Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store

How does mining affect climate change?

seo-qna
SearchIcon
Answer
VerifiedVerified
409.5k+ views
Hint: Mining involves the extraction of valuable minerals and other logical matters from the Earth that are used for economic interest for the miner.

Complete answer:
The process of mining involves the loading of large diesel trucks and loaders which run around and emit carbon dioxide from them which is considered as the main contributor to climatic change. Some areas face the cutting down of trees to make way for the mining operations that reduce the value of trees and absorbs carbon dioxide which is put into the atmosphere. The industries involved in the mining process operate in inhospitable conditions and increase the physical challenges for the mining operations by heavy precipitation, drought and others. The emissions from greenhouse gases are one of the factors which are responsible for the degradation in the environment by mining. The climatic changes cause droughts and floods frequently which interrupts the supply of water towards the mining sites and infer in the operations for mining.
Mining activities affect weather patterns and climate stability which can affect the future water supplies and is responsible for global warming. Droughts and floods propose several challenges to the mining sector and affect the infrastructure such as treatment systems, waste disposal ponds, bridges, roads and pipelines etc by extreme conditions that are caused by weather changes. There is a need in the mining sector to develop strategies by the engineers that can minimise the impact on infrastructure and operations created by the weather changes on the mining sector and can consider cost-effective technologies for adapting the climatic changes.

Note:
The mining sector has become an important part of the economy for every developing nation and an average of 40,000 pounds of minerals are used by individual Americans every year. Golden copper were the first metals that were unearthed among which gold is elusive and is $80\%$ yet to be discovered.