When I hear the words gold and diamonds the first thing I think of are, gold rings and gold bracelets all encrusted with diamonds. Not once does my mind say I wonder how these diamonds were found? who found them? was it difficult to locate? How long did it take? What were the environment, human, or economic impact did mining theses diamonds and gold were? Diamond mining began between December 1866 and February 1867 in the Cape Colony, South Africa. When a 15-year-old boy named Erasmus, Jacobs found a transparent rock on his father’s farm, on the south bank of the Orange River .
There are several types of mining, these include strip mining also known as open cast or surface mining. This type of mining is where you scrap away at the Earth
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Mining has caused soil erosion, deforestation, and has forced locals to relocate. Miners have changed the courses rivers and have built dams to expose the riverbeds. Mining for diamonds have caused entire ecosystem to collapse . In the Kono district of eastern Sierra Leone miners have abandoned thousands of mining pits. Land that was used for farming have now been destroyed, wildlife has disappeared, topsoil has been eroded . Mining for gold has contaminated water supplies, devastating landscapes, and is a direct cause to the destruction of ecosystems. Cyanide, mercury, and other toxic chemicals are released during gold mining. Mining companies contribute to about 20 tons of toxic waste for every 0.333-ounce gold ring. The waste is a gray liquid sludge laced with deadly cyanide and toxic heavy metals. Gold mines dump their toxic waste into natural bodies of water. The Lihir gold mine in Papua New Guinea dumps over 5 million tons of toxic waste directly into the Pacific Ocean every year, destroying coral reefs and ocean life below it …show more content…
"The Environmental Disaster That is the Gold Industry." Smithsonian.com. February 14, 2014. Accessed October 14, 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/environmental-disaster-gold-industry-180949762/.
"The social and economic impacts of gold mining." YourSRI - Socially Responsible Investments. Accessed October 14, 2017. https://yoursri.com/news/the-social-and-economic-impacts-of-gold-mining.
"Gold Development | Gold and the Economy | World Gold Council." World Gold Council - Gold Price & Gold Market News. Accessed October 14, 2017. https://www.gold.org/who-we-are/our-members/gold-and-economic-development.
Administrator. "Diamondfacts.org." Economic Impact. Accessed October 14, 2017. http://www.diamondfacts.org/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D132%26Itemid%3D169%26lang%3Den.
Borralho, Carina. "Gold mining industry's effects on health of mineworkers." Mining Weekly. Accessed October 14, 2017. http://www.miningweekly.com/article/gold-mining-industrys-effects-on-health-of-mineworkers-2013-08-02/rep_id:3650.
Laniado, Ehud Arye. "The Positive Impact of Diamond Mining." Latest News. Accessed October 14, 2017.
These two passages “There’s Still Gold in These Hills” and “Letter From a Gold Miner” help the reader understand the history and process of gold mining in the US. Both passages give detailed information, specific instructions, and an interesting background about gold mining. These passages use different strategies to help the reader perceive the history and process. These strategies may include using specific dates of when the gold rush took place, information to help the reader picture the setting of where to find gold, and also teaches the process step by step.
Throughout this mining process a byproduct is created called chat. The chat is leftover rock and waste from mining that did not contained the desired materials. The chat was left on the site because the Bureau of Indian Affairs thought it could be of value to the Quapaw tribe (1). This chat contained high levels of toxic lead and other harmful chemicals. It is estimated that there are 75 Million tons (150 billion pounds) of chat piles remaining exposed to the environment as well as numerous flotation ponds that haven’t been taken into account (4).
The creation of societies in the West resulted in the blossoming of three new industries: mining, ranching, and farming. Mining began at large with the discovery of gold in California in 1849 and continued with other discoveries and “rushes” later on; these rus...
Goldman, Marion. 1981. Gold Diggers and Silver Miners.. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
Summary of Source Information: This article talks about the health conditions of many miners and diamond diggers that are affected due to substandard working conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. In these areas, where there are many unregulated mining locations, workers are prone to being exploited to hazardous working conditions. Children are especially vulnerable in these environments because they already suffer from poor health conditions due to lack of care and nutrition. Children have often been exploited in the diamond industry due to their ability to get into small spaces and dig out packs of dirt. Another health effect associated with diamond mining, in which this article talks about, is how diamond deposits have often mixed with vegetated areas, leaving it unsuitable for farming activities. Mining equipment leaves heavy minerals and chemical products that run into the rivers and contaminate vital sources of water for the mining community and people who live in these rural areas. Currently, diamond companies, as well as labor and health activists, are trying to do something to help improve health conditions of workers.
Willis, A. and Smith, M. (2013, July 24). Retrieved March 16, 2014, from Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-24/colombia-illegal-gold-mines-prosper-in-global-rout.html
Rawls, James J. and Orsi, Richard J. (eds.) (1999). A Golden State: mining and economic development in Gold Rush California (California History Sesquicentennial Series, 2). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 187.
The history and popularity of diamonds in Africa all began in 1866 when the first diamond was found along the banks of the Orange River. In the next fifteen years, Africa became the leading supplier of diamonds in the world, exporting more than nations such as India and Brazil. The discovery of these highly valued and highly demanded diamonds brought an immense amount of trade into Africa, a continent known for its poverty. One diamond company in particular, De Beers, instantly became interested in African diamond mines. By 1888, the company controlled the entire market, connecting African diamonds to wealthy humans all over the world. In 1929, De Beers began marketing diamonds to the middle class as well and associated the diamond with engagement and marriage, increasing the demand of the diamond worldwide. Though the company felt they had a hold on the market, they were wrong. Soon Lebanese traders discovered the enormous profit they could make by smuggling diamonds out of the country. As a result illicit mining and trading increased throughout countries in Africa and especially in Sierra Leone. To make matters worse, the government seemed to overlook the problem, if not sometimes encourage it. One Sierra Leone leader, Siaka Stevens, encouraged illicit trading to gain more control over the diamond mines. Succeeding leaders did the same, and with a corrupt government, the country of Sierra Leone was very vulnerable for a rebellion. Instead of bringing the continent of Africa out of its years of poverty stricken hardship, the discovery of diamonds in Africa only brought more of a curse as it fueled civil war, created political instability between governments, and caused unimaginable human suffering for African citizens.
Rohrbough, M. (1997). Chapter 17: The California gold rush and the American nation, days of Gold, University of California Press: Berkeley
Smith-Baranzini, Marlene, Richard J. Orsi, and James J. Rawls. A Golden State: Mining And Economic Development In Gold Rush California. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1999. eBook (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Some of the highest producing diamond mines are countries in Africa. Countries that had some of the highest rate of conflict were Angola, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The ...
The first gold findings were found at a mill business in stream beds in 1848. Gold mines were immediately put into action underground and above. Easy gold extraction reeled in the inexperienced and experts knowing they could find large quantities of the valuable mineral making them richer faster. Also the actions of cutting class lines with the skilled upper class men and the unskilled lower class laborers working at the same gold fields next to one another(Gold Rush 1849). The extremely wealthy anxious to get more rich than they already were. The poor and middle class to find gold and wealth for a better
Colorado also has a rich mining history which began in about 1859 with the discovery of gold and development of new reserves, Colorado’s present day industry is a modern, innovative, safe and environmentally responsible citizen that extracts a wide variety of minerals such as; gold, Marble, and gypsum from the earth, valued at more than $2 billion each year. (Colorado Mining Association, 2007)
Lins, C., & Horwitz, E. (2007). Sustainability in the Mining Sector. Retrieved November 6, 2017, from http://www.fbds.org.br/IMG/pdf/doc-295.pdf
It is recognized that in a time when the Internet and technology have taken over; mining still employees and provides livelihood to a vase number of people. However, the process of mining affects our health and our environment. According to Wikipedia, “The environmental impact of mining include erosion , formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining proces...