Canada has a very long mining history, perhaps one of the longest ones in the world; but that is not to say it is flawless. Although the mining industry has brought great wealth to Canada's economy through exporting, many issues came as a result; such as environmental issues, abandoned mines, how the industry is unstable, and foreign mineral production competition. These issues still exist, despite the government's efforts to help improve them. There are many mining issues in Canada. The industry's largest issues will be seen through the local, national, and global perspectives. Mining is a very unstable industry because the minerals are non- renewable resources. This means that they cannot be replaced once they are used. We must …show more content…
Their production costs are lower due to lower labour costs and no money being spent on environmental protection; therefore their minerals are cheaper imports. To compete with the foreign prices, the future of the Canadian mining industry probably will consist of less actual workers, and more machinery to cut production costs. Abandoned mines is another mining issue. When mineral deposits run out of minerals, the sites cannot be used for mineral extraction. In many cases in these sites, reclamation or mine closure do not occur; an abandoned mine results. Abandoned mines can be a big issue for many reasons. The cost of rehabilitation is very high. In Ontario alone an estimated $300 million was spent on rehabilitation; in the northern parts of Canada, about $555 million was spent. As a result of these very high costs, the process of restoring the land back to some degree of its original state in not even considered. There are also many environmental costs from abandoned mines. The contamination of water (ground and surface) can result from when chemicals from …show more content…
Every day, new technology is being invented to help improve all of these issues. One piece of machinery that was developed is the battery powered LHD/scoops. This new invention can help with the ventilation in the mines, improving the abilities for the workers to breathe. With this, mining companies are able to send miners deeper into the ground, allowing for more minerals to be extracted. This piece of machinery does not use diesel to fuel itself, making it more eco- friendly, presenting no health concerns, and making it cheaper. The traditional diesel burning ventilation systems have proven to cause lung cancer to workers in the mines. Another technology that is being developed is the sea floor massive sulphide system (SMS) or the high grade mineral manganese noodles. If this is successfully developed and used, it could help give Canada more area/ minerals to mine and the option to mine in water; allowing miners to extract minerals from the sea floor. Another invention that is older that the SMS are drones (UAV). Canada's mining industry has been using them for a while now. The drones can help mining become more safe for the actual workers because they can go where it is unsafe for humans to go. Many more opportunities became available for the mining industry, as exploration of underground mines no longer required sending actual miners underground. Unlike satellites, they can
Canada’s ability to maintain a healthy income is important, for without it, Canada’s economy would not be functional. This is where Canada’s three main exports come into play. In 2013, Canada earned 133 billion dollars in exporting Mineral products, 123 billion dollars of that coming from mineral fuels, oils, products of their distillation, bituminous substances, and mineral waxes (Ibid.). With such a booming mineral industry, Canada receives a large income from mining that can be invested in schools, jobs, public projects, and many other important areas . Also, the earnings can be devoted towards small businesses looking to expand by using government funding programs, which helps support and expand Canadian economy (Mentor Works). Overall the money is used for activities that support the Canadian economy and make numerous people’s lives better.
One of the biggest problems with working in a mine is the the health risks you are taking when stepping into a mine and staying there anywhere from 10-16 hours of the day. Miners of the Gilded Age, needless to say, did not live very long at all. Some of the diseases they contracted were black lung, Silicosis, and COPD. Coal Miner’s Pneumoconiosis, more commonly referred to as Black Lung, is caused by inhaling respirable coal mine dust. Silicosis is a more specific, but yet still commonly found in coal miners, version of Black Lung caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica, such as Quartz, a major component in rocks. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, or COPD, is still common today in people who don’t even work in mines. COPD is a progressive disease that increases airway
Many people want to see an end to the mining project in Rosia Montana, or that it is downsized or see the benefits to the inhabitants of Rosia Montana improved. Other demands include the banning of dangerous cyanide mining practices and a reduction in the size of mines.
Since the dawn of civilization, pre-historic societies have practiced the technique of mining in order to obtain minerals from the earth that could be used for the production of weapons, ornamentation, and building of structures. As society has progressed in technology and the many uses of Earth’s resources are continually developing, mining still plays a major rule in the industry of many countries. By definition, mining is described as the extraction of minerals, precious metals, and other valuable materials from the Earth; in addition, these supplies are things that lack the ability of being produced by agriculture, or artificial manufacturing in laboratories or factories, thus rendering these resources unrenewable. Therefore, a broad definition of mining is the removal of a non-renewable resource from the earth which includes: base metals, uranium, iron, limestone, coal, rock salt, potash, diamonds, precious metal, petroleum, natural gas, and even water. Although the practice of mining is as archaic as the civilizations that first utilized the practice, modern mining greatly differs from the techniques of the past. Because of the advancement of modern technology and a higher demand for these non-renewable resources, present day mining is tremendously more evasive than its prehistoric form and with the vast increase in the world’s population greater amounts of materials are extracted from the earth in comparison to the amounts used by early civilizations.
The loss of a life is the ultimate tragedy, and over the thousands of years of mining history, the industry has had its share of casualties. Mining deals with the extraction of raw materials like coal, diamond, iron-ore etc. Mining industries can be both open cast mining and underground mining. Although we have improved in the technology and study of the earth, mining industry is a very dangerous job. One of the most dangerous work of mining has been mentioned to be coal mining in which they extract coal from underground. Coal mining hazardous mixture of gas and coal dust can form a fatal explosion. As a matter of fact, I reviewed an article that mention the worst coal mining known as the Benxi Hu colliery disaster in China in 1942. “Cost 1,549 lives and is believed to be the worst coal mining disaster ever.” (Limited, 2014)
Drones create the newest job as well as an opportunity for people. This allows people to have many choices for jobs. For those who study engineering as drones will be more advanced in the future, they will have an easier time getting the job because they are new and so they need people. There are many jobs with drones that offer quite a sum of money. For example, drone pilots start salary about fifty dollars an hour and there is no danger at all.
Very seldom are there rig explosions on land thus creating a safer working environment for the miners. Granted there is a great deal of training to be a roughneck and work a rig i.e. safety and procedures, it is still a far safer profession. Coal burns for a long time and leaves an enormous carbon footprint. Natural gas burns much cleaner, making it a far superior fossil fuel from that aspect alone. That and the United States possesses one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, thereby creating sustainability of jobs and bettering environmental
Northern Quebec is heavily dense in vegetation (Boreal forest) therefore; the construction of roads and site preparation must be done before mining can begin.
Canadian Natural Resources is an oil and gas exploration, development and production company with its corporate head office in Calgary, Alberta. CNR is Canada’s largest oil and gas company and one of the world’s largest independent oil and gas producer. CNR was founded in Calgary, Alberta in 1989 but there is no specific man or women who have found the company. The company started off with drilling shallow gas basin, which is a big contributor of their success. Slowly they shifted into bitumen and crude oil. CNR headquarters are located in Calgary, Alberta and all the other offices are located in Alberta except for one, Fort St.John which is located in British Columbia. Their factories and offices are located in Alberta because Alberta is the
The accidents involving machinery kill and/or hurt more coal miners in a year than any other mining accident. The machinery in mines are located in cramped spaces with little light, causing miners to have two times the chance of accidents. The accidents involving roof and rib failures can usually be averted if a mining company has a roof support plan. For a roof support plan to be made, information like entry widths, mine geometry, the number of pillars that must be left up right, and the number of bolts that must be used are needed (Cobb 3 of 5) Accumulations of gases in underground coal mines is another very serious hazard. If certain gases like methane and carbon monoxide are at or above 5% in the air they can cause violent explosions. Blasting in coal mines are the main cause for such dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
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
This knocks the economy big time. Coal mining has strict guidelines that the industry must follow before the construction may begin. The reasoning for this is so they can reduce impacts and refine a plan to recondition and conserve the land after mining is complete. This industry works extremely hard on reserving water use and supply, they find innovative ways to reduce, reuse and recycle the water. The use of water also has strict guideline they must meet before they are able to access
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...
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.
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.