This is an objective, both sides covered, look into the controversy of Mining and the Environment. It is a report I wrote 6 years ago in school, nothing plagiarized, Works Cited will be included in the end of the article. I want to give credit where credit is due. Opinions not withstanding, this is a fact only article with room for some conjecture as logic will allow. I remember Plato, I think it was Plato, said that "If you copy from one, it is plagiarism. If you copy from two, it is research." Well, that seems to be what people do these days... But every fact has a resource from which a person has learned them. Key points of opinion and interest are in parentheses. For compiling this report, outside sources of have been used, a book, and a US Bureau of Mines publication entitled "This is Mining", the link I acquired the bulletin at is included, however it seems to have been taken offline since then, it has been 6 years afterall. All outside sources will be cited at the end of this article. I may have repeated this, but I want to make it clear, to quote a famous, or infamous American "I am not a crook."

I also am including a few prominent quotes at the end of this article that keep the true spirit of America in perspective.

What is mining?

The late United States Bureau of Mines (shutdown due to Bill Clinton's administration in government cutbacks as I understand it. A friend to mining, the USBM that is, and a friend to education, shutdown and packed up.) defines mining stating that

"Mining is the branch of industry involving the exploration and removal of minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the oldest and most important endeavors of humankind, because it provides the raw ingredients for most of the material world around us and, like agriculture, is the lifeblood of civilization. The main objective of any type of mining is to remove the valuable material economically and safely with minimum damage to the surrounding environment." - U.S.B.M.

Mining has been around since the days of antiquity. Technically, moving a shovel full of dirt can be considered mining. We have shaped this world for centuries, made possible by mining.

How important is mining?

"Minerals are vital to any industrialized civilization. The United States uses more than 3.6 billion tons (4 billion short tons) of new mineral materials yearly, or about 18,000 Kg (40,000 lbs.) per person, with about half constituting mineral fuels and the other half being

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