Is surface or subsurface mining better for the environment?
Surface mining is often preferred to subsurface mining by companies in the industry because it is less expensive there are fewer complications with electricity and water and it is safer. However surface mining can be more environmentally-damaging than subsurface mining.
What type of mining is the most damaging to the environment?
Surface mining (another name for "strip mining") can severely erode the soil or reduce its fertility; pollute waters or drain underground water reserves; scar or altar the landscape; damage roads, homes, and other structures; and destroy wildlife.
Why is subsurface mining better than surface mining?
Advantage of subsurface mining (3) The workload of mining is small. (4) The mining depth is large. (5) Less initial investment. (6) Less pollution to the atmospheric environment.
Why does subsurface mining have less of an environmental impact than surface mining?
Why does subsurface mining have less of an environmental impact than surface mining? a. Subsurface mining uses less than one-tenth as much land.
What is the difference between surface mining and subsurface mining?
Main Difference In surface mining, the ore is accessed directly from the Earth's surface, and contact is maintained with the surface throughout the operation. Underground or subsurface mining is accomplished with the help of tunnels going into the Earth, and does not occur on the surface.
What is one advantage of surface mining?
Surface mines offer advantages and disadvantages when compared to underground mining. Amongst the advantages are that it is cheaper, can recover more of the resource (usually up to 100% within the mining excavation), is safer and can use larger-scale mining equipment offering higher production rates.
Is subsurface mining harmful?
Subsurface mining operations don't create the visible changes in the landscape that surface mining operations do, but the conditions of subsurface mines are extremely hazardous for the working miners. The potential for accidental cave-ins, explosions, and fires is high.
Which type of mining is the best for the environment?
In situ mining, for example, can be more environmentally friendly than underground mining and is cheaper than many mining methods.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of surface mining?
The pros of surface mining are that it has a lower financial cost and is a lot safer than underground mining because all mining operations take place above the surface. The cons are the hazards it presents to human health and the environment.
What are some advantages and disadvantages of subsurface mining?
Advantages : Safer than surface mining, faster than 60% of other mining in the U.S, less disruptive to the environment, leads to more minerals. Disadvantages : Costs more, harder to do than surface mining, takes a lot of time.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of surface mining and subsurface mining?
Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages : Safer than surface mining, faster than 60% of other mining in the U.S, less disruptive to the environment, leads to more minerals. Disadvantages : Costs more, harder to do than surface mining, takes a lot of time.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of surface mining over underground mine?
Surface mines offer advantages and disadvantages when compared to underground mining. Amongst the advantages are that it is cheaper, can recover more of the resource (usually up to 100% within the mining excavation), is safer and can use larger-scale mining equipment offering higher production rates.
Which type of mining is less harmful to the environment?
Shaft mining is less harmful to the environment.
What is the difference between surface mining and deep mining?
Surface mining is a form of mining in which the soil and the rock covering the mineral deposits are removed. It is the other way of underground mining, in which the overlying rock is left behind, and the required mineral deposits are removed through shafts or tunnels.
What is a surface hazard resulting from subsurface mining?
What is subsidence? It is sometimes caused by subsurface mining. It occurs when the land collapses above an underground mine. This has been a problem in the upper peninsula after underground mining for iron ore stopped.
Why is surface mining used more?
Why Choose Surface Mining? Surface mining is often the preference for mining companies. This is because removing the terrain surface, or overburden, to access the mineral beneath is often more cost-effective than gouging tunnels and subterranean shafts to access minerals underground.
What are the advantages & disadvantages of surface mining?
The pros of surface mining are that it has a lower financial cost and is a lot safer than underground mining because all mining operations take place above the surface. The cons are the hazards it presents to human health and the environment.
What are the differences between surface mining and underground mining?
Surface mining is suitable for large, low-grade ore deposits which occur below a thin layer of rock, or alluvial deposits found in sand and riverbeds. Underground mining is used for small, high-grade deposits covered with a thick overburden (soil and rock above the ore), or for deep and sloping deposits.
What is the difference between surface mining and underground mining?
Surface mining is a form of mining in which the soil and the rock covering the mineral deposits are removed. It is the other way of underground mining, in which the overlying rock is left behind, and the required mineral deposits are removed through shafts or tunnels.
What type of mining is the best for the environment?
In situ mining, for example, can be more environmentally friendly than underground mining and is cheaper than many mining methods.
What type of mining is most harmful to miners?
Statistically, coal mining remains more dangerous than other kinds of mining, but only slightly. According to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, the rate of coal-mining deaths in the United States between 2001 and 2005 was 0.15 per million production hours.
What is subsurface mining?
Definition: Mining beneath the surface of the earth.
How does surface mining affect biodiversity?
Mining directly emits carbon, as does associated mineral processing activities, negatively affecting biodiversity via anthropogenic climate change (34,35). Mineral supply chains can have extensive, yet often hidden impacts on biodiversity (36).
What is the advantage and disadvantage of surface mining?
The pros of surface mining are that it has a lower financial cost and is a lot safer than underground mining because all mining operations take place above the surface. The cons are the hazards it presents to human health and the environment.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of subsurface mining?
Advantages : Safer than surface mining, faster than 60% of other mining in the U.S, less disruptive to the environment, leads to more minerals. Disadvantages : Costs more, harder to do than surface mining, takes a lot of time.
What type of surface mining is the least harmful to the environment?
Placer mining can be less damaging to the environment than surface mines, as the sediment is returned to the water after the minerals have been extracted. Compare surface, subsurface, and placer mining in terms of damage to the environment.
How does surface mining affect an ecosystem?
However, even with current regulations, surface mining can affect fish and aquatic resources through erosion and sedimentation, dewatering of wetlands, diverting and channelizing streams, and contaminating surface water and aquifers with toxic chemicals.
What is the difference between surface and subsurface mining?
Main Difference In surface mining, the ore is accessed directly from the Earth's surface, and contact is maintained with the surface throughout the operation. Underground or subsurface mining is accomplished with the help of tunnels going into the Earth, and does not occur on the surface.
What are some advantages of subsurface mining compared to surface mining quizlet?
Subsurface mining offers more employment opportunities than surface mining would for the same volume of coal. Subsurface mining has less impact on the surrounding landscape than surface mining.. Coal companies have lower payroll costs because they need fewer miners. Mountaintop removal is less dangerous for miners.
Does subsurface mining disturbs more land?
Surface mining disturbs the land more than subsurface mining, but subsurface mining is more expensive and dangerous.