MINING THE EARTH

Mining and producing metals is one of the most polluting activities on earth, consuming close to 10 percent of world energy, and spewing nearly half of all toxic emissions from industry in some countries. Mines also use large quantities of deadly chemicals, including cyanide and mercury, to separate metal from ore.

At the same time, mining generates only a small share of jobs and economic output. Between 1990 and 2000, South African mines laid off close to 400,000 workers—almost half the workforce. Mining-dependent nations typically have slow rates of economic development, and some of the highest poverty rates.

		'Minerals' seekingin the subsoil comes from antiquity.

Minerals are used by all of us in our daily lives, and have brought tremendous benefits to those who have had access to them. But is it necessary to extract mountains of ore from the earth in order to improve the quality of our lives? Thankfully, it is not. The billions of tons of material already mined and circulating in cities and factories or lying in landfills can serve the same functions as underground ores, with far fewer ecological costs. Through improved design of cities, transport, homes, and products, societies can find ways to use the existing stock of minerals far more efficiently—and to use smaller amounts of materials overall—dramatically reducing the need to mine underground ores.