Tag Archives: mining

Foreign Policy: The limits of clean energy

Posted on January 5, 2020 by

Preface. This article appeared in the magazine Foreign Policy. Some of the points made are: Renewables to power the world would require 34 million metric tons of copper, 40 million tons of lead, 50 million tons of zinc, 162 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Alternative Energy Resources, Consumption | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Tackling mine wastes

Posted on September 1, 2017 by

Hudson-Edwards, K. April 15, 2016. Tackling mine wastes. Science (352):288-290   Excerpts: Mine wastes are unwanted and uneconomic materials (including rock, sediment, tailings, metallurgical wastes, dusts, ash, and processing chemicals) that are found at or near mine sites in virtually every … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemicals, Mercury, Pollution | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Tackling mine wastes

550,000 abandoned mines, $50 billion to clean up the worst of them

Posted on December 9, 2016 by

[ Abandoned mines can cause soil erosion, heavy metal contamination (i.e., cyanide, lead, arsenic, mercury, uranium), and acid drainage that threatens thousands of streams and rivers. The EPA estimates it would cost $50 billion to reclaim abandoned and inactive mine … Continue reading →

Posted in Congressional Record U.S., Mercury, Pollution, Water | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Corrosion eats $552 billion infrastructure a year (6% of GDP)

Posted on March 26, 2016 by

USDOT. March 2002. Corrosion cost and preventive strategies in the United States. U.S. Department of transportation, Federal highway administration. 784 pages. NACE. Corrosion costs and preventive strategies in the United States.   [ United States infrastructure was built when the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bridges, Oil & Gas, Railroads, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments