Abstract
Mining comprises the development phase, start-up and stripping activities for surface mining; it requires the construction of access roads, the work construction of water supply and electricity. In the first phase, the operation stage includes mineral extraction; the second phase involves processes of benefit and disposal of liquid and solid waste. The last stage involves the restoration and rehabilitation of the site. An underground mine design comprises three aspects: development, preparation, and exploitation; this type of mining allows to exploit seams that lie beneath the surface. It leads to lower noise emissions and dust is limited to the externally generated. In contrast, it requires greater technical complexities, it is more complicated, costly, and dangerous for the miners, so there is the tendency to abandon underground mining and to prefer open-pit mining (Buitelaar 2001). Currently, the largest mining activity takes place in the north-central region of Mexico; some estimates calculate that metal mining uses 53.5 million m3 (Mm3) of water, from surface or underground sources (López et al. 2001) and the volume of wastewater generated is estimated at 26.2 Mm3, which is poured into water bodies or municipal drainage networks. Thus, mining affects quality and quantity of the liquid. Acid mine drainage is present in underground and open-pit mining and it is not only present in operating mines, but also after their closure. It is considered as the most serious and persistent mining environmental problem.
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Annex: Extraction Yields of Various Mining Products by Federal State
Annex: Extraction Yields of Various Mining Products by Federal State
State | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baja California | |||||
Gold (kg) | – | – | – | 358 | 645.8 |
Silver (kg) | – | – | – | 14284.00 | 10920.00 |
Aggregates | 4476043.00 | 634737.00 | 16421163.50 | 17642572.35 | 12840479.10 |
Clays | 66456.00 | 66456.00 | 46800.00 | 45000.00 | 46000.00 |
Sand | 1836109.90 | 1329054.06 | 21299489.84 | 21285569.84 | 18857962.50 |
Limestone | 354432.00 | 1025992.80 | 249600.00 | 240000.00 | 240000.00 |
Gravel | 1358726.10 | 868862.80 | 481728.00 | 463200.00 | 463200.00 |
Gypsum | 22152.00 | 43336.00 | 15600.00 | 15000.00 | 15000.00 |
Chihuahua | |||||
Gold | 12891.30 | 13140.60 | 15221.80 | 18256.60 | 15262.30 |
Silver | 451292.00 | 466242.00 | 580271.00 | 783081.00 | 794238.00 |
Cadmium | 362.45 | 350.03 | 341 | – | – |
Copper | 13633.00 | 13914.00 | 13433.00 | 13132.00 | 12468.00 |
Iron | 378213.00 | 381661.00 | 106807.00 | 438421.00 | 212399.00 |
Lead | 58657.00 | 56235.00 | 53169.00 | 46308.00 | 47053.00 |
Zinc | 136437.00 | 142035.00 | 150211.00 | 133734.00 | 122254.00 |
Aggregates | 5300.00 | 27020.00 | 48750.00 | 41285.00 | 640529.00 |
Clays | 30878358.00 | 31115142.75 | 1036691.50 | 945019.00 | 640529.00 |
Sand | 3686715.00 | 2366234.00 | 3403784.00 | 2849376.00 | 3009015.00 |
Barite | – | – | – | 850 | 600 |
Limestone | 3623393.00 | 5208263.00 | 3048784.00 | 4142418.00 | 1582704.00 |
Kaolin | 72000.00 | 107005.00 | 61500.00 | 106000.00 | 106500.00 |
Dolomite | – | – | – | 6001.00 | 4771.00 |
Gravel | 4020182.40 | 3021217.00 | 4430550.00 | 4767639.00 | 3885050.00 |
Perlite | 365 | 180 | 31 | 29 | – |
Slate | 518035.00 | 437581.00 | 400000.00 | 447593.00 | 388222.00 |
Dimensionable rocks | 11140.00 | 55700.00 | 8570.00 | 9678.00 | 8450.00 |
Salt | 3000.00 | 7500.00 | 7930.81 | 5450.00 | 4320.00 |
Gypsum | 156000.00 | 157304.25 | 120800.00 | 168000.00 | 138050.00 |
Zeolite | 200 | – | – | – | – |
Coahuila | |||||
Gold (kg) | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | – | 0.1 |
Plata (kg) | 35134.00 | 41988.00 | 38860.00 | 122602.00 | 134452.00 |
Antimony | 414 | 380 | 74 | 71 | 5 |
Bismuth | 1170.00 | 1132.00 | 854 | 863 | 875 |
Cadmium | – | – | – | 863 | 875.64 |
Copper | 9 | 9 | 2 | – | – |
Tin | 19 | 15 | – | – | – |
Iron | 3233568.00 | 3838719.00 | 5179379.00 | 4595325.00 | 3601546.00 |
Lead | 568 | 1340.00 | 1154.00 | 964 | 30 |
Zinc | – | 4 | – | – | – |
Aggregates | – | 1233966.86 | 618696.00 | 629927.00 | 851631.00 |
Sand | 3907928.00 | 3204500.00 | 2798574.00 | 3082474.00 | 2436000.00 |
Barite | 29977.00 | 26265.00 | 30675.00 | 22161.00 | 28023.00 |
Bentonite | 47000.00 | 23500.00 | 40000.00 | 15000.00 | – |
Calcite | 16000.00 | 8000.00 | 96000.00 | 84000.00 | 72000.00 |
Limestone | 3821178.00 | 5654069.00 | 6816231.00 | 5505391.00 | 2778084.00 |
Coal | 17299221.00 | 10402658.00 | 9496189.00 | 11246639.00 | 13718159.00 |
Celestite | 96902.00 | 29621.00 | 36127.00 | 31429.00 | 40699.00 |
Dolomite | 760079.00 | 813812.00 | 781398.00 | 1161069.00 | 2462119.00 |
Fluorite | 133578.00 | 139429.00 | 108930.00 | 121833.00 | 119516.00 |
Gravel | 5201658.80 | 4265300.00 | 3724296.00 | 3727381.00 | 3242400.00 |
Dimensionable rocks | 194735.00 | 424143.70 | 506328.70 | 726328.70 | 1200.00 |
Salt | 620000.00 | 18261.00 | 19309.93 | 31761.00 | – |
Silica | 736100.00 | 738467.00 | 777863.00 | 814591.00 | 760940.00 |
Magnesium sulfate | 33900.00 | 43053.00 | 34700.00 | 39400.00 | 45598.00 |
Sodium Sulfate | 605000.00 | 618000.00 | 606000.00 | 620000.00 | 630500.00 |
Gypsum | 348447.50 | 400653.00 | 270031.00 | 299113.00 | 276216.00 |
San Luis Potosi | |||||
Gold (kg) | 1689.00 | 3588.60 | 4346.90 | 4794.50 | 5619.00 |
Silver (kg) | 109068.00 | 135123.00 | 152441.00 | 179895.00 | 162084.00 |
Arsenic | 513 | – | – | – | – |
Cadmium | – | – | – | 600.57 | 609.37 |
Copper | 20198.00 | 19742.00 | 19907.00 | 21632.00 | 21128.00 |
Iron | – | – | – | – | 693 |
Lead | 3534.00 | 5608.00 | 5210.00 | 4189.00 | 3736.00 |
Zinc | 65610.00 | 63463.00 | 62463.00 | 58040.00 | 53489.00 |
Aggregates | 120000.00 | 2600000.00 | 1350000.00 | 462000.00 | 910000.00 |
Clays | 780090.00 | 850000.00 | 950000.00 | 923000.01 | 1115000.00 |
Sand | 6628669.00 | 7492040.00 | 8398200.00 | 7777020.00 | 5405100.00 |
Bentonite | 4800.00 | 5100.00 | 6000.00 | 5800.00 | 6800.00 |
Calcite | 326016.00 | 193950.00 | 197600.00 | 178600.00 | 188100.00 |
Limestone | 4160480.00 | 4462310.00 | 6375200.00 | 4802800.00 | 4675200.00 |
Quarry | 2 | 21728.00 | 24600.00 | 15400.00 | 17635.00 |
Kaolin | 1760.00 | 3200.00 | 3600.00 | 6300.00 | 7300.00 |
Fluorite | 799783.00 | 918220.00 | 937010.00 | 945553.00 | 1087391.00 |
Phosphorite | 6 000.00 | – | – | – | – |
Gravel | 10067726.40 | 13024000.00 | 14182020.00 | 13094500.00 | 9251300.00 |
Dimensionable rocks | 110560.00 | 51500.00 | 48900.00 | 53000.00 | 53000.00 |
Salt | 100000.00 | 8000.00 | 8459.53 | 8000.00 | 8000.00 |
Silica | 31189.00 | 33657.00 | 32253.00 | 34727.00 | 41682.00 |
Tepetate | 1200000.00 | 600000.00 | 3500.00 | 3500.00 | 3500.00 |
Tezontle | 1200000.00 | 600000.00 | 600000.00 | 10000.00 | 2500.00 |
Gypsum | 260030.00 | 427000.00 | 1362213.00 | 461200.00 | 287756.00 |
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Santacruz-de León, G., Peña-de Paz, F.J. (2016). Gray Footprint and Mining: Impact of Metal Extraction on Water. In: Pérez-Espejo, R., Constantino-Toto, R., Dávila-Ibáñez, H. (eds) Water, Food and Welfare. SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28824-6_15
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