The most important task facing all mankind is to preserve the diversity of all organisms living on Earth. All species (vegetation, animals) are closely interconnected. The destruction of even one of them leads to the disappearance of other species interconnected with it.

From the very moment when man invented tools and became more or less intelligent, his comprehensive influence on the nature of the planet began. The more man developed, the greater the impact he had on the Earth's environment. How does man influence nature? What is positive and what is negative?

Negative points

There are pluses and minuses of human influence on nature. First, let's look at negative examples of detrimental:

1. Deforestation associated with the construction of highways, etc.
2. Soil pollution occurs due to the use of fertilizers and chemicals.
3. Reducing the number of populations due to the expansion of areas for fields with the help of deforestation (animals, losing their normal habitat, die).
4. The destruction of plants and animals due to the difficulties of their adaptation to a new life, greatly changed by man, or simply their extermination by people.
5. and water by diverse and by people themselves. For example, in the Pacific Ocean there is a “dead zone” where a huge amount of garbage floats.

Examples of human influence on the nature of the ocean and mountains, on the state of fresh water

The change in nature under the influence of man is very significant. The flora and fauna of the Earth suffer greatly, water resources are polluted.

As a rule, light debris remains on the surface of the ocean. In this regard, the access of air (oxygen) and light to the inhabitants of these territories is hindered. Numerous species of living creatures are trying to look for new places for their habitat, which, unfortunately, not everyone succeeds.

Every year, ocean currents bring millions of tons of garbage. This is the real disaster.

Deforestation on mountain slopes also has a negative impact. They become bare, which contributes to the occurrence of erosion, as a result, loosening of the soil occurs. And this leads to destructive collapses.

Pollution occurs not only in the oceans, but also in fresh water. Every day, thousands of cubic meters of sewage or industrial waste enter the rivers.
And contaminated with pesticides, chemical fertilizers.

The terrible consequences of oil spills, mining

Just one drop of oil renders approximately 25 liters of water unfit for drinking. But this is not the worst. A fairly thin film of oil covers the surface of a huge area of ​​water - about 20 m 2 of water. It is detrimental to all living things. All organisms under such a film are doomed to a slow death, because it prevents the access of oxygen to the water. This is also a direct human influence on the nature of the Earth.

People extract minerals from the bowels of the Earth, formed over several million years - oil, coal, and so on. Such industries, together with cars, release huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which leads to a catastrophic decrease in the ozone layer of the atmosphere - the protector of the Earth's surface from the death-bearing ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

Over the past 50 years, the air temperature on Earth has increased by only 0.6 degrees. But this is a lot.

Such warming will lead to an increase in the temperature of the World Ocean, which will contribute to the melting of polar glaciers in the Arctic. Thus, the most global problem arises - the ecosystem of the Earth's poles is disturbed. Glaciers are the most important and voluminous sources of clean fresh water.

benefit of people

It should be noted that people bring some benefit, and considerable.

From this point of view, it is also necessary to note the influence of man on nature. The positive lies in the activities carried out by people to improve the ecology of the environment.

On many vast territories of the Earth in different countries, protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries and parks are organized - places where everything is preserved in its original form. This is the most reasonable influence of man on nature, positive. In such protected areas, people contribute to the conservation of flora and fauna.

Thanks to their creation, many species of animals and plants have survived on Earth. Rare and already endangered species are necessarily listed in the Red Book created by man, according to which fishing and collection are prohibited.

Also, people create artificial water channels and irrigation systems that help maintain and increase

On a large scale, activities are also carried out for the planting of diverse vegetation.

Ways to solve emerging problems in nature

To solve problems, it is necessary and important, first of all, the active influence of man on nature (positive).

As for biological resources (animals and plants), they should be used (extracted) in such a way that individuals always remain in nature in quantities that contribute to the restoration of the previous population size.

It is also necessary to continue work on the organization of reserves and planting forests.

Carrying out all these activities to restore and improve the environment is a positive impact of man on nature. All this is necessary for the good of oneself.

After all, the well-being of human life, like all biological organisms, depends on the state of nature. Now all mankind faces the most important problem - the creation of a favorable state and stability of the living environment.

Bosom

Subsoil is the upper part of the earth's crust, within which mining is possible. Subsoil contains mineral resources - the basis of the leading sectors of the world economy.

The totality of minerals contained in the subsoil is the concept of "mineral resources", which are the basis for the development of the most important industries (energy, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical industry, construction).

On the territory of Russia, several thousand deposits of the fuel and energy complex, non-metallic raw materials and groundwater are known. At the same time, after the collapse of the USSR, the problem arose of creating its own raw material base for manganese, chromite, phosphorite ores, kaolin, large deposits of which are practically absent in the country. In the presence of a raw material base, titanium and mercury are not mined. A significant proportion of lead, zinc, antimony, niobium, rare earth and other raw materials were previously processed in the former Soviet republics. From there, iron concentrate, alumina, molybdenum, phosphate, sulfur, potash raw materials, intermediate products of some non-ferrous and rare metals came to Russia.

Forecast resources almost all types of mineral raw materials in the whole country very significant, but their implementation requires systematic investment in the geological study of the subsoil.

According to estimates, the resource of Russian subsoil, as well as what is on the surface of our country, is in monetary terms 140 trillion. dollars. For comparison: this is more than 2000 modern national annual budgets. Mineral resources have been explored so far for 29 trillion. dollars.

The reduction in appropriations for geological exploration in recent years has led to a virtual cessation of the search for minerals missing in Russia, as well as work to compensate for the extinguished reserves, to expand and improve the country's mineral resource base. As a result, the increase in reserves for almost all types of minerals turned out to be lower than was necessary to compensate for the consumed reserves, even with reduced production.

Distribution deposits on the territory of Russia is very even. The Far East and Primorye (deposits of non-ferrous, rare, precious metals, boron) have the largest gross mineral and raw material potential. Despite the relatively low share of explored reserves of the total potential (mineral resources (3%), almost everything is mined in the region: tin, antimony, diamonds, boron, more than half of gold, lead, fluorspar, a third of tungsten from all production in Russia.

An important role in the all-Russian balance of production is played by the deposits of iron ore of the Kursk magnetic anomaly, oil of the Volga region, tungsten and molybdenum of the North Caucasus.

It is believed that the Central and Volga-Vyatka regions are poor in mineral resources. However, this does not mean that there are not enough minerals, they can simply be located in deep horizons.

In the Pechenga region near the city of Nikel, where large reserves of nickel ores are concentrated. Prior to this, more than a million meters of exploration wells had been drilled here, but they did not go to great depths. It was believed that the deposits of nickel ores are located close to the surface - at a depth of 100 m. The Kola well 12262 m at a depth of 1600-1800 m uncovered an ore body with a commercial grade of copper and nickel. This alone justified all the costs of its creation. Further drilling yielded new data. At a depth of 10-10.25 km on the Kola Superdeep, new elements of the granite layer were discovered, where there is nickel, copper, gold, and with an industrial content. Since 1998, the well has been operating as a world-class geological laboratory.

All raw mineral base covers depths up to 4 km. These reserves are rapidly depleted. Deep drilling allows you to monitor the depths of the Earth and better understand how mineral reserves are formed.

Intrusion into the bowels can sometimes have a very tangible impact on nature. In a number of cases, agricultural land is withdrawn from use, forests are damaged, the hydrogeological regime of the regions, the terrain and the movement of air flows are changing, the surface of the earth, air and water basins are polluted with production waste.

At the site of open pits, vegetation, animals, soil are destroyed, centuries-old geological strata are turned over to a depth of hundreds of meters. Rocks brought from the depths to the surface can turn out to be not only biologically sterile, but also toxic to plants and animals. Large territories are turning into lifeless spaces - industrial deserts. Such lands, leaving economic use, become dangerous sources of pollution.

Significant changes made to natural landscapes by industry are often cannot be restored by nature itself in a foreseeable short time, especially in areas with extreme conditions (permafrost and arid regions).

During the processing of minerals, the vast majority of the mined rock mass goes to dumps.

For many years, losses in the bowels of the underground method of coal mining (23.5%), including coking (20.9%), chromium ore (27.7%), potash salts (62.5%), have remained at a high level. %).

Significant damage is incurred by the state from the loss of valuable components and non-complex processing already mined minerals. So, in the process of enrichment of ores is lost more than a third of tin and about a quarter of iron, tungsten, molybdenum, potassium oxides, phosphorus pentoxide from phosphorite ore.

Unsatisfactorily used in the extraction of petroleum gas, which in Russia (mainly in the Tyumen region) in 1991 alone was burned in flares more than 10 billion m 3).

Currently mining complex has become one of the most major sources of disturbance and pollution environment. The spectrum of influence of pollutants formed as a result of the activities of mining enterprises on the biosphere is so wide that in a number of areas it causes unpredictable effects that have a detrimental effect on the state of the flora and fauna.

In many cases, the extracted mineral raw materials are used in an uncomplex way, not subject to deep processing. This is especially true of valuable associated components, the reserves of which are redeemed from the bowels in proportion to the extraction of reserves of the main minerals, but their extraction from the bowels of ores lags far behind the extraction of the main minerals. Losses occur mainly at the stage of ore dressing and metallurgical processing due to imperfections applicable or lack of necessary technologies.

Under the influence of mining, significant changes in natural landscapes occur. In mining areas a specific relief is formed, presented quarries, waste heaps, dumps, tailings and other man-made formations. With the underground method of mining, the rock mass decreases towards the mined area, cracks, ruptures, dips, funnels and subsidence of the earth's surface are formed, at great depths in the mine workings rock bursts, emissions and radiation of rocks, the release of methane, hydrogen sulfide and other toxic gases are manifested , sudden breakthroughs of groundwater, especially dangerous in karst areas and in zones of large faults. At open method mining of mineral deposits are developing landslides, screes, landslides, mudflows and other exogenous geological processes.

Wastes from mining enterprises pollute the soil, underground surface waters, the atmosphere, adversely affect the flora and fauna, and exclude significant areas of land from agricultural circulation, construction and other economic activities. At the same time, a significant part of mining waste contains valuable components in concentrations sufficient for industrial extraction, and serves as a good raw material for the production of various building materials. However, their use for this purpose does not exceed 6-7%. Increasing the use of waste from mining and metallurgical industries can have a great economic effect.

When mining The works change the hydrogeological regime of the territory. In most cases, the level of groundwater decreases, and not only the places where mining is carried out, but also the territories adjacent to them dry out. The so-called "depression" drainage funnel, the diameter of which is several times greater than the size of the mining area. In some cases (when surface drains are blocked or the surface of the earth subsides after undermining), swamping and (flooding) of the territory are also possible. The drying up of the work areas causes shallowing and even disappearance of small rivers.

Every year, hundreds of millions of cubic meters of insufficiently treated or completely untreated water are dumped into the rivers from the mines of processing plants and quarries, not to mention other industrial enterprises. These waters carry millions of tons of suspended solids. As a result, many rivers turn, in fact, in waste collectors in which no longer water flows, but carbonaceous suspension.

A direct consequence of underground mining is drying up of forests in mined areas. Old trees cannot adapt to a drier water supply regime. In addition, the displacements of the soil stratum occurring during the settlement of the roof lead to rupture of the roots.

Pollution of the atmospheric and water basins in coal-mining areas partly also associated with disturbances and non-cultivated lands, although the main sources of pollution are the technological processes of mining and enrichment of coal, chemicals.

The atmosphere is polluted with dust during drilling and blasting, overburden, transport and loading operations, from wind erosion of rock dumps. Suffice it to say that with only one explosion of average power, hundreds of cubic meters of dust and gas clouds containing tens of tons of dust are thrown into the air. In some cases, up to 200 tons of dust per 1 ha is blown away from rock dumps that are not fixed by vegetation.

Mining operations cause a real "chain reaction" of negative changes in the environment. The soil cover is being destroyed, the flora and fauna are disappearing, the hydrological and temperature regime is disturbed not only in the places of extraction, but also in the adjacent territories, the water is polluted by erosion products, and the air basin is polluted with dust and gases. This significantly worsens the ecological conditions of the environment or, in relation to a person, the sanitary and hygienic conditions of life.

Specific changes in the environment occur during the economic development of the northern regions. Violation of heat transfer conditions leads to to the development of cryogenic physical and geological processes, such as thermokarst, cryogenic heaving, thermal erosion, etc.

To the subsoil cryolithozone accounts for the majority (over 60%) of our hydrocarbon reserves. They are concentrated in several giant fields, among which Medvezhye, Urengoyskoye, Yamburgskoye, Zapolyarnoye stand out, as well as deposits on the Yamal Peninsula, etc.

Technogenic impact during the construction and operation of gas industry facilities is exposed to the whole complex of natural conditions: the permafrost landscape, rock masses, soil layer, snow cover, groundwater, atmospheric air, as well as flora and fauna.

The most significant damage is experienced by the geological environment and, above all, the upper horizon of the permafrost zone. Violations of vegetation, soil and snow cover over a large area create favorable conditions for the intensive development of erosion processes.

The intensification of human economic activity in the West Siberian tundra leads to an acceleration of the natural process of retreat of the northern border of forests as a result of swamping of flat areas. As a result, tundra-like territories increase, the climate becomes more severe. During the construction of roads, power lines and other facilities near residential areas, forests are cut down.

Causes great damage to the natural environment application in the warm period of heavy caterpillar transport. Caterpillars of tractors and all-terrain vehicles break the turf, which leads to thawing of the permafrost layer, the development of erosion and thermokarst. In some areas of the tundra it is enough to clear the ground area so that in a few years it will turn into a lake. Therefore, for work in the Far North, new types of vehicles with low specific pressure on the ground, high cross-country ability and carrying capacity that do not disturb the soil and vegetation cover are used. It is known that traces of heavy equipment remain in the tundra for 30-40 years.

Intensive development of oil and gas fields in the north of Tyumen has a significant impact on the natural environment of the region. Oil and gas production leads to a noticeable violation of the ecological balance , environmental pollution. This applies to air and water basins, subsoil, flora and fauna.

The natural balance is especially easily disturbed in the conditions of the Far North. Destroyed by motor vehicle reindeer moss is restored only after a few decades, the tractor trail on the permafrost gradually turns into a deep ravine. The development of the richest gas condensate field, the exploration of new hydrocarbon deposits, the construction of pipelines, the emergence of rotational and highway camps have turned the Yamal Peninsula into an area of ​​intensive industrialization.

mining complex- one of the largest sources of disturbed land and environmental pollution in Russia. In 7 out of 15 regions with an extremely unfavorable ecological situation, large-scale mining is concentrated, and in 5 - mining is combined with the processing of mineral raw materials. In some areas of the Urals and Kuzbass, high pollution and degradation of the natural environment have reached critical levels. The reasons for the violation of the ecological balance in half of the areas withdrawn for industrial use were mining and partly geological exploration. Under them vast areas of arable land are alienated and ecologically vulnerable tundra and taiga lands. The occurrence of quarry depressions, dips and depressions in areas of underground mining, as well as dumps and settling ponds, leads to irreversible landscape changes, and a violation of the hydrogeological regime leads to the formation of depression funnels in the vicinity of large quarries, mines and mines.

During the extraction and processing of minerals, a large-scale human impact on the natural environment occurs. The resulting environmental problems associated with the extraction of minerals require a comprehensive study and immediate solution.

What characterizes the extractive industry?

The extractive industry is widely developed in the Russian Federation, because deposits of the main types of minerals are located on the territory of the country. These accumulations of mineral and organic formations located in the bowels of the earth are effectively used, ensuring the life of people and production.

All minerals can be divided into three groups:

• solid subdivided into: coal, ores, non-metallic materials, etc.;
• liquid, the main representatives of this category are: fresh, mineral water and oil;
• gaseous which include natural gas.

Depending on the purpose, the following types of minerals are mined:

• ore materials(iron, manganese, copper, nickel ores, bauxites, chromites and precious metals);
• building materials(limestone, dolomite, clay, sand, marble, granite);
• non-metallic resources(jasper, agate, garnet, corundum, diamonds, rock crystal);
• mining and chemical raw materials(apatites, phosphorites, table and potassium salt, sulfur, barite, bromine- and iodine-containing solutions;
• fuel and energy materials(oil, gas, coal, peat, oil shale, uranium ores);
• hydromineral raw materials(underground fresh and mineralized waters);
• ocean mineral formations(ore-bearing veins, layers of the continental shelf and ferromanganese inclusions);
• mineral resources of sea water.

The share of the Russian extractive industry accounts for a quarter of the world's gas production, 17% of the world's oil, 15% - coal, 14% - iron ore.

Mining industry enterprises have become the largest sources of environmental pollution. Substances that are emitted by the mining complex have a detrimental effect on the ecosystem. The problems of the negative impact of the mining and processing industries are very acute, as they affect all spheres of life.

How does the industry affect the earth's surface, air, water, flora and fauna?

The scale of development of the extractive industry is amazing: when recalculating the volume of extraction of raw materials per inhabitant of the planet, approximately 20 tons of resources will be obtained. But only a tenth of this amount falls on the final products, and the rest is waste. The development of the mining complex inevitably leads to negative consequences, the main of which are:

• depletion of raw materials;
• environmental pollution;
• disruption of natural processes.

All this leads to serious environmental problems. You can look at individual examples of how different types of extractive industries affect the environment.

At mercury deposits, the landscape is disturbed, dumps are formed. At the same time, mercury is dispersed, which is a toxic substance that has a detrimental effect on all living things. A similar problem arises in the development of antimony deposits. As a result of the work, there are accumulations of heavy metals that pollute the atmosphere.

In gold mining, technologies are used to separate the precious metal from mineral impurities, accompanied by the release of toxic components into the atmosphere. On the dumps of uranium ore deposits, the presence of radioactive radiation is observed.

Why is coal mining dangerous?

• deformation of the surface and coal-bearing seams;
• pollution of air, water and soil in the area of ​​the quarry;
• release of gas and dust during the removal of waste rocks to the surface;
• shallowing and disappearance of rivers;
• flooding of abandoned quarries;
• the formation of depression funnels;
• dehydration, salinization of the soil layer.

On the territory located near the mine, anthropogenic forms (ravines, quarries, waste heaps, dumps) are created from raw material waste, which can stretch for tens of kilometers. Neither trees nor other plants can grow on them. And the water flowing from the dumps with toxic substances harms all living things in large adjacent areas.

In the deposits of rock salt, halite waste is formed, which is carried by precipitation to reservoirs that serve to supply the inhabitants of nearby settlements with drinking water. Near the development of magnesites, there is a change in the acid-base balance of the soil, leading to the death of vegetation. A change in the chemical composition of the soil leads to plant mutations - a change in color, ugliness, etc.

There is also pollution of agricultural land. When transporting minerals, dust can fly over long distances and settle on the soil.

Over time, the earth's crust is depleted, stocks of raw materials decrease, and the content of minerals decreases. As a result, production volumes and the amount of waste are increasing. One of the ways out of this situation is the creation of artificial analogues of natural materials.

Protection of the lithosphere

One of the methods to protect the earth's surface from the harmful effects of mining enterprises is land reclamation. It is possible to partially solve the environmental problem by filling the formed recesses with waste from the developments.

Since many rocks contain more than one type of minerals, it is necessary to optimize technologies by extracting and processing all the components present in the ore. Such an approach will not only have a positive impact on the state of the environment, but will also bring considerable economic benefits.

How to save the environment?

At the present stage of development of industrial technologies, it is necessary to provide for environmental protection measures. The priority is the creation of low-waste or waste-free industries that can significantly reduce the detrimental impact on the environment.

Actions to help solve the problem

When solving the problem of environmental protection, it is important to use complex measures: production, economic, scientific and technical, social.

You can improve the environment by:

• more complete extraction of fossils from the bowels;
• the use of associated petroleum gas by industry;
• integrated use of all rock components;
• measures for water treatment in underground mining;
• application of mine wastewater for technical purposes;
• use of waste in other industries.

During the extraction and processing of mineral resources, it is necessary to use modern technologies to reduce emissions of harmful substances. Despite the cost of applying advanced developments, investments are justified by improving the environmental situation.

Mineral resources are minerals that form naturally in the earth's crust. They may be of organic or inorganic origin.

Over two thousand minerals have been identified, and most of them contain inorganic compounds formed by various combinations of the eight elements (O, Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Na, K, and Mg) that make up 98.5% of the Earth's crust. The world industry depends on about 80 known minerals.

A mineral deposit is an accumulation of solid, liquid or gaseous minerals in or above the earth's crust. Mineral resources are non-renewable and exhaustible natural resources and can also have metallic (eg iron, copper and aluminum) as well as non-metallic properties (eg salt, gypsum, clay, sand, phosphates).

Minerals are valuable. This is an extremely important raw material for many basic sectors of the economy, which are the main resource for development. The management of mineral resources should be closely integrated with the overall development strategy, and the exploitation of minerals should be guided by long-term goals and perspectives.

Minerals provide society with all the necessary materials, as well as roads, cars, computers, fertilizers, etc. Demand for minerals is increasing worldwide as population grows, and the extraction of the Earth's mineral resources is accelerating and there are environmental consequences.

Mineral Resource Classification

Energy (combustible) mineral resources (coal, oil and natural gas)	Non-energy mineral resources
	Metal properties	Non-metallic properties
	Precious metals (gold, silver and platinum)	Building materials and stones (sandstone, limestone, marble)
	Ferrous metals (iron ore, manganese)	Other non-metallic mineral resources (salt, sulfur, potash, asbestos)
	Non-ferrous metals (nickel, copper, tin, aluminum, lead, chromium)
	Ferroalloys (iron alloys with chromium, silicon, manganese, titanium, etc.)

Mineral resources map of the world

The role of mineral resources

Mineral resources play an important role in the economic development of the countries of the world. There are regions rich in minerals, but unable to extract them. Other regions that extract resources have the opportunity to grow economically and receive a number of advantages. The significance of mineral resources can be explained as follows:

1. Industrial development

If mineral resources can be extracted and used, the industry in which they are used will develop or expand. Gasoline, diesel, iron, coal, etc. needed for industry.

2. Employment of the population

The presence of mineral resources creates jobs for the population. They allow skilled and unskilled workers to have employment opportunities.

3. Development of agriculture

Some mineral resources serve as the basis for the production of modern agricultural equipment, machinery, fertilizers, etc. They can be used for the modernization and commercialization of agriculture, which help develop the agricultural sector of the economy.

4. Energy source

There are various energy sources such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, etc. They can provide the necessary energy to industry and settlements.

5. Development of own independence

The development of the mineral resource industry allows creating more jobs with high quality products, as well as the independence of individual regions and even countries.

6. And much more

Mineral resources are a source of foreign currency, allow you to earn money on the development of transport and communications, increase exports, supplies of building materials, etc.

Mineral resources of the oceans

The oceans cover 70% of the planet's surface and are involved in a huge number of different geological processes responsible for the formation and concentration of mineral resources, as well as being a repository for many of them. Consequently, the oceans contain a huge amount of resources that are currently the basic needs of mankind. Resources are currently mined from the sea or areas that used to be within it.

Chemical analyzes have shown that sea water contains about 3.5% dissolved solids and more than sixty identified chemical elements. The extraction of dissolved elements, as well as the extraction of solid minerals, is almost always economically costly, since the geographical location of the object (transportation), technological limitations (the depth of ocean basins) and the process of extracting the necessary elements are taken into account.

Today, the main mineral resources obtained from the oceans are:

• Salt;
• Potassium;
• Magnesium;
• Sand and gravel;
• Limestone and gypsum;
• Ferromanganese nodules;
• Phosphorite;
• Metallic precipitation associated with volcanism and vents on the ocean floor;
• Gold, tin, titanium and diamond;
• Fresh water.

The extraction of many mineral resources from the depths of the oceans is too costly. However, population growth and the depletion of readily available terrestrial resources will undoubtedly lead to greater exploitation of ancient deposits and increased extraction directly from the waters of the oceans and ocean basins.

Extraction of mineral resources

The purpose of the extraction of mineral resources is to obtain minerals. Modern mining processes include prospecting for minerals, analysis of potential profits, method selection, direct extraction and processing of resources, and final land reclamation upon completion of work.

Mining operations typically create negative environmental impacts, both during and after mining operations. Consequently, most of the world's countries have adopted regulations aimed at reducing harmful effects. Occupational safety has long been a priority, and modern methods have significantly reduced the number of accidents.

Features of mineral resources

The first and most basic characteristic of all minerals is that they occur naturally. Minerals are not produced under the influence of human activity. However, some minerals, such as diamonds, can be manufactured by humans (these are called synthesized diamonds). However, these man-made diamonds are classified as minerals because they meet their main five characteristics.

In addition to being formed by natural processes, mineral solids are stable at room temperature. This means that all solid minerals that are found on the surface of the Earth do not change in shape at normal temperature and pressure. This characteristic excludes water in its liquid state, but includes its solid form - ice - as a mineral.

Minerals are also represented by the chemical composition or structure of atoms. The atoms that are contained in minerals are arranged in a certain order.

All minerals have a fixed or variable chemical composition. Most minerals are made up of compounds or various combinations of oxygen, aluminum, silicon, sodium, potassium, iron, chlorine, and magnesium.

The formation of minerals is a continuous process, however, it is very long (the level of resource consumption exceeds the rate of formation) and requires the presence of many factors. Therefore, mineral resources are non-renewable and exhaustible.

The distribution of mineral resources is uneven throughout the world. This is due to geological processes and the history of the formation of the earth's crust.

Problems of using mineral resources

mining industry

1. Dust generated during the mining process is harmful to health and causes lung diseases.

2. The extraction of certain toxic or radioactive minerals threatens human life.

3. The explosion of dynamite in mining is very risky, as the gases released are extremely poisonous.

4. Underground mining is more dangerous than surface mining because there is a high probability of accidents due to landslides, flooding, insufficient ventilation, etc.

Rapid depletion of minerals

Increasing demand for mineral resources is forcing more and more minerals to be mined. As a result, the demand for energy increases and more waste is generated.

Destruction of soil and vegetation

The soil is the most valuable. Mining contributes to the complete destruction of soil and vegetation. In addition, after extraction (obtaining minerals), all waste is dumped on the ground, which also entails degradation.

Ecological problems

The use of mineral resources has led to many environmental problems, including:

1. Transformation of productive lands into mountainous and industrial areas.

2. The mining of minerals and the extraction process are among the main sources of air, water and soil pollution.

3. Mining includes huge consumption of energy resources such as coal, oil, natural gas, etc., which in turn are non-renewable energy sources.

Rational use of mineral resources

It is no secret that the reserves of mineral resources on Earth are rapidly declining, so it is necessary to rationally use the existing gifts of nature. People can save mineral resources by using renewable resources. For example, by using hydroelectric power and solar energy as an energy source, minerals such as coal can be conserved. Mineral resources can also be saved through recycling. A good example is the recycling of scrap metal. In addition, the use of new technological mining methods and the training of miners conserves mineral resources and saves people's lives.

Unlike other natural resources, mineral resources are non-renewable and are unevenly distributed across the planet. They take thousands of years to form. One important way to conserve some minerals is to replace scarce resources with abundant ones. Minerals, which require a large amount of energy, must be processed.

The extraction of mineral resources has an adverse impact on the environment, including destroying the habitats of many living organisms, polluting the soil, air and water. These negative consequences can be minimized by preserving the mineral resource base. Minerals have an increasing influence on international relations. In those countries where mineral resources have been discovered, their economies have improved significantly. For example, oil-producing countries in Africa (UAE, Nigeria, etc.) are considered rich because of the profits received from oil and its products.

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In general, mining technologies cause the following types of environmental disturbances:

geomechanical- cracking of rocks as a result of explosions, changes in terrain, deforestation, deformation of the earth's surface;

hydrological- change in stocks, traffic regime, quality and level of groundwater, removal of harmful substances into water bodies from the surface and bowels of the earth;

chemical- changes in the composition and properties of the atmosphere and hydrosphere (acidification, salinization, water and air pollution);

physical and mechanical- pollution of the environment with dust, changes in the properties of the soil cover, etc.;

Noise pollution and soil vibration.

The causes of hydrological disturbances are:

Regulations, as a form of disturbance, are manifested in the form of reservoirs and water canals. Caused by the need to drain the surface above the field,

Waterlogging is observed around dumps with an area of ​​more than 200 ha,

Flooding is typical for cases when production has an excess of water and does not use it completely in the water cycle. Water is discharged onto the ground, into streams and reservoirs, and additional areas of land are flooded. Elsewhere in connection with this, exhaustion may occur,

Drainage - occurs through the drainage of underground groundwater by workings and wells. At each quarry, the depression funnel of groundwater reaches a diameter of 35 - 50 km,

Flooding occurs in the case of disposal of liquid production waste.

Impact of open pit mining

In places of open mining, deforestation, vegetation disturbance and the withdrawal of large areas of agricultural land from use as a result of stripping and storage of rocks on the surface of the earth occur. Thus, the volume of overburden works (removal of rocks covering and enclosing the body of a mineral) in the open pits of the coal industry is 848 million m3 / year, iron ore - 380, building materials - 450. Krivoy Rog iron ore deposit - 800 m). The impact of open pit mining on the environment is depicted in Figure 4.4.

Rice. 4.4. Impact of open pit mining on the environment

Quarries often reach depths of 400 - 600 m, and accordingly a large amount of rock is brought to the surface. The areas occupied by dumps are several times larger than the area of ​​a quarry. Deep, mostly toxic, rock layers are dumped onto the surface of the dumps. This prevents the growth of plants, and after the rains, the water that flows from the dumps poisoned the rivers and soils. Tentatively, it can be considered that for the open mining of 1 million tons / year of minerals, about 100 hectares of land are required. For example, on land allotments 5 GOK Krivbass with a total area of ​​more than 20 thousand hectares, almost 84 million m3 of overburden and more than 70 million tons of tailings from processing plants are annually stored. There is not only a violation of the soil and vegetation cover in vast areas, but also the surface of the earth is disturbed both by mine workings and dumps. In Ukraine, the greatest violations of the natural environment occurred in Krivoy Rog, more than 18 thousand hectares of land were destroyed here (Fig. 4.5).

Rice. 4.5. Space image Krivoy Rog iron ore quarry

Changes caused by surface disturbance negatively affect its biological, erosive and aesthetic characteristics. It is in the open-cast mining of deposits that the geotoxicological influence of mining on humans is manifested. The productivity of agricultural land is declining. Thus, in the area of ​​the Kursk magnetic anomaly near quarries within a radius of 1.5–2 km, the yield of fields decreased by 30–50% due to alkalization of soils to pH = 8, the growth of harmful metal impurities in them, and a decrease in water supply.

In the process of open pit mining, the main sources of pollution include mass explosions, the operation of mining equipment and vehicles. Mass explosions in a quarry are periodic sources of pollution, as they are usually carried out once every 2 weeks. The charge of the explosion reaches 800 - 1200 tons, and the amount of rock mass blown up by it is 6 million tons. About 200 - 400 tons of dust are emitted into the atmosphere. It is considered 1 ton. An exploded explosive gives 40 m3 of CO2, in addition, nitrogen oxides are released.

Almost all mining operations are accompanied by dust formation. So, in the process of moving the rock with an excavator, the intensity of dust release is 6.9 g / s, in the process of loading coal with a rotary excavator - 8.5 g / s. Roads are permanent sources of dust formation. In some quarries, they account for 70 - 90% of all dust. Significant amounts of dust enter the atmosphere during loading and unloading operations. The intensity of dust emission in the process of excavation of coal by an excavator is 11.65 g / s, in the process of loading into railway cars - 1.15 g / s. Due to the use of a large number of vehicles, large areas under the cuts, as well as powerful massive explosions, atmospheric pollution in the case of open mining is much greater than with the underground method.

Hydromechanized mining of minerals causes significant scale pollution of the hydrosphere, since all hydromechanized technologies are associated with the use of water, its pollution and the return of water in a polluted state to the general hydrological network. As a result, there is pollution of rivers and reservoirs with muddy waters, which are formed in the process of hydromechanized mining of minerals, fish leave reservoirs and significant areas of reservoirs are excluded from spawning grounds, and the floodplain is lost. Lost areas are restored for spawning approximately 10 - 15 years after the end of development. But taking into account that the vast majority of deposits are worked out within 25-50 years, the areas of polluted watershed are excluded from the reproduction of fish stocks for 45-70 years. For mining and washing sands and other rocks, different amounts of water are used and it is polluted to an unequal degree, which affects the amount of dilution and loss of minerals to varying degrees, especially if they are diluted with rocks containing fine clay, which is difficult to isolate and precipitate from turbid water discharged from washing plants.