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Mining is a touchy
subject because in the current socio-economical state of most of the world, it
is a ‘necessity’ for the economy to continue to grow. Nonetheless, we all know
that there are dangers and costs to mining—on the air quality, and green house
gases, on the social / human impact of ongoing negotiation and eventual
displacement of the Indigenous peoples, and more. But without mining, we would
not have gasoline, nor the power we need to run factories and our homes. Right?
Wrong. What about the things we mine that don’t give us any uses.. To think
about the reason we mine and the necessity of mining, we need gasoline but how
about diamonds?
Mines are often built in
environmentally fragile ecosystems, have significant ecological footprints, and
will significantly impact both the land and water-based habitat, particularly
for the caribou, wolverine, bears, ptarmigan and fish, which all provide food
for Aboriginal peoples. Diamond mining endangers fish through draining of
lakes, destruction of streams, and changes in water quality. Twenty lakes have
been eliminated altogether, with no fish habitat compensation measures in
place. The Canadian icon–caribous, especially boreal woodland caribous which
lives in mosquito- and lichen- filled boreal forests, were put in the danger of
extinction because of the dried up muskeg that change their vegetation. The noise
of explosives and heavy machinery negatively impact on wildlife behavior. Due
to the change of environment, it causes caribous and migratory birds to migrate
extraordinarily.
Diamond mining requires high level of energy consumption and
water intensive processes, creates liquid and solid wastes diamond deposits
that ended up polluting rivers, causes air pollution, and eventually has an
enormous negative impact on natural habitats and ecosystems. The necessity of
these pollutions is a question. The status quo of fame and selfish pride is how
we turned unnecessary into necessary. Treat our natural environment as a
treasure, the treasure we are going to give to our future generations. That is
what Mother Nature gave us and that is what we want to give to our children and
grandchildren. Let us use the most eco-conscious method to fulfill consumer
needs of diamonds: on behalf of the Moissanite company we would like to
introduce you this lab grown Silicon Carbide that visually resembles natural
diamonds. The NDP party and us believe we can save our environment together by
using Moissanite than mined diamonds.
Process work &
research.
Images.
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Impact of diamond mining:
Ekati and Diavik mines
Loss of fish habitat through draining of lakes, destruction of streams, changes in water quality. Twenty lakes have been eliminated altogether, with no fish habitat compensation measures in place.
Loss of land-based habitat for wildlife such as caribou, grizzly bears, and wolverine.
Loss of fish habitat through draining of lakes, destruction of streams, changes in water quality. Twenty lakes have been eliminated altogether, with no fish habitat compensation measures in place.
Loss of land-based habitat for wildlife such as caribou, grizzly bears, and wolverine.
http://www.miningwatch.ca/there-are-no-clean-diamonds-what-you-need-know-about-canadian-diamonds:
[Impact on Air quality]: Increased production of greenhouse gases. Both diamond mines are currently fuelled by millions of litres of diesel. Each mine makes a significant contribution to the greenhouse gas produced by the Territories every year.
[Social impact]: Northern Aboriginal peoples were faced with demands from competing and impatient mining companies to stake, explore and to develop mines on their traditional territories. Their lives have been transformed by the complicated and time-consuming negotiations required to protect the interests of their people. And now, they are also being transformed by the impacts of the mines themselves
[mentioned in the first two points]The mines are often built in environmentally fragile ecosystems, have significant ecological footprints, and will significantly impact upon the caribou, wolverine, bears, ptarmigan and fish, which provide food for Aboriginal peoples.
[Impact on Air quality]: Increased production of greenhouse gases. Both diamond mines are currently fuelled by millions of litres of diesel. Each mine makes a significant contribution to the greenhouse gas produced by the Territories every year.
[Social impact]: Northern Aboriginal peoples were faced with demands from competing and impatient mining companies to stake, explore and to develop mines on their traditional territories. Their lives have been transformed by the complicated and time-consuming negotiations required to protect the interests of their people. And now, they are also being transformed by the impacts of the mines themselves
[mentioned in the first two points]The mines are often built in environmentally fragile ecosystems, have significant ecological footprints, and will significantly impact upon the caribou, wolverine, bears, ptarmigan and fish, which provide food for Aboriginal peoples.
Environmental
impact of Victor mines:
Water
impact:
o 100,000
m3 of salty water will be pumped out of the pit each day into the Attawapiskat
River. This is equivalent to 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools per day or 14,600
per year.
o The flow
of the Nayshkatooyaow River will be decreased by at least 15%.
o A 2.6
kilometre stretch of South Granny Creek will be “moved”.
o 1.2
million m3 of muskeg, including trees and other plants, will be removed.
o River
crossings may lead to siltation of rivers and creeks and impact water quality.
o Fish
populations such as lake sturgeon, brook trout, walleye and whitefish may be
harmed by the changes in water flow and water quality.
o
Methyl mercury may be released by the dewatering of the
muskeg
Land
impacts:
o 2.5 million
tonnes of rock would be processed (piled, crushed and dumped) each year.
o 28.7
million tonnes of rock would have been dug from the ground over the life of the
mine and dumped in the surrounding area.
o The waste
rock may leach chemicals, such as acids, into the surrounding water.
o
The mine would sit on top of a nationally significant
geological feature called a karst, which has been described as the “best
developed and most extensive karst topography in Ontario.”
Wildlife
impacts:
o The area
of the proposed mine and its associated infrastructure provides critical
habitat for woodland caribou, a threatened species. Woodland caribou are
extremely sensitive to industrial activity and usually disappear from areas
where it occurs. After the mine closes and the site is re-vegetated, studies
say that “excellent habitat for moose” (shrubs and young forest) will be
created, which also means that the habitat that previously supported caribou
(older forest and bogs) will be diminished. This may result in the local extinction
of caribou.
o The water
table would be affected for up to 260,000 hectares surrounding the mine. This
would dry out muskeg, change the vegetation of the area and reduce the
abundance of lichens, a key food for caribou.
o The noise
of the explosives used to construct the mine and from pit operations combined
with trucks bringing supplies and materials to and from the mine site (60
trucks per day) would negatively impact wildlife behaviour.
o Easier
motorized access (better and more roads) to and in the region will increase
hunting pressure on game species.
o
Habitat for migratory birds will also be affected.
[Social impact]: Exploration and mining distort and disrupt the cultural and social lives of Aboriginal peoples and the regional economy and very few of the financial benefits from the mines return to the people who suffer most of the impacts.
[Social impact]: Exploration and mining distort and disrupt the cultural and social lives of Aboriginal peoples and the regional economy and very few of the financial benefits from the mines return to the people who suffer most of the impacts.
·
Ekati and Diavik mines
o Local
impacts from the diamond mines in the capital city of Yellowknife. Housing
prices have skyrocketed and drug-related crime is on the increase.
o Local
service providers and retailers find it very difficult to retain staff and
attract new employees given the attraction of the diamond mines and related
services.
o Since
none of the companies pay municipal taxes, the City of Yellowknife has to bear
this burden without increased revenues. (The NWT government has failed to
exercise its ability to raise taxes from the diamond mines. When BHP’s Ekati
mine was about to enter production, the NWT government pushed very hard for a
guaranteed supply of rough diamonds to build a local secondary industry based
on sorting, cutting and polishing of gem quality diamonds. The territorial
government even provided loan guarantees to prospective secondary diamond
companies to locate facilities in the NWT. Unfortunately, several of these
ventures have failed, leaving taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars)
o
While traditional economic indicators show that the NWT population and economy are growing,
there is no commensurate progress in community wellness with numerous measures
of social well-being being found to be
less favourable than national comparisons.
Victor
Mine in Ontario
o Increased
income can have negative effects at the individual and family level, and these
can spill over into negative community effects––there is an association with
increased incomes and gambling, drugs
and alcohol, and there is a likelihood that there will be a greater income gap and increasing inequity
o
Put pressure on supplies and services, particularly housing.
They may cause “inflation, contribute to
drug and alcohol problems, undermine traditional values, compromise public
health and security”.
·
The federal, provincial and territorial regulatory
frameworks in Canada are inadequate to protect the environment from long term
and cumulative environmental effects
The
Report found the following:
o Current
consultation practices were found to overload the capacity of local communities
to participate in a meaningful manner.
o Air
quality impacts associated with activities in the NWT remain, with few
exceptions, largely unregulated.
o There is
an absence of clear regulatory tools to assess and mitigate social, economic
and cultural impacts from development.
o Although
in 1992, the Government of Canada committed that a method to monitor cumulative
impacts would be provided, a Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program (CIMP) has
not yet been implemented and limited regional/territorial environmental
baseline and cumulative impact data are available to decision makers. This gap
is tied directly to the absence of land use plans.
o
There are several instances of unfavourable conditions and
deteriorating trends identified. The two most disturbing of these are: the
recent large decreases recorded for the size of caribou herds that Aboriginal
people living in the NWT rely on as a major source of subsistence; and, the
need for action in the area of socio-economics and community wellness.
Why
Moissanite.
Moissanite..
Gold Pollution
Canadian
Diamond Mining Impacts
Is
it worth it?
Diamond companies have laid claim to over 70
million acres of land across Nunavut and the Northwest Territories - an area
larger than the UK or New Zealand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrEE9nHK6Us#t=12 on Moissanite
New Canadian diamond mine would drain part
of lake
De Beers lobbies for permission to drain lake for
diamond mine
Aboriginal groups urge halt to Gahcho Kue diamond mine
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/aboriginal-groups-urge-halt-to-gahcho-kue-diamond-mine-1.1367859
CANADA:
NW Territories – Ekati Diamond Mine profile
DOMINION WANTS TO DRAIN LAKE TO GET
EKATI DIAMONDS
|
Advanced Topics in Mine Water
Management M. Lindholm
This video shows Diavik mine
drainage & setup process, really hard to find videos of lake drainage
process.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e09_1196556667
Northern mines' toxins a growing threat: report
Problems With Acid Rock Drainage
Predictions at theEkati Diamond Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada
on their recycled metals http://www.moissaniteco.com/guide_recycled_metals.html
ADS
Ekati diamond mine
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