Mining is the process or industry of obtaining minerals from the earth. Topics in this paper I’ll be specifically discussing are pros and cons of mining, structures of a mine, mining in general, California gold rush, diamonds in Africa, and comparison of diamond and gold mines.
A person must have a general understanding of mining to really
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Mining in General
Most people don’t know the difference from a hanging wall and footwall. A footwall is the underlying block of a fault having an inclined fault plane. And a hanging wall is the mass of rock overlying a mineral deposit in a mine. (add citation from the book)
What is good about mining? Some of the pros of mining are it provides coal, which is one of the best sources of energy here in the United States. It creates well-paying jobs, provides stable energy, is the cheapest form of energy available, and does minimal damage to the environment when compared with some other forms of energy. Half of the energy that is used by the United States every day comes from coal and that coal is only accessible because of miners. Mining allowed industrial growth and development. Without mining we would have remained undeveloped. Almost everything you use in your daily life has some component that come from mining or petroleum in one way or another. The Industrial Revolution could simply not have occurred without mining, firstly coal and iron mining, and later many more commodities. Mining powers the power stations, and provides the chemicals we use to purify water, make paint, build computers and make glass. There are some cons that come to mind when talking about mining also which includes environmental degradation, soil erosion and destru...
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... rebel fighters and insurgencies. The practice is most often associated with conflicts in Africa. The argument surrounding blood diamonds was brought to light in the early 1990s with civil wars in Sierra Leone, Angola, the Republic of Congo, and Liberia. During this time, blood diamonds comprised about 5 percent of the world diamond market, according to the World Diamond Council’s DiamondFacts.org website.
Something interesting about the blood diamond is there was a movie in 2006 called Blood Diamond. In Blood Diamond set during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1996–2001, the film depicts a country torn apart by the struggle between government loyalists and insurgent forces. It also portrays many of the atrocities of that war, including the rebels' elimination of people's hands to discourage them from voting in upcoming elections, there was a movie called Gold about
Being located in the west coast of Africa and between Guinea and Liberia, “Sierra Leone has an abundance of easily extractable diamonds”(BBC News). The diamonds had brought “encouragement” for violence in the country in 1991. Attacks of the Revolutionary “United Front (RUF) ,led by former army corporal Foday Sankoh”(Encyclopedia Britannica), were on government military and civilians. In response to a corrupt government, the RUF performed violent and terrorist acts that scarred many. “The RUF captured civilians and forced them to work”(Analyzing the Causes) in their army to gain control over Sierra Leone. The savages went a...
There was a war in Sierra Leone, Africa, from 1991 to 2002 where a rebel army stormed through African villages amputating and raping citizens left and right (“Sierra Leone Profile”). Adebunmi Savage, a former citizen of Sierra Leone, describes the reality of this civil war:
The California Gold Rush is one of the most interesting events in American, as well as, California History. The event gathered many in search of quick riches and opportunity globally. The opportunity of mining stretched American east coast influence to the West coast. Also bringing many from South America, Canada, and the Pacific Islands. Andrew Isenberg wrote, Mining in California: An Ecological History, which gives a detailed account of the California Gold rush and how it affected the California economy as well as California social environment during the 19th century. Isenberg conveys his argument in two parts throughout the book the economic side as well as the social side.
Research Question: Are we sure enough about the alleged anthropogenic cause of climate change to embrace the uncertainties of geoengineering?
What are Blood diamonds? Are you familiar with Conflict diamonds? Perhaps you have heard of them, perhaps not. Blood diamonds and Conflict diamonds are interchangeable titles for illegal diamonds that usually are a bi product of warfare and even genocide. Other names for conflict diamonds include: converted diamonds, hot diamonds or simply as war diamonds. Conflict Diamonds “such gemstones earned the nickname because of their association with military groups and violent strife” (“Conflict diamonds “Facts.com). The major components in regards to diamonds are the four C’s: cut clarity, carat, and color. Sixty five percent of the word diamonds come from African Countries (diamond facts.o...
Deep within African mines, elusive diamonds lay enveloped in the Earth’s crust. Possessing much influence, beauty, and tension, nature’s hardest known substance causes parallel occurrences of unity and destruction on opposite sides of the globe. Diamonds, derived from the Greek word "adamas", meaning invincible, are formed deep within the mantle, and are composed entirely from carbon. Moreover, only under tremendous amounts of heat and pressure can diamonds form into their preliminary crystal state. In fact, diamonds are formed approximately 150km- 200km below the surface and at radical temperatures ranging from 900-1300 C°. When these extremes meet, carbon atoms are forced together creating diamond crystals. Yet how do these gems, ranking a ten on Moh’s hardness scale, impact the individual lives of millions of people besides coaxing a squeal out of brides-to-be? These colorless, yellow, brown, green, blue, reddish, pink, grey and black minerals are gorgeous in their cut state, but how are these otherwise dull gems recognized and harvested? Furthermore, how and why is bloodshed and violence caused over diamonds in Africa, the supplier of approximately 65% of the world’s diamonds? (Bertoni) The environmental, social, and economic impact of harvesting, transporting, and processing diamonds is crucial because contrary to popular belief, much blood has been spilled over first-world “bling”.
The movie "Blood Diamond" was released in 2006 and featured Leonardo Di Caprio as an arms smuggler whose main goal is to obtain a seemingly priceless diamond from a villager during the civil war in Sierra Leone. The film marker is trying to raise awareness of the illicit conflict diamond trade and reinforcing the Kimberley process and showing how it will stem the flow of conflict diamonds. Blood Diamonds explores the underground world of the diamond trade in Sierra Leone, where rare diamonds are used to fund military rebels at war. The film is based on Archer, a man with a survival instinct and a passion for collecting conflict diamonds. The film opens in Sierra Leone, 1999 when Civil war rages for control of the diamond fields. According to
Blood diamonds made a profound contribution to the rising tensions within Sierra Leone, establishing the foundation upon which civil war would thrive. These diamonds may be defined as a rough diamond traded illicitly to finance an armed struggle. For Sierra Leoneans who have lived, and survived, through the Sierra Leone Civil War (1991 – 2001) they may be remembered by the loss of limbs, constant displacement and fatality. In combination with other external factors, these diamonds triggered social, political and economic factors that may all be attributed to rise of civil conflict in Sierra before the turn of the 20th century.
Most people can agree that diamonds have been world wide recognized as a symbol of romance, love and unity. Despite the economic interests the effects of mining on the environment is a rising issue that can lead toward future problems. Extracting diamonds from earth is a huge problem due to the fact that mining is involved. Diamond mining or any type of mining is not sustainable for the environment because of the disasters it causes such as deforestation, polluting water, destroying land and spreading diseases.
What comes to mind when you think of coal mining? If you're like me, coal mining means living in darkness and a cold hearted industry. Other words that come to mind are poverty and oppression. Coal mining is not a job that you dream about or get a degree for. People who are coal miners do not chose a life full of danger and repression, they get stuck with it. There are many dangers that come along with coal mining, not only for the workers, but for the environment. Coal mining and the coal industry have caused irreversible damage to our environment and has killed innocent miners.
The war was worsened by the wealthy minerals in the ground and the influence of the mineral was strengthened by the fear and displacement the war caused. The intertwining of these two destructive forces is seen in the story Salima is told by a man who bought her. In this he tells of a man who stuffed”...the coltan into his mouth to keep the soldiers from stealing his hard work, and they split his belly open with a machete”(31). Not only does this story show the harsh conditions the men are exposed to in war, but also it further demonstrates the hold coltan has on the minds of those who live in the Congo. The want for coltan leads to the destruction of the community and individual identities of those involved as it perpetuates a cycle of war that damages men, induces violence against women, and ultimately creates a cycle of lost identity.
Though it has had many negative impacts on the environment in the past, mining is a vital industry completely necessary to our economy and lives. Nearly every item we use or encounter in our day to day lives is mined or contains mined products. Without the excavation of such materials things like computers, televisions, large building structures, electricity, and cars would not be possible. Virtually every technological and medical advance uses minded materials, without which millions would suffer. Some examples of minerals in the home include the telephone which is made from as many as 42 different minerals, including aluminum, beryllium, coal, copper, gold, iron, silver, and talc. A television requires over 35 different minerals, and more than 30 minerals are needed to make a single personal computer. Without boron, copper, gold and quartz, your digital alarm clock would not work. Every American uses an average 47,000 pounds of newly mined materials each year, which is higher than all other countries with the exception of Japan, which is a staggering figure representative of our dependence and need for mined minerals. Coal makes up more than half of nation’s electricity, and will continue to be the largest electrical supplier into 2020 & accounting for some 95 percent of the nation's fossil energy reserves – nine of every ten short-tons of coal mined in the United States is used for electricity generation. As the population of the world grows more mineral resources must be exploited through mining in order to support the rising demand for such products. Though it may present a hazard to the environment and those physically located nears the mines, the materials extracted from mines...
...l the flow of conflict diamonds. Both assure consumers that more than 99% of rough stones today come from conflict-free sources which are regulated by the Kimberley process. According to the people who profited from diamonds, the blood diamonds problem is passé5. Further research tells us that it is not. According to Father Rocco Puopolo of the Africa Faith and Justice Network, he says “It’s not passé,” “the diamond industry can claim what they want and the film will always serve as a template for what is going on in Africa today.” This point out that labour exploitation and conflict (for control of precious resources such as gold) may still be going on in Africa.
Coal mining can benefit humans as well as it supports the economy in many ways. Coal mining provides a lot of jobs for local communities. It provides over 7 million jobs worldwide.
In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.