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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 systems 10. 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 mission 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
billion 14.
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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