Mining

ISSUES

Mines and quarries

Mankind uses about 32 billion tons of mineral and energy resources every year. There are 5 main categories: building materials, industrial materials, metals, energy minerals and precious substances.
These resources are spread very unequally throughout the world. Some minerals are relatively common, like iron – the most mined mineral in the world. Its production reached 1.6 billion tons in 2006 and is currently increasing by 10 % a year. The three largest producers are, in order, China, Brazil and Australia. Other minerals are rarer, like hafnium, which is used to make filaments and electrodes. The world stocks are estimated at 1 million tons in total (most of this is in South Africa).
Open air or underground mines
There are different types of mines. An open air mine is a huge basin with rows that are dug by layers of rock being successively scraped. A recent technique which causes many problems is called Mountain top...

NEWS

Campaign to save Barrier Reef from industry

Indonesia moves towards approving deforestation plan

Everyday heroes: 2013 Goldman Environmental Prize winners

Univers GoodPlanet par Netvibes

DEBATES

Soaring Demand for Metals Calls for Rethink of Recycling Practices

UNEP

The growth in demand for metals, which could see needs rise by almost ten times current levels, calls for a rethink of recycling...

From Resource Curse to Blessing

New discoveries of natural resources in several African...

Appalachian Regional Restoration Initiative

As a newly appointed UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, I am...

FOCUS

Nobel Price of ecology

Designed to recognize grassroots environmental heroes, the Goldman Environmental Prize, founded by Richard and Rhoda Goldman in 1989 In San Francisco, is awarded annually to individuals from the six inhabited continental regions for sustained and significant efforts to...

VIDEOS

09/01/2013	The Ecologist Film Unit investigates claims that mining for tin for use in...	10/09/2012	Learn how to make more gold with borax instead of mercury. Description of...
15/05/2012	Apple powers the icloud using mountaintop removal coal from Duke Energy,...	27/02/2012	As millions of pounds of explosives from mountaintop removal strip mining...

GREEN TIPS

Quarries Can Encourage Biodiversity

Disused quarries can represent a real opportunity for biodiversity. In France alone, these sites provide a...

INDICATORS

GDP per capita
Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)

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