The modern mining industry has had to make innovations to meet new environmental and market standards to survive. But mining is a vital industry for modern society. Minerals and metals extracted or mined from under the earth’s surface are what keeps everything running. Industry needs raw materials to produce the goods and services society depends on. Mining companies need good sources for the heavy equipment they require to mine safely and efficiently.
Modern Mining
Modern mining is the backbone of society even if people do not realize it. Think about how many metals and minerals are contained in everyday devices and machines. The average modern device contains up to 35 minerals. All of those substances must be mined. A Mining equipment parts supplier is needed to keep modern mining operations operating smoothly. Mining is hard work and hard on equipment so it is important to have parts for equipment easily available.
Modern mining operations must be concerned with employee safety, environmental protection, and meeting local, state, and federal mining regulations. Mining companies must look for innovations to mine more efficiently and safely.
6 Interesting Facts About Mining
There are things about mining that most people are not aware of.
- Zinc and steel are nearly 100% recyclable and steel is recycled more than any other material in the world.
- Mining is essential for the supply of minerals such as cobalt, lithium, copper, cadmium, and rare earth elements needed for the very innovations that will allow for a new low-carbon energy society in the future. International agreements and mechanisms of governance must be put in place to allow mining for a supply of these minerals and metals. A balance is needed between the need for these materials and the harm mining for them does to the environment.
- Mining has been going on since the ancient Egyptians, in ancient Greece and Rome, and in Medieval Europe. The Philippines had mining operations as early as 1000BC. In the Americas mining history goes back at least 5,000 years with copper mining.
- There are multiple mining types including surface, high wall, shallow mining, and deep underground mining. Surface mining accounts for 85% of minerals and 98% of metallic ores.
- Heavy-duty machines used in the mining process include bulldozers, explosives, drills, large trucks, lifts, shovels, and cranes.
- Once the minerals or metals are extracted from the earth they must be further processed. Metal and mineral processing is a special field. The science of metallurgy is concerned with the crushing, washing, grinding, and other processes needed to separate the valuable minerals and metals from the waste material they are found in.
A Balance For Mining and the Environment
There are environmental issues involved in the mining process including contamination of soil and water, erosion, loss of biodiversity, sinkhole formation, added forest logging, leakage of mining chemicals, and added traffic. Now, mine owners are required to do better. They must follow strict environmental codes and also rehabilitation protocols.
Mining companies wanting to start a new mining operation are required to do reports on environmental impact assessments, environmental management plans, and also plans for closing of mines when the operations are done. During the mining process, there is now environmental monitoring to make sure safety and environmental rules are being followed. Some large mine owners are also contributing funding to conservation groups. Mining must change as time and rules change and the better mining companies are.
