Is Mining Sustainable In the Future?

I was walking through the mall the other day and I noticed a sale at a jewelry store. There were many different gems and precious metals, with gold and silver being the most common. As I was entranced by all of these pretty pieces of jewelry, I started thinking about what it took to mine that diamond from the ground and into the hands of the customer. And the more I thought about it, the more it seemed to be a crazy and unsustainable idea. Mining is truly an unsustainable activity for the future, and this is why.

Global Facts about mining
The USA: from January to October 1999, 45mine workers died because of workplace accidents.(1)
South Africa: one worker dies and12 are seriously injured for every ton of gold produced.(2)
China: 3,362 people died as a result of accidents in coal mines in 1996. (2)
World-wide: uranium mining has caused 20,000 deaths since the 1950s. Uranium mining has exposed more workers to radiation than any other industry.(3)

There are usually two types of mining that is most common today. We have the above ground Surface-Mining where the ground is literally “scrapped” away and then sifted through to find the precious minerals. Wide, open, shallow pits are the best indicator of a surface mine. The other common method is under-earth tunneling. This was the first method used in the progressive era. The under-earth process of mining is where a tunnel is dug in order to find veins of metals, and then the tunnel is dug deeper to find more metal. There is, however, a third method of mining especially used for oil: mountain top removal. The tops of mountains are literally shaved away in order to find the oil inside of the mountain. All of these methods are very unsustainable and damaging.

Although there are an untold number of groups and people involved in the mining process, from machinery manufacturing to freighting companies to energy suppliers, there are a few institutions that have considerably large stakes in the mining industry. First, we as consumers have a huge dependence on the mining industry because virtually everything had to come from the land at one time or another. An obvious organization with considerable interest in mining is the mining company itself. The company needs a job and therefore wants as loose regulations as possible. The local inhabitants of the area are effected by mining in many ways including increased money, higher pollution, destruction or loss of land, and more jobs created by mining companies.

Some groups, such as the AIDA, are protesting mining for environmental numerous grievances. Mining causes harmful runoff that seeps into local watersheds, creating drinking water that is contaminated with cyanide. Also, the polluted water creates sulfurous dust that climbs into the atmosphere and produces acid rain. Abandoned surface mines are used as illegal landfills that usually store hazardous waste. Many miners suffer health problems from mining such as Black Lung disease and arthritis early on. Mining creates a spider web of problems that cannot be solved by simply changing techniques or methods. Mining is simply too environmentally destructive to work.

As many environmental concerns as there are, there are probably just as many legal issues regarding mining and its effects. As many mining sites develop communities, these communities are affected in negative ways from mining. Because of this, the government passed the Mining Reclamation Act of 1977 that forced mining companies to consider the social effects of mining presence in communities. Another legal issue that affected the mining industry was the Superfund Act of 1886 that said the government would essentially give away land for mining as an incentive for westward expansion.

Among others, Oil companies are predominantly responsible for mining. This started in the progressive era when the gasoline motor gained popularity and there was an exponential increase for crude oil. These corporate institutions worked with the government for favorable mining regulations such as the 1872 mining act that gave land away to mining companies that then reaped billions of dollars in profit. Oil companies, along with governments and other economic forces created an increased demand for precious metals that had to be excavated from the earth.

While mining has recently been in the hot-seat for environmental damage, there are many campaigns against it. No-Dirty-Gold has a campaign with a slogan that says “the more you know, the less gold glows,” which means that the process of mining gold is very unsustainable and unjust. Also, there is another campaign called HandsOff that calls for financial institutions to stop drilling and mining.

The progressive era saw many issues with mining. Miners worked long hours in dangerous areas for low wage. This also helped create the modern workers union for increased employee protection. Because of such a high demand for all types of raw materials in the expanding progressive era, there was no real leader of mining reform in the progressive era. With pressures for a nation to rise and become the highest power on earth, there was no room for second-guessing and caution. There was no real mining reform until the 1960’s by President Kennedy and President Johnson.

History has shown us that every society in the past, from ancient Egypt to modern Africa, has consisted of two basic economic products. Products that come from above ground (farming) and products that come from below ground (mining). But the state of the world is very different than ever before and because of this, mining is not in the sustainable future of the world.

While mining is becoming increasingly regulated, there are still a lot of issues regarding mining practices. The biggest impact that citizens can make on mining is awareness. A great example of awareness was the movie “Blood Diamond” which brought real attention to diamond mining and the ensuing chaos because of mining. Do some research on where your new gold bracelet came from, because although it seems inexpensive, most of the cost was paid for by the communities and environment that were destroyed for the mining of gold.