"you wouldn't even know there was a mine there" https://maps.app.goo.gl/3U7pKb2o...

MichaelZuo · on Oct 22, 2023

Why'd you post a picture of a currently operating mine in response to the parent's point?

Are there no examples of mines that have recently finished the reclamation stage with noticeable environmental impact remaining?

justinator · on Oct 22, 2023

I look forward to them telling me how they're going to rehab a mountain that doesn't exist anymore, or a pit that's several hundred feet deep.

4RealFreedom · on Oct 22, 2023

There are plenty of resources available that show reclamation. Here's one - https://mineralseducationcoalition.org/mining-minerals-infor...

justinator · on Oct 23, 2023

I'm sure the MEC is a totally independent non-profit fully divorced from the mining companies themselves and thus the information is to be 100% trusted.

4RealFreedom · on Oct 22, 2023

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that the Climax Mine from the late 1800s?

earthscienceman · on Oct 22, 2023

It is the Climax mine. No it's not from the 1800s, and it's still in operation. It has absolutely demolished that section of the mountain range.

landemva · on Oct 22, 2023

If we don't want to import minerals from other countries (some hostile), then we will mine it here. Specifically for Climax Moly, their product contributed to WWII success.

4RealFreedom · on Oct 22, 2023

Then reclamation hasn't started.

justinator · on Oct 22, 2023

You're never going to reclaim it. The water that flows down from that pass will be poisoned by heavy metal indefinitely.

There's a cost to mining, it's not cheap.

4RealFreedom · on Oct 22, 2023

I feel like you are moving goalposts here. I can only find information around old mines - all new/operational mines are subject to environmental oversight. Are you saying that operational mines are leaking heavy metal into drinking water?

justinator · on Oct 23, 2023

I am saying that for this mine to exist, you need now - and IN PERPETUITY - treat the water that flows down hill.

To me, that is in no way shape or form: "reclaimed".

4RealFreedom · on Oct 23, 2023

That is not the definition of 'reclaimed' (I think you meant reclamation) - you are talking about environmental oversight. Do you think mines today are missing that in the US?

justinator · on Oct 23, 2023

>That is not the definition of 'reclaimed' (I think you meant reclamation)

Reclamation is the noun form of the verb to reclaim.

Do you think mines today are missing that in the US?

I think the cost of mining is a long-tail problem. Just throwing some top soil over a mine isn't solving many of the problems a mine introduces. One of the examples I'm giving is heavy metal pollution of important-to-human water ways.

In general, mines in the US have a very piss poor track record of dealing with long term environmental issues. I think one be a fool for believing the greenwashing marketing of a huge multi-national mining company, or their honest intent to put the land back in a state - or better - than what it was. That is a fantasy. As they reap enormous profits from the mining, I would want you think of who is actually bearing that cost.

4RealFreedom · on Oct 23, 2023

Mining companies have to solve the problem of run-off as part of the Clean Water Act[1]. Reclamation is the process of 'fixing' the landscape. There are countless benefits from doing this including carbon storage[2].

"mines in the US have a very piss poor track record of dealing with long term environmental issues" - you are conflating old, abandoned mines with current mines. Current mining processes deal with everything you've listed.

We need mining. We should be mining in the US for a variety of reasons. If that can be done responsibly, why wouldn't you want that?

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Water_Act 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mine_reclamation