1.0 Video/DVD Study Mining and the Environment

Mining and the Environment

Teacher Activity Outline

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VIDEO/DVD TOPIC: PART ONE LENGTH OF VIDEO/DVD DURATION OF ACTIVITY

• Mining: Past, Present and Future • 6 minutes • Sustainable Development • 45 minutes

Part One of the video/DVD provides an introduction to the modern mining industry and emphasizes the changing attitudes towards environmental protection and the importance of sustainable development. Sustainable development is defined in the video/DVD as “development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Facilitate a brainstorming session to identify environmental problems associated with the mining industry. Once students have noted how mining sites can negatively affect the environment, they must describe solutions they would propose to help solve these environmental conditions. Conditions and their possible solutions can be recorded on overheads, chart paper, or the blackboard.

A summary of environmental conditions that can be caused by mining, their potential impact and possible solutions is outlined on the following page to aid in facilitating the discussion.

Summary of Environmental Conditions

CONDITION

Air Emissions

Land Use

POTENTIAL IMPACT

• Many metals are extracted from ore by melting. This process is called smelting. • Air emissions from smelting can cause the production of sulphur dioxide if pollutants are not properly removed. • Acid rain can result.

• Excavation of orebodies in a quarry or open pit. • Development of access roads and corridors.

• Tailing ponds are used to store many substances that are discharged from a processing mill. • Sometimes these substances leach (leak) into the environment (e.g. into streams or contaminate the earth).

• Some waste rocks (tailings) can contain certain metals that can contaminate the environment over time. This is called acid drainage. • If these are not properly treated, the metals from tailings escape into the environment and may cause damage.

Management of Tailings

Water Contamination 1 of 1

SOLUTION

• Companies have invested huge sums of money into reducing sulphur and other emissions from the smelting process. • Strict government controls and a corporate willingness to keep the air clean will ensure the protection of the environment.

• Reclamation returns the land to another use after extraction, or mining, is complete. • Continuous or concurrent reclamation is sometimes put into action during the life of the mine. • Ontario has mining reclamation laws to remediate lands that are used for mineral exploration and mining. • Mining companies have environmental management plans to ensure that water quality around the mine is monitored, revegetation occurs and protection of animal and plant life is encouraged. • Roads and corridors are routed to avoid wildlife and cultural areas, and they can be developed to cross a minimal number of streams or rivers.

• Tailing ponds are designed and engineered to hold and control solids, and manage liquid effluent. • When a mining company reclaims a site, tailing ponds are covered by grass or trees. • The company must monitor the tailings disposed under water, or on the surface, to ensure that leakage into the environment is prevented.

• Mining companies have plans to handle the problems of treating acid drainage. • Sometimes lime is added to neutralize the acid.