RESEARCH STARTER

Minerals and mining

Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic substances essential to modern society, with a wide range of applications in various industries. They can be classified into metallic minerals, such as iron and copper, and nonmetallic minerals like salt and clay, as well as fossil fuels including coal and natural gas. Mining is the process of extracting these valuable resources, typically involving methods that can lead to significant environmental impacts. As populations grow and demand for minerals increases, concerns about resource depletion and ecological degradation have come to the forefront.

Mining operations can disrupt landscapes, pollute water sources, and generate harmful waste, contributing to issues such as acid mine drainage and greenhouse gas emissions. The mining industry is also a major contributor to climate change, with energy-intensive processes that release substantial amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. In response to these challenges, there are ongoing efforts to improve waste management and reduce emissions through cleaner technologies and adherence to environmental regulations. However, the balance between resource extraction and environmental stewardship remains a complex and pressing issue as the demand for minerals continues to rise.

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Definition

Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic substances with definite chemical compositions and characteristic physical properties. A rock is an aggregate of minerals. Minerals range in composition from native elements and metals, sulfides, halides, and carbonates to complex silicates, which are the most common rock-forming substances. Contemporary society depends on the availability of mineral resources: Metallic minerals such as iron, copper, aluminum, lead, and zinc; nonmetallic minerals such as salt, clay, gypsum, soil, and water; and energy resources such as coal, petroleum, natural gas, uranium, and palladium have all become necessary to the functioning of human civilizations.

With few exceptions, minerals are generally nonrenewable (exhaustible), since mineral resources generally require long expanses of geologic time to develop and are present in effectively fixed amounts in the Earth. Minerals are extracted from the Earth using a variety of mining methods when the resource is economically viable. As the world population increased exponentially in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, an escalating resource crisis emerged, driving the mining of nonrenewable mineral resources. This surge in industrial mining came with many environmental concerns.

According to some experts, the Earth may have reached its maximum capacity to absorb environmental degradation related to mining. Potential environmental impacts of mineral mining depend on factors such as mine waste management, mining procedures, local hydrology, climate, rock types, size of operation, and related factors. Mining disrupts the landscape and can instigate mine subsidence, disrupting biological and water resources. Underground mining is generally more hazardous due to poorer ventilation and reduced visibility, as well as slope instability along mine walls. Moreover, the dust and toxic gases in mines lead to severe respiratory problems, and the possibility of exposure to radiation poses serious health threats.

Through mining processes, large amounts of material accumulate as waste requiring disposal. Many copper mines, for example, extract ore that contains less than 1 percent copper. For many nonferrous metals, almost all the mined ore becomes waste. Artisanal mining, such as alluvial mining for gold and diamonds, often disrupts landscapes with trenches. These activities can lead to erosion and localized destruction of river banks. The waste also contains dangerous substances, such as heavy metals, which leach into the soil and generate acid or alkaline mine drainage.

Sulfide-containing minerals in metal mining oxidize in air and react with water to form sulfuric acid. Acid mine drainage contaminates surface and underground water. With the proliferation of the petroleum industry, numerous large-scale oil spills became common, allowing oil to percolate through the soil and pollute groundwater. The fuels and chemicals used in the mining industry are potential pollutants as well. These chemicals left behind by explosives are usually toxic and increase water salinity. Small-scale artisanal mining may also affect water where mercury is used to process gold. Excavation and removal of raw ore are only the initial stages in the mining process. The ores are processed at refineries, and the valuable portion is extracted by flotation, gravity, or chemical methods. The by-products of mineral refining include sulfur, arsenic, and radioactive substances that are dangerous if released into the environment.

Significance for Climate Change

The mineral mining industries contribute to global climate change. Fossil fuels are used to generate the energy required for moving mining equipment, mining procedures, ore processing and drying, transportation, and building operations. Burning them generates greenhouse gases (GHGs). The mining industry consumes large amounts of electricity to transport material using large vehicles or extensive hoisting systems in underground mines. Underground mines become increasingly warm over time, and cooling deep mines is energy-intensive. Refining metal ores by smelting also requires substantial energy. Surface mines pollute the air through blasting operations. Coal mines release methane, which is a primary GHG. However, methane can be captured through expensive processes to reduce the enhanced greenhouse effect.

For decades, mining corporations used ozone-depleting gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) for cooling and fire suppression. Some international regulations, such as the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987), helped decrease the use of HCFCs and HFCs and effectively eliminate the use of CFCs. However, some mining processes result in the unintended production and release of byproducts and natural substances that also deplete the ozone layer and harm the environment.

Similar to coal mining, the petroleum industry also has severe impacts on the climate. The production and use of oil and natural gas contribute significantly to global warming by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. Additionally, mining operations cause extensive deforestation, one of the major changes in the landscape that increases atmospheric CO2 concentration and promotes warming. Between 2001 and 2020, mining activities resulted in the deforestation of almost 1.4 million hectares worldwide, according to the World Resources Institute. Gold and coal extraction accounted for over 70 percent of this total loss.

These impacts have long-term environmental and socioeconomic consequences that are extremely difficult and expensive to address through remedial actions. Therefore, mining industries began moving toward meeting standards of air and water quality set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other government agencies. These regulations aim to ensure that wastes from the extractive industries are properly managed to maintain the long-term stability of disposal facilities and to minimize water and soil contamination arising from acid or alkaline drainage and the leaching of heavy metals.

Beginning in the 1970s, the EPA increasingly issued guidelines to address pollution from the mining industry under the Clean Air Act. Some of these guidelines and regulations include the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), the Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG), and the Alternative Control Techniques (ACT). These aim to limit harm from dust and particulate matter, hazardous air pollutants, greenhouse gases, and other industrial impacts. For example, the Clean Air Act and its numerous amendments aimed to control methane emissions from the coal industry. Methane is removed from coal mines through degasification or mine ventilation systems during mining activities or after mining. Between 1990 and 2000, the EPA reported that recovery of coal mine methane reduced methane emissions by 30 percent, or approximately 25 million metric tons of CO2 per year. The mining industry also invested in research and development of clean coal technologies to improve emissions reduction. The final goal is the development and implementation of zero-emissions mining industries. This requires both time and financing.

Despite this progress, the mining industry remained a major driver of global climate change throughout the 2010s and 2020s. By the mid-2020s, the US Geological Service reported over 11,000 active mines in the US. The process of mining valuable minerals causes both environmental damage and releases large quantities of greenhouse gases. Additionally, the industrial processes to refine those minerals into usable materials also release greenhouse gases. According to a 2022 study, the total environmental costs associated with the global mining and mineral industries caused as much as $5 trillion in damages each year. Nearly half of those costs were directly related to mining itself.


Bibliography

"About Mining and Minerals." Bureau of Land Management, www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/mining-and-minerals/about. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Bazilian, Morgan, and Simon Lomax. "The United States Needs a Shift in Perspective on Mining." Center for Strategic & International Studies, 1 June 2023, www.csis.org/analysis/united-states-needs-shift-perspective-mining. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

"Brief History of Mining & Advancement of Mining Technology." General Kinematics, 23 May 2019, www.generalkinematics.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-mining-and-the-advancement-of-mining-technology. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

"Clean Air Act Standards and Guidelines for Mineral Processing." US Environmental Protection Agency, 27 Mar. 2025, www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/clean-air-act-standards-and-guidelines-mineral-processing. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Hoffert, Martin I., et al. “Advanced Technology Paths to Global Climate Stability: Energy for a Greenhouse Planet.” Science, vol. 298, no. 5595, Nov. 2002, pp. 981-87, www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1072357. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Humphreys, David. “Mining and Might: Reflections on the History of Metals and Power.” Mineral Economics: Raw Materials Report, vol. 37, no. 2, 2023, pp. 193–205, doi:10.1007/s13563-023-00377-z. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

"Mining Sector Information." US Environmental Protection Agency, 15 Sept. 2025, www.epa.gov/smartsectors/mining-sector-information. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Raupach, Michael R., et al. “Global and Regional Drivers of Accelerating CO2 Emissions.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 104, no. 24, 2007, pp. 10288-93, doi:10.1073/pnas.0700609104. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Spitz, Karlheinz, and John Trudinger. Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal. 2nd ed., CRC Press, 2019.

Stanimirova, Radost, et al. "Mining Is Increasingly Pushing into Critical Rainforests and Protected Areas." World Resources Institute, 23 Oct. 2024, www.wri.org/insights/how-mining-impacts-forests. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Zagoruichyk, Anastasiia. "Emissions from Mining Cause 'Up to £2.5tn' in Environmental Damages Each Year." CarbonBrief, 7 June 2022, www.carbonbrief.org/emissions-from-mining-cause-up-to-2-5tn-in-environmental-damages-each-year. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Full Article

Definition

Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic substances with definite chemical compositions and characteristic physical properties. A rock is an aggregate of minerals. Minerals range in composition from native elements and metals, sulfides, halides, and carbonates to complex silicates, which are the most common rock-forming substances. Contemporary society depends on the availability of mineral resources: Metallic minerals such as iron, copper, aluminum, lead, and zinc; nonmetallic minerals such as salt, clay, gypsum, soil, and water; and energy resources such as coal, petroleum, natural gas, uranium, and palladium have all become necessary to the functioning of human civilizations.

With few exceptions, minerals are generally nonrenewable (exhaustible), since mineral resources generally require long expanses of geologic time to develop and are present in effectively fixed amounts in the Earth. Minerals are extracted from the Earth using a variety of mining methods when the resource is economically viable. As the world population increased exponentially in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, an escalating resource crisis emerged, driving the mining of nonrenewable mineral resources. This surge in industrial mining came with many environmental concerns.

According to some experts, the Earth may have reached its maximum capacity to absorb environmental degradation related to mining. Potential environmental impacts of mineral mining depend on factors such as mine waste management, mining procedures, local hydrology, climate, rock types, size of operation, and related factors. Mining disrupts the landscape and can instigate mine subsidence, disrupting biological and water resources. Underground mining is generally more hazardous due to poorer ventilation and reduced visibility, as well as slope instability along mine walls. Moreover, the dust and toxic gases in mines lead to severe respiratory problems, and the possibility of exposure to radiation poses serious health threats.

Through mining processes, large amounts of material accumulate as waste requiring disposal. Many copper mines, for example, extract ore that contains less than 1 percent copper. For many nonferrous metals, almost all the mined ore becomes waste. Artisanal mining, such as alluvial mining for gold and diamonds, often disrupts landscapes with trenches. These activities can lead to erosion and localized destruction of river banks. The waste also contains dangerous substances, such as heavy metals, which leach into the soil and generate acid or alkaline mine drainage.

Sulfide-containing minerals in metal mining oxidize in air and react with water to form sulfuric acid. Acid mine drainage contaminates surface and underground water. With the proliferation of the petroleum industry, numerous large-scale oil spills became common, allowing oil to percolate through the soil and pollute groundwater. The fuels and chemicals used in the mining industry are potential pollutants as well. These chemicals left behind by explosives are usually toxic and increase water salinity. Small-scale artisanal mining may also affect water where mercury is used to process gold. Excavation and removal of raw ore are only the initial stages in the mining process. The ores are processed at refineries, and the valuable portion is extracted by flotation, gravity, or chemical methods. The by-products of mineral refining include sulfur, arsenic, and radioactive substances that are dangerous if released into the environment.

Significance for Climate Change

The mineral mining industries contribute to global climate change. Fossil fuels are used to generate the energy required for moving mining equipment, mining procedures, ore processing and drying, transportation, and building operations. Burning them generates greenhouse gases (GHGs). The mining industry consumes large amounts of electricity to transport material using large vehicles or extensive hoisting systems in underground mines. Underground mines become increasingly warm over time, and cooling deep mines is energy-intensive. Refining metal ores by smelting also requires substantial energy. Surface mines pollute the air through blasting operations. Coal mines release methane, which is a primary GHG. However, methane can be captured through expensive processes to reduce the enhanced greenhouse effect.

For decades, mining corporations used ozone-depleting gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) for cooling and fire suppression. Some international regulations, such as the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987), helped decrease the use of HCFCs and HFCs and effectively eliminate the use of CFCs. However, some mining processes result in the unintended production and release of byproducts and natural substances that also deplete the ozone layer and harm the environment.

Similar to coal mining, the petroleum industry also has severe impacts on the climate. The production and use of oil and natural gas contribute significantly to global warming by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. Additionally, mining operations cause extensive deforestation, one of the major changes in the landscape that increases atmospheric CO2 concentration and promotes warming. Between 2001 and 2020, mining activities resulted in the deforestation of almost 1.4 million hectares worldwide, according to the World Resources Institute. Gold and coal extraction accounted for over 70 percent of this total loss.

These impacts have long-term environmental and socioeconomic consequences that are extremely difficult and expensive to address through remedial actions. Therefore, mining industries began moving toward meeting standards of air and water quality set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other government agencies. These regulations aim to ensure that wastes from the extractive industries are properly managed to maintain the long-term stability of disposal facilities and to minimize water and soil contamination arising from acid or alkaline drainage and the leaching of heavy metals.

Beginning in the 1970s, the EPA increasingly issued guidelines to address pollution from the mining industry under the Clean Air Act. Some of these guidelines and regulations include the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), the Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG), and the Alternative Control Techniques (ACT). These aim to limit harm from dust and particulate matter, hazardous air pollutants, greenhouse gases, and other industrial impacts. For example, the Clean Air Act and its numerous amendments aimed to control methane emissions from the coal industry. Methane is removed from coal mines through degasification or mine ventilation systems during mining activities or after mining. Between 1990 and 2000, the EPA reported that recovery of coal mine methane reduced methane emissions by 30 percent, or approximately 25 million metric tons of CO2 per year. The mining industry also invested in research and development of clean coal technologies to improve emissions reduction. The final goal is the development and implementation of zero-emissions mining industries. This requires both time and financing.

Despite this progress, the mining industry remained a major driver of global climate change throughout the 2010s and 2020s. By the mid-2020s, the US Geological Service reported over 11,000 active mines in the US. The process of mining valuable minerals causes both environmental damage and releases large quantities of greenhouse gases. Additionally, the industrial processes to refine those minerals into usable materials also release greenhouse gases. According to a 2022 study, the total environmental costs associated with the global mining and mineral industries caused as much as $5 trillion in damages each year. Nearly half of those costs were directly related to mining itself.


Bibliography

"About Mining and Minerals." Bureau of Land Management, www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/mining-and-minerals/about. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Bazilian, Morgan, and Simon Lomax. "The United States Needs a Shift in Perspective on Mining." Center for Strategic & International Studies, 1 June 2023, www.csis.org/analysis/united-states-needs-shift-perspective-mining. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

"Brief History of Mining & Advancement of Mining Technology." General Kinematics, 23 May 2019, www.generalkinematics.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-mining-and-the-advancement-of-mining-technology. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

"Clean Air Act Standards and Guidelines for Mineral Processing." US Environmental Protection Agency, 27 Mar. 2025, www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/clean-air-act-standards-and-guidelines-mineral-processing. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Hoffert, Martin I., et al. “Advanced Technology Paths to Global Climate Stability: Energy for a Greenhouse Planet.” Science, vol. 298, no. 5595, Nov. 2002, pp. 981-87, www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1072357. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Humphreys, David. “Mining and Might: Reflections on the History of Metals and Power.” Mineral Economics: Raw Materials Report, vol. 37, no. 2, 2023, pp. 193–205, doi:10.1007/s13563-023-00377-z. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

"Mining Sector Information." US Environmental Protection Agency, 15 Sept. 2025, www.epa.gov/smartsectors/mining-sector-information. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Raupach, Michael R., et al. “Global and Regional Drivers of Accelerating CO2 Emissions.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 104, no. 24, 2007, pp. 10288-93, doi:10.1073/pnas.0700609104. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Spitz, Karlheinz, and John Trudinger. Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal. 2nd ed., CRC Press, 2019.

Stanimirova, Radost, et al. "Mining Is Increasingly Pushing into Critical Rainforests and Protected Areas." World Resources Institute, 23 Oct. 2024, www.wri.org/insights/how-mining-impacts-forests. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Zagoruichyk, Anastasiia. "Emissions from Mining Cause 'Up to £2.5tn' in Environmental Damages Each Year." CarbonBrief, 7 June 2022, www.carbonbrief.org/emissions-from-mining-cause-up-to-2-5tn-in-environmental-damages-each-year. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

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