HaCKeRz KrOnIcKLeZ 3/HaCKeRz_KrOnIcKLeZ.iso/anarchy/essays/term/mining.txt

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                             The Importance of Mining Industry


              The importance of mining is definitely significant to Canada.  Mining, is
       an important industry, and Canadians are very advanced in their mining
       technology, but during the mining process, there is certain level of pollution
       produced.  The Canadian government and the mining companies have very good
       plans and controls toward this problem, while ensuring the smooth running of the
       industries, and also helping to create strong economy and employment.
              The world of today could not exist without mineral products.  Canada
       produces about 60 minerals and ranks first among producing countries1.  As well,
       Canada is the largest exporter of minerals, with more than 20 per cent of
       production shipped to world markets2.  In a typical year, the mining industry is
       responsible for almost 20 per cent of Canada's total export earnings3  (See
       Appendix A).  As for the employment rate, over 70 per cent of the mines are
       owned by Canadians and approximately 108,000 Canadians are directly employed
       in the mining industry4.  Mining is very important in Canadian life.  Not only do
       the products power the family car and heat the family home, the manufacturing
       sector, the high tech industries and even the better known resource industries are
       all dependent, in some way, on the mining industry.  The mining industry will
       continue to be an important support to the economy.
              Mining is taking full advantage of the quick expansion of computers and
       microelectronics.  These technologies are found in nearly every aspect of mineral
       development activity - from exploration methods, through production, mineral
       processing and even marketing.  Computers and related equipment now have a lot
       of different applications in geophysical logging, geochemistry, geological mapping
       and surface contouring5.  At the mine planning stage, the job of designing a mine
       is now greatly simplified by automation.  Through the use of advanced software,
       geological models can be produced from drill hole data.  Computers are also
       being used to develop plans for mine expansion, develop mining schedules for
       yearly, quarterly and in some cases, weekly operations.  At the operating stage,
       this new technology is everywhere6.  Both in research and operational
       applications, automated mine monitoring systems now determine immediate
       information on the status of equipment in underground or remote locations.
              Canada produces its 60 mineral products from roughly 300 mines across
       the country7.  Before these products can make the trip from mines to the
       marketplace, they must be searched for, staked, tested, analyzed, developed.
       There are many difference methods to mine for minerals, an "open pit" mine is
       one of the method we use today.  The ore - waste material along with the
       minerals, is recovered directly from the surface.  Drilling rigs are used to drill
       holes into the ore areas and blasting charges will be set in them to break loose the
       ore.  The ore:  first stop is at the primary crushing station, often located
       underground, where the large chunks of ore are crushed to a finer size.  Further
       crushing is required prior to sending the ore to the mill where it is ground to a
       fine powder8.  The purpose of crushing and grinding is to free the minerals from
       the rock.  Treatment may consist of gravity or chemical concentration techniques.
       The end product of the mill is a concentrate, whereby the percentage of valuable
       mineral has been increased by a factor of 10 to as much as 50 times contained in
       the ore9.  The concentration operation may be complicated or relatively simple,
       depending on the mineral content of the ore.  Milling processes are designed to
       separate the valuable minerals from the undesired minerals.  Although the milling
       process separates valuable minerals from waste, it does not actually recover the
       metals in final form.  The smelting operation treats the metal-bearing concentrate
       further, up-grading it to purer form called "matte".  Basically:  The ore
       concentrates are mixed with other materials and treated at high temperatures to
       change the material to other chemical forms.  The metal in the matte can be
       separated further.  Further treatment is applied to the final purification of the
       metal and finishing to the standards required in the metal-using industries.
              Mining, as we understanding, is a very important industry.  But there are
       underlying dangers to our environment.  Mining companies and the government
       have realized this problem, and regulations and controls have been applied to it.
       The major environmental problem usually results from the processing and
       transportation of mineral products rather than from the actual mining process.
       Example:  when an oil spill has occurred in the ocean, the problem caused to the
       environment is very big, because gallons of oil is spilling over the ocean's
       surface, resulting in the death of many ocean organisms, and in the pollution of
       the ocean. (See Appendix B)  In this article, it shows how much an oil spill can
       endanger the environment.  To prevent this problem, special attention is given by
       the captain to watch out for other ships and rocks - since this huge tanker ship
       would have to take two kilometres to come to a full stop.
              Moreover, mining also is an indirect cause to acid rain - one of a very
       important environmental problems.  Acid rain unquestionably contributed to the
       acidification of lakes and streams, causing problems with the agricultural crops
       and forest growth, and has the potential to contaminate drinking water systems10.
       Sulphur dioxide is responsible for about two thirds of the acidity in precipitation;
       the other one third is from nitrogen oxide.  The major source of sulphur dioxide
       in eastern Canada is nonferrous metal smelters, which produce more than 40 per
       cent of the region's total emission11 - where smelting is one of the important
       processes of refining minerals.  Over the past decade, sulphur dioxide emissions
       at some eastern Canadian nonferrous operations have been significantly reduced.
       For example, emission at the Inco smelter in Copper Cliff were reduced from
       5500 tonnes per day in 1969 to 2270 tonnes per day in 1980.  The Falconbridge
       nickel smelter, which emitted about 940 tonnes per day in 1969, now emits about
       420 tonnes per day12.  In eastern Canada, more than 50 per cent of the sulphur
       dioxide comes from the United States, while Canada's contribution to total
       American deposition is only about 10 per cent13.  The Canadian government has
       noticed this problem, and has setup a Memorandum of Intent signed by the two
       governments setting up the framework for negotiation of a transboundary air
       pollution agreement.  This agreement ensures both countries control their emission
       and makes sure they do not cause any damage to the environment of the other
       country.  As well, not only the government is trying to control this problem,
       smelting companies are also paying a large amount of money to control pollution
       and reducing sulphur dioxide emissions.  Department of Environment (DOE)
       estimates that a capital investment of $620 million (in 1980 $) would be required
       by eastern Canadian nonferrous smelters to reduce emissions by 57 per cent.  The
       cost of an 80 per cent reduction is estimated to be $1.0 billion14.
              The environment problem happens in the mine itself as well, companies
       have added newer, larger and more effective filters on their chimneys to reduce
       the amount of damaging fumes that previously had been released into the
       atmosphere.  Also, money has been spent on research to plant vegetation on the
       mine tailings so that the dust is held in place and not blown around to damage the
       environment.  Companies are becoming more and more aware of the problem
       today, and government agencies are also trying to keep our environment clean and
       heathy, and have set out some guidelines.  (See Appendix C).  Mining process,
       and mineral exploration, requiring access to large areas of lands,  if minerals are
       discovered, mining - especially "open pit" mining - can degrade the immediate
       environment and have off-property effects on water quality.  To minimize this
       problem, most of the mines in Canada are found in places far from the people.
       From all of these examples, Canadian companies and the government are
       investing money, trying very hard to continue taking care of our environment, and
       their efforts are certainly helping to keep the environment clean and heathy.
              Our economy, values of exports, employment rate, and to our everyday
       needs in society - we are always direct or indirectly dependent on the mining
       industry.  But as we discover, the mining industry does contribute pollution to the
       environment.  Nevertheless government and mining companies have realize this
       problem, and have contributed money and effort to correct it, helping to keep the
       environment clean and heathy, also ensuring this industry will be running
       smoothly and bringing in money to create a good economic future.


Appendix A

                             Canada:  Value of Mineral Exports





















              Mineral                                         Value ($000)


              Petroleum                                       5,167,589
              Iron and Steel                                  3,606,417
              Natural Gas                                     3,168,733
              Gold                                            2,863,568
              Aluminum                                        2,517,303
              Coal                                            1,868,958
              Nickel                                          1,033,422
              Copper                                          1,323,711
              Sulphur                                         1,134,273
              Uranium                                           841,430
              Potash                                            828,247
              Zinc                                              677,248
              Asbestos                                          412,525
              Silver                                            386,092
              All other minerals                              2,636,124
              Total                                           28,464,640



              Source:       Energy, mines and Resources Canada - 1986


Appendix B


              The following attached articles are concern the damage created by oil
       spills, and shows what the government has done to help this problem.
              In the article "Worse than disastrous", the damage to the environment is
       more that what is expected.  The wildlife are being killed.  For example, 350,000
       to 390,000 sea birds have been killed after the spill.  From this article, we realize
       how much an oil spill can destroy the environment, and this is partly related to
       the mining industry because it is necessary to transport these minerals.
              For the second article "Tanker captain charged", which took place in
       Alaska, the captain of the tanker was charged.  Due to the influence of alcohol.
       The government has taken this case very seriously, and they hope that from this
       case other captains would learn the consequence of being too careless.Industry's Commitment Principles Summary

Appendix C


1.     Solutions to environmental problems are not simple.  To resolve such problems,
       government and industry must co-operate fully.

2.     Government policy in matters of environmental protection should be developed on
       scientifically based need, sound economics and conservation of basic resources.

3.     Many reasonable regulations and controls are already in place.  Care must be taken that
       these or new controls do not become unnecessarily rigid or confusing and overlapping.

4.     The industry accepts its responsibility to work within certain pollution control standards,
       but these standards should be of significant benefit, practical and technologically sound.

5.     The implementation of sound environmental policies is not without economic
       considerations.  Society must judge the trade-off among economic, social and ecological
       imperatives.



                                          Endnote


       1Mining, what it means to Canada  (Ottawa:  The mining association of Canada,
              1988).  pp. 1

       2Mining, what it means to Canada  (Ottawa:  The mining association of Canada,
              1988).  pp. 1-2

       3Mining, what it means to Canada  (Ottawa:  The mining association of Canada,
              1988).  pp. 1-2

       4Mining, what it means to Canada  (Ottawa:  The mining association of Canada,
              1988).  pp. 1-2

       5Mining, what it means to Canada  (Ottawa:  The mining association of Canada,
              1988).  pp. 6-7

       6Culter, Phil, Mining in Canada  (St. Catharines:  Vanwell Publishing Limited, 1990).
              pp. 15

       7Mining, what it means to Canada  (Ottawa:  The mining association of Canada,
              1988).  pp. 17-19

       8Mining, what it means to Canada  (Ottawa:  The mining association of Canada,
              1988).  pp. 19-21

       9Culter, Phil, Mining in Canada  (St. Catharines:  Vanwell Publishing Limited, 1990).
              pp. 28-30

       10Mineral Policy - A Discussion Paper  (Ottawa:  Energy, Mines and Resources Canada,
              1981).  pp. 99

       11Mineral Policy - A Discussion Paper  (Ottawa:  Energy, Mines and Resources Canada,
              1981).  pp. 99

       12Mineral Policy - A Discussion Paper  (Ottawa:  Energy, Mines and Resources Canada,
              1981).  pp. 99

       13Mineral Policy - A Discussion Paper  (Ottawa:  Energy, Mines and Resources Canada,
              1981).  pp. 100-101

       14Mineral Policy - A Discussion Paper  (Ottawa:  Energy, Mines and Resources Canada,
              1981).  pp. 101




                                       Bibliography




       Bodey, Hugh.  Mining.  London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1976.

       Culter, Phil.  Mining in Canada.  St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing Limited,
       1990.

       Goldsmith, Edward.  Imperiled Planet.  Cambridge, Massachusetts:  The MIT Press,
       1990.

       Mineral Policy - A Discussion Paper.  Ottawa:  Energy, Mines and Resources Canada,
              1981.

       Mining, What it means to Canada.  Ottawa:  The Mining Association of Canada, 1988.

       Smith, Pat.  Mineral Exploration.  Ontario:  Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1991.

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