased lands?
The Olympic Dam mine is a large metallic mine and collects copper cathode, uranium oxide concentrates and gold and silver ores. Copper is often found in other rocks as a green/ blue feature, it is then processed to become copper cathode before distributed and sold. Uranium oxide concentrate is a form of uranium oxide which is then derived from
It is the policy of the law to favor, wherever possible, a hearing on the merits, and appellate courts are much more disposed to affirm an order where the result is to compel a trial upon the merits than they are when the judgment by default is allowed to stand and it appears that a substantial defense could be made; the law looks with disfavor upon a party who, regardless of the merits of the case, attempts to take advantage of the mistake, surprise, inadvertence, or neglect of his adversary. (A & B Metal Products v. MacArthur Properties, Inc. (1970) 11 Cal App 3d 642, 648.
Minnesota is known as the land of ten thousand lakes and what would happen it if our state become the land if 6 thousand lakes. How would it get that name? By pollution and having this mine there's a small chance, but there's still a chance something could go wrong. If it does the BWCA will be the first to experience the effects of the pollution.. Over the past decades Minnesota mainly has mined iron and coal. Minnesota is one of the largest producers of iron in the United States, so why should we put up a copper mine.There are only 12 national forests left that are a protected area that cannot be touched.This mine is about 90 miles away from the BWCA. In some mines the pollution in the water has traveled
These left over tailings create human and ecological health problems that can be caused from exposure to the dust that are blown from these mine sites since metal toxicants can persist in tailing particles (arizona.edu, 2008).