Mining In Canada Essay, Research Paper
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 t
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.
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.