1. The document discusses various aspects of mining, including the lives of miners, definitions of mining, materials that are mined, leaders and innovators in the mining industry, and the social, economic, political, and environmental impacts of mining.
2. Mining can have both benefits like jobs and economic growth as well as negatives such as health issues for miners, environmental pollution, and conflicts over mining revenues.
3. There are ongoing efforts to address issues like conflict diamonds and ensure the profits from mining are distributed fairly and used to help local communities.
2. A LOOK AT THE LIFE OF
MINERS
⢠http://youtu.be/hyK5MErw3r4
3. COAL MINERS PRAYER
Each dawn as we rise, lord we know all too well,
We face only one thing â a pit filled with hell.
To scratch out a living the best that we can,
But deep in the heart, lies the soul of a man.
With black covered faces, and hard calloused hands,
We work the dark tunnels, unable to stand.
To labour and toil as we harvest the coal,
We silently pray âLord, please harvest our souls.â
4. DEFINITION OF MINING
⢠Definition: Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals
or other geological materials from the earth, usually
(but not always) from an ore body, vein or (coal) seam.
5. WHAT IS MINED?
⢠Materials recovered by mining include bauxite, coal,
copper, gold, silver, diamonds, iron, precious metals,
lead, limestone, magnesite, nickel, phosphate, oil
shale, rock salt, tin, uranium and molybdenum.
6.
7. LEADERS AND INNOVATORS IN
MINING
⢠Archimedes â invented the Archimedes screw
⢠Charles Steen
⢠Daniel Guggenheim
⢠Ed Schieffelin
⢠George Stephenson â inventor of the Geordie lamp
⢠Henry Beecher Dierdorff â American inventor of mining
equipment
8. CONTINUEDâŚ
⢠Herbert Hoover
⢠Horace Austin Warner Tabor
⢠Humphry Davy â inventor of the Davy lamp
⢠Meyer Guggenheim
⢠Paddy Martinez
⢠William Boyce Thompson
⢠William Reid Clanny â inventor of the first safety lamp
9. THE TROUBLE WITH MINING:
⢠Gold, silver, coltan, copper: metals and minerals are processed in all sorts of ways into
products we daily use.
⢠Impact of mining on local communities is immense.
⢠The technology applied for extraction of minerals uses extremely toxic.
⢠The local population does not agree with these kind of practices and usually revolt.
⢠The arguments of these local communities against the large scale mining industry can be
summed up as follows:
o Mining concessions are granted without participation of local communities and their
traditional leaders, and thus are essentially illegal.
o These mines contribution little of not at all to development of the local economy of these
communities.
o Mining companies are a big threat to the environment and the existence of agriculture, due
to pollution of water sources and devastation of existing ecosystems.
o Mining activity contributes to loss of culture, divides communities and increases the gap
between the rich and poor.
11. FACTS:
⢠The average coal miner is 45 years old and has 20
years of experience.
⢠The average weekly wage for a miner in Kentucky is
$751.30
⢠It is estimated that Black Lung disease affects 2.8
percent of coal miners. About 0.2 percent of coal
workers have scarring on the lungs, the most severe
form of the disease. Each year, close to 400 miners die
from black lung disease.
12. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
⢠Early Egyptians mined for copper 3,400 years ago
⢠Coal mining developed in the U.S. during the
Industrial Revolution.
⢠1849 California Gold Rush began
⢠1859 oil production in US began
15. POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES:
⢠The country of Africa is known for mining an abundance of diamonds. The problem is that
because so many diamonds are mined, many corporate consumers have no clue where the
diamond comes from making it nearly impossible to confirm where exactly the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) stands.
⢠The Kimberley Process- the Kimberley Process is something that was supported by many
nations to ensure that the diamonds they were purchasing werenât âBlood Diamonds.â Blood
Diamonds are diamonds found by rebel groups or anti-government groups who use the trade
money to buy weapons and recruit more people for their groups. Thought of in 1998, the
nations met and agreed that every diamond exported must be certified conflict free, and which
was successfully established in 2003. Of course some diamonds are still smuggled in and sold
without being certified by the Kimberley Process.
⢠By that meaning that so many problems related to diamond mining exist in Congo, Africa. The
main problem is that military groups are rebelling against government officials thus mining their
own diamonds and trading them with other countries for weapons, thought to be used to assist
in the Angola Civil War.
16. FACTS:
⢠Because Angola contains the worldâs largest resources of diamonds and petroleum, it can
be the wealthiest country, but because of the war for Angola Liberation, the fight prevents
the country to further develop economically.
⢠The MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberations of Angola) of Angola is named
President Dos Santos and the UNITA leader is named Dr. Jonas Savimbi. (UNITA-
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola). These two people are responsible
for the millions of land mines within the country.
17.
18. ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES:
⢠The costs and profits of mining are not fairly distributed.
⢠Private enterprises make the profits.
⢠The local economies are seriously disturbed.
⢠Pollution of the environment means a serious threat to
the ecosystem and the health of the local communities.
⢠On a global level it is unjust for the local communities.
19. WHO SUFFERS FROM MINING:
⢠The environment in the communities around the mines
due to pollution.
⢠Miners who suffer health issues and dangerous
conditions.
20.
21. WHO BENEFITS FROM MINING:
⢠Local Community
o Jobs
o Workers bond over time
⢠Home Countryâs Economy
o Increased government revenue due to mining
o Attracts businesses
⢠Mining Company
o Huge profits
o Able to exploit mines
o âStabilization Clausesâ
22. CONDITIONS THAT PROMOTE
PROBLEM:
⢠The pure fact that this country produces oil, gas, and diamonds pretty much says that
they have say in how they handle their trade. Unfortunately because they have such
wealthy resources many groups use this advantage to trade with other countries for
weapons and money. On the downside of that, they use far more resources to fund war
then they are gaining from it.
⢠Because so many conditions have been put on diamonds such as the Kimberley Process
and the certification of diamonds, many workers are working harder to find more blood
diamonds to sell and make money. The blood diamond exportation went from %15 of
diamonds exported being blood diamonds to only .02%. Unfortunately, those people being
held captive by refugee groups are still working hard to find diamonds illegally and risking
their safety and lives to satisfy their leaders.
⢠A way that African government are following to prevent diamond smuggling is for every
diamond sold outside of the country there needs to be proof of foundation and proof of
purchase.
24. AS AN INDIVIDUAL:
⢠Everyone is affected because we all use materials
derived from minerals that are mined.
25.
26. THE SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY:
⢠Quarries
⢠14 in San Antonio
⢠Investment in economy
⢠Truckers
⢠Construction
27. THE TEXAS REGION:
⢠Living in Texas my whole life, Iâve rarely traveled the entire state. Only
nearby cities like Corpus Christi and Austin. Of course I canât forget
the Tanger Outlets in San Marcus. These outlets have a variety of
diamond stores, and well I canât lie and say I havenât taken a peek at a
few diamonds or two. Viewing commercial after commercial, prices
seem to rise in the diamond industry and I canât imagine how high the
prices must be up north in New York and surrounding areas. Knowing
that the diamonds we buy from Zales, Kay Jewelers, Jared go through
a process to get to these stores makes me wonder how much each
diamond is worth without all the expenses of
importing, certifying, shaping and creating unique jewelry. Because
not many Texans seem to realize that searching for diamonds is life
risking, they donât seem to care as to how they get diamonds, just that
they get them.
28.
29. THE NATION AS A WHOLE:
⢠Mining produces three types of mineral commodities
(metals, industrial minerals, and fuels) that all countries
find essential for maintaining and improving their
standards of living.
30. THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY:
⢠Compared to Texans, the global community seems to
want to help out by enforcing the Kimberley
Process, yet they also want to buy diamonds the
cheapest possible to make as much as a profit
possible. Corporations must keep in mind that the
diamonds they are selling to their consumers can be
backed by certifications, raising prices in purchasing
diamonds for both the big corporations and consumers
themselves.
36. MATERIALS:
⢠Each group gets 1 chocolate chip cookie, a toothpick, a
paper clip, and a sheet of graph paper.
⢠Place the cookie on the graph paper and trace around
the cookie.
⢠Figure out who is the youngest person in your group-
this person will be the head of the mining company and
everyone else will be the workers.
37. ACTIVITY:
⢠Your group is a major mining company that has decided to
mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Your company
is mining in the village of Musheko, which is near the
Kahuzi-Biega National Park. The villagers are excited for
the mine, as they want the jobs and development it will
bring to their village. Your companyâs goal is to meet the
expectations of the villagers, and still make a profit so that
youâll have the opportunity to mine again. So get all the
diamonds (chocolate chips) out of the cookie that you
can, but be careful not to get any crumbs outside of the line
you drew-that means devastating pollution to the village of
Musheko.
38. RULES:
⢠The head of the company cannot touch the mine, only direct the workers in
what to do.
⢠No one can touch the cookie with your hands, you can only use the tools you
buy.
⢠Each group starts out with $200,000 after buying tools to mine with
⢠Each chocolate chip that you dig out of the cookie is worth $400,000.
⢠You have 4 minutes to mine your cookie.
⢠Each square of graph paper that has crumbs in it at the end of 4 minutes
costs you $250,000 to clean up the pollution you caused.
39. HOW MUCH DID YOU MAKE?
⢠Start with $200,000
⢠Add $400,000 for each chocolate chip that you mined from the cookie
Add that upâŚ.
⢠Then subtract $250,000 for each square that crumbs were in, as to
pay for pollution clean up
⢠The head of the company can now take whatever is left and pay your
workers however you see fit
⢠The leftovers is what the company made
40. QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT?
⢠Did you end up polluting the surrounding areas?
⢠Were you thinking more about finding chocolate chips,
or keeping the surrounding areas clean?
⢠Is it possible to both make a profit and treat your
workers the right way?
⢠How did your mine benefit or harm the village of
Musheko?
Hinweis der Redaktion
Children sorting coal from slate
- Gold, silver, coltan, copper: metals and minerals are processed in all sorts of ways into products we daily use and because of that are massively extracted by the mining industry from Northern countries. These natural resources are mainly found in the South, where governments do not regulate strongly and the financial climate is beneficial for mining activities. Hence, investing in mining is enormously profitable, moreover as global demand for raw materials keeps increasing, so do prices. - Impact of mining on local communities is immense: farmers lose their land, while mining companies sometimes acquire the rights to these lands for a bargain.The technology applied for extraction of minerals uses extremely toxic, chemical products like cyanide, that often seep into the groundwater having a big ecological impact on local farming production.The local population does not agree with these kind of practices and revolt: all over the world examples of mining conflicts can be found, just like in Peru and Bolivia, so called 'traditional mining countries'. Such conflicts tend to escalate into violent conflicts between police and farmers â deaths are no longer an exception.The arguments of these local communities against the large scale mining industry can be summed up as follows:Mining concessions are granted without participation of local communities and their traditional leaders, and thus are essentially illegal.These mines contribution little of not at all to development of the local economy of these communitiesMining companies are a big threat to the environment and the existence of agriculture, due to pollution of water sources and devastation of existing ecosystems.Mining activity contributes to loss of culture, divides communities and increases the gap between the rich and poor.
Children working as coal miners in Pennsylvania, 1911
More critical accounts, however, doubt that mining is prosperous to local communities. They state that:Â The costs and profits of mining are not fairly distributed and in many cases the profits even don't live up to the costs, as a result of the enormous passive social and ecological costs.Private enterprises make profits, but the agricultural communities have to bear the (passive) costs.The local economies are seriously disturbed, by e.g. the dutch disease effect, a macro-economic phenomenon which occurs when foreign currencies gain by the extraction of natural resources. In many cases the contribution of mining to a micro-economic situation, then, in a global perspective, is rather negative than positive.Pollution of the environment means a serious threat to the ecosystem and the health of the local communities, with grave consequences for the farmers, who depend on agriculture.On a global level, it is unjust that natural resources which actually belong to the South, produce enormous profits for western enterprises and shareholders in the North and merely a very small percentage remains as 'royalties' for the local communities. The well-known story about the colonization of the South just goes on, but on a much larger scale today than centuries ago.
Miners going to work
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