The Effects Of Sulfide Mining On The Environment

Mining is a very controversial subject; many people have strong opinions but are misinformed on important aspects of the issue. Sulfide mining is a form of hard rock mining. The goal of sulfide mining is to extract the metals found in sulfide ore. Most often, companies are looking for copper and nickel in the process of sulfide mining. One of the companies proposing sulfide mining in Northern Minnesota is Polymet. Their proposal includes twenty years of mining operations in three open pit mines. These surface mines are often compared to crater sized holes. Minnesota has benefitted from the mining industry for a very long time. Historically, one of the biggest industries in Minnesota is iron ore mining. Many believe sulfide mining

The most apparent controversy about sulfide mining is the environmental effects. Many people are not aware of what the iron industry in Minnesota has already done to the environment. In the 1960s and 1980s there were mining controversies regarding the environment and that could reoccur with the approval of Polymet's proposals. Jeffrey Manuel, author of Taconite Dreams, talked about the issues with the mining company in his book. Taconite mining was a process used to obtain iron ore. During the mining operation in Minnesota, the mining companies began to dispose of waste by dumping it into Lake Superior. This waste was called tailings. Manuel wrote, "The decision to dump tailings into Lake Superior, which seemed inconsequential in 1955, ultimately proved to be the plant's undoing" (Manuel 86). Manuel explains the potential outcome of a new mining industry. It does not seem like it could pose an environmental problem now, but according to history, it is not always clear what could happen. Environmental issues have ended other branches of the mining industry in the past. Other forms of mining have also posed enormous threats to nature. For example, hydraulic fracturing is a process of

One of the companies proposing sulfide mining in Minnesota already has enough operation in progress in other countries. For example, the mining informational pamphlet mentions the extensive variety of areas where they mine copper and nickel. It says that the brand already owns and operates three mines in Chile, along with exploring options on six continents and commissioning four other mines (Mining 10). Our trade could benefit from avoiding producing the material in Minnesota because of many reasons. If it is not produced here it allows us to rely on other mines in the United States, and it also makes the United States rely on the mines around the world. Having this relationship with the other countries through trading nickel and copper will strengthen trade relationships with that country. Those relationships will benefit the United States for future trade advantages. Next, many experts on trade and globalization efforts have researched the positive effects of trade. They say that trade will help "maintain cost competitiveness in your domestic market" (Benefits). Allowing other states to mine instead of Minnesota can help combat the negatives of globalization. The less mining there is in the United States the more competition will grow outside of the United States. Knowing the field is not as competitive, more companies will embark in producing it in other areas. This eventually