How does copper ore mining affect the environment?

Answer 1

Mining Copper Ore affects the environment, in many negative ways. Firstly, it uses land, so animals and plants are usually moved or plowed over. This usually means that there are less trees, as most Copper reserves are in dense Rainforrests; resulting in an increase in the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the air, and a lower composition of Oxygen. Also, there is a higher chance that animals and plants indigenous to these areas, will become endangered or extinct.

Furthermore, refining Copper uses a lot of energy, usually coming from the burning of Fossil Fuels, meaning that a lot of Carbon Dioxide will be given off, as well as other dangerous pollutants. These chemicals can often cause Acid Rain; damaging crops, animals (including livestock), and humans.

On the other hand, if Recycled Copper is cleaned and refined, this has less of an effect on the environment. This is because the Copper has already been mined, so less land needs to be used to retrieve it, and there don't need to be any extra emissions to mine it either. Also, as the Copper is purer already than an ore from the ground; the electrolysis process takes much less time, meaning less energy is needed; so less emissions are given off, and there is less of a threat to animals, plants, and humans.

Similarly, mining Copper has negative effects economically, as the miners have to be paid, as well as the people who transport it to the refineries, along with the fuel needed. And, it takes a long time- several days in fact- to purify the copper; at extreme temperatures. This means that a lot of energy is required, resulting in a lot of money spent, as well as a use of precious Fossil Fuels. This means that companies are not making as much profit, as these expenses keep on increasing.

Contrastingly though, if companies were to recycle Scrap Copper, they would have less of an expenditure. This is because, as the copper is purer, it takes less to purify, meaning more can be extracted from Scrap, than Ore, in the same time; resulting in more to sell. Also, as it takes less time, less energy is needed, meaning the cost to refine a tonne of Copper would reduce. Therefore meaning, that the company will have a larger profit, as it has cost less to purify.