• Mining

    • Mining gives us the stuff we need to produce energy, houses, cars, computers, and thousands of other products. But mining can be nasty business.

    • Mining

  • Pollution from 'Iron Mountain' mine

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    • Pollution on a millennial scale

    The “Iron Mountain” is a Californian mine that will pollute nearby waters for at least another 3000 years - even though it stopped all its operations in 1963.

    Acid drainage

    The water pollution is caused by acid that drains from the mine. Groundwater near the “Iron Mountain” has been found to be 10,000 times more acidic than battery acid (this is VERY acidic).

    A common problem

    Acid that drains from mines is a very common problem in mining. It is also one of mining's most severe and important environmental challenges.

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