THE IMPACT OF

SILVER MINING ON
THE ENVIRONMENT
Table of Conten ts

Table of Figures.......................................................................................................................2

Executive Summary.................................................................................................................2

Silver Mining Impact...............................................................................................................3

Silver Mining Impact on Deforestation.............................................................................4

Silver Mining Impact on Subsidence and Abandoned Mines.............................................5

Silver Mining Impact on Pollution....................................................................................6

Adopt Environmental Consciousness Toward the Acquisition of Silver.....................................7

Preventive and Corrective Measures Against Deforestation.............................................7

Approaches to Prevent and Mitigate Subsidence from Silver Mining................................8

Reduce and Clean-Up Pollution from Silver Mining..........................................................9

Increase Nature Conservation.................................................................................................9

Introduces Thriving Biodiversity.......................................................................................9

Circumvent Costly Loss of Life and Damage Properties...................................................10

Benefits from Lack of Pollution......................................................................................10

Conclusion.........................................................................................................................10

Reference..............................................................................................................................11
Table of Figures
Figure 1. A degraded excavated landscape caused environmental impacts of silver mining.....4

Figure 2. A picture containing a damaged outdoor stream bed caused by subsidence.............5

Figure 3. An acidic muddy stream created by acidic water drainage from silver mining...........6

Figure 4. Abandoned mine in Missouri converted into tourism destination.............................7

Executive Summary
This report details the severe impacts of silver mining on the environment and the excellent
solutions that can mitigate and combat these effects. Silver is a noble metal with the symbol
(Ag) and an atomic number of 47. Several properties of silver (constant reflectivity, electronic
conductor, healing antimicrobial features, etc.) make it one of the most demanded noble
metals. Silver occurrence on earth's crust is scantily 0.7 parts per million, and most of its
acquisition is from mining. Whereas seventy-five percent of silver mining is a byproduct of
mining for ores (complex integration of metals: mercury, lead, zinc, arsenic, gold, etc.) the
rest is strictly from silver mining.

Regardless, silver mining is a process that impacts the environment in numerous ways. many
ways than one. Notably are these three environmental impacts are: deforestation, subsidence
and abandoned mines, and pollution. This e report details the relationships between the
environmental impacts and silver mining as well as details descriptions of the impacts. These
details include how deforestation caused by silver mining blemishes the landscape resulting
in devoid habitats and vegetation erosion. Thise report also details how subsidence and
abandoned mines can cause irreparable damage to human and animal life. Finally, thise
report elaborated on different types of toxins and poisonous chemicals that are released into
the environment.

This report details some excellent solutions that amend the impact of deforestation,
subsidence and abandoned mines, and pollution. These solutions are the designation of
abandoned sites as Superfund sites, reclamation of deforestation through reforestation,
enactment of laws to mitigate subsidence, and revitalization of the contaminated
environment through long-term efforts. The benefits will be thriving habitats in a healthy
ecosystem, prevention of loss of life from sinkholes and landslides, opportunities to generate
income through tourism, and a reforestation effort to help combat climate change.

Silver Mining Impact

Silver and silver mining impact the physical environment in many ways: deforestation,
pollution, ecotoxicological damages, subsidence, and devasted abandoned wasteland.
Environment sustainability should be our global imperative due to the rising change in the
global climate. The value of silver cannot be understated in this modern age. Silver as a noble
metal is the greatest electric conductor for electronic systems, has the highest constant
reflectivity used in mirrors, and provides the cleansing power to purify water and disinfect
wounds. This makes the exigency procurement of silver very vital to the economic viability of
the country. However, the problem is that “silver exists in complicated mineral structures,
locked into combinations with other elements such as lead, copper, chlorine, or
arsenic”(Shen, 2017). It is purported that silver occurrence on earth's crust is scantily 0.7
parts per million, where most of the silver attained is the byproduct of mining other metals
such as lead, mercury, or copper. It is no wonder why aggressive mining for silver has left in
its wake a barren, reshaped terrain that mimics a prehistoric desolation of atmospheric toxic
chemicals like mercury and cyanide into the atmosphere. Along with effects such as destitute
land plagued by sunken landscapes due to shaft sinking, erosion of natural topsoil that
denudes the nutrients which negate future land cultivation, and abandoned landscapes.

Silver Mining Impact on Deforestation

The life cycle of silver mining encompasses a host of mining activities, land exploration,
physical land disturbances, deforestation, excavation, construction, and environmental
degradation. “There are 872 authorized mining operations on about 1.3 million acres of
federal land as of September 2018,”(Mining on Federal Lands, 2020) totaling thirteen
percent of the United States land mass. It is purported that “Deforestation has been a
long-term consequence of mining”(Shen, 2017). Deforestation has victimized large sources of
land across the country. Prominent effects of deforestation, excessive flooding, accelerated
soil erosion, declining soil fertility, and scarring land mass can be observed across the country
by the cutting of trees for use in mining operations. These clearing of woods and timbers are
essential for mining equipment parts and fuel in silver smelting. These effects create the
displacement of biodiversity in the ecosystem, which is evident in the destruction of land
mass. Furthermore, the indirect impact of mining from generated waste, rock waste disposal,
and land expansion to accommodate the workforce broadens the devasted result of
deforestation. Alarming is the increased pressure driven by economic progress to enact
aggressive mining processes to extract natural resources which further exacerbates
deforestation such as the image below.
FIGURE 1. A DEGRADED EXCAVATED LANDSCAPE CAUSED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF SILVER
MINING [WEBSITE ].

Silver Mining Impact on Subsidence and Abandoned Mines

The ecological effect of close-pit mining lies in the subsidence footprint, while open-pits
mining affects large-area displacement. It is paramount to understand subsidence as the
underlining consequence of close-pit mining. This is due the fact that because “Underground
mining causes impacts to hydrologic features like lakes, streams, wetlands, and underground
aquifers”(Blodgett, n.d.). According to the report prepared by the National Bureau of
Standards (NBS) “Many areas in the United States are underlain by abandoned mine, and
many more will be undermined in the future”(Yokel, n.d.). The subsidence results are mines
cavities that collapse or sinkholes that occur due to inferior mine infrastructures, abandoned
mineshafts, and incorrectly closed mines. The wild ecosystem can be affected through
observable land depression that causes the leaching of chemicals and toxins to be released
into lakes, streams, wetlands, and underground aquifers. An irreversible result may cause
some streams to experience water quality and loss of flow or have their streambed disrupted.

FIGURE 2. A PICTURE CONTAINING A

DAMAGED OUTDOOR STREAM BED

CAUSED BY SUBSIDENCE [WEBSITE ].

Sometimes because of these abandoned mines that exist underneath developed communities
damage produced by subsidence on society can be unsurmountable such as loss of human and
animal life experienced from landslides or collapsed buildings, and damage to infrastructure
and utilities. Hence, it is vital to state the “American West is legendary; the abundance of its
abandoned silver mines, while gladdening the spelunker, is an acknowledged environmental
hazard”(Shen, 2017).

The damage produced by subsidence on society can be unsurmountable such as loss of human
and animal life experienced from landslides or collapsed buildings, and damage to
infrastructure and utilities. Hence, it is vital to state the “American West is legendary; the
abundance of its abandoned silver mines, while gladdening the spelunker, is an acknowledged
environmental hazard”(Shen, 2017). California is plagued with more than 40000 abandoned
mines.

Silver Mining Impact on Pollution

Silver mining as a byproduct of complex ores/metals (mercury, lead, copper, gold, etc.)
mining produces toxins, toxic chemicals, and poisonous metals. To put it in perspective,
“seventy-five percent of silver is produced as a secondary metal in copper and lead/zinc
mines”(Eckelman & Graedel, 2007). Scientific research has confirmed the toxicology of these
metals (lead, zinc, mercury, etc.) are hazardous to the environment. Understanding the
theoretical possibility that metals can be reprocessed into pure form regardless of their
current state. This further explains why “metals are transformed in environmental systems,
where they can change valence state, adsorb to sediment, or be metabolized by organisms,
among other fates, but they never cease to exist”(Eckelman & Graedel, 2007). It is common
knowledge that the extraction of silver metal is often around areas surrounded by lakes,
rivers, or streams. These mines can easily contaminate lakes, streams, rivers, aquifers, and
waterbeds which “demonstrates that silver mines leave a legacy of pollution that extends
over hundreds of years and thousands of kilometers”(Shen, 2017). These claims can be
substantiated through an instance in which the “U.S Environmental Protection Agency
confirmed more than a hundred years later, that somewhere in the bed of Carson River,
exists contaminated mercury, arsenic, and zinc”(Shen, 2017) of poisonous metals that still
affect today’s ecosystem. Not only that, the release of toxic air from lead can be traced back
to silver mining through chemical signatures. Another issue is the contaminated waste
generated from the excavation and processing of silver from silver mines. Figure 3 below is a
river affected by acidic water drainage generated from a silver mine.

FIGURE 3. A N ACIDIC MUDDY STREAM

CREATED BY ACIDIC WATER DRAINAGE

FROM SILVER MINING [WEBSITE ].

Adopt Environmental Consciousness Toward the Acquisition

of Silver
Silver in its purest form can neither be destroyed nor cease to exist and only be changed into
a different state. Silver preservation characteristics can help curb aggressive silver mining
through the recycling of silver from expendable everyday products. A suitable solution to
silver mining's impact on environmental pollution, deforestation, and subsidence will be
elaborated upon.
Preventive and Corrective Measures Against Deforestation
The passing and revitalization of new mining laws in the United States to combat aggressive
mining operations for giant corporations should be implemented. Stringent mining laws that
protect conservation lands and different bodies of water should be imposed to prevent future
deforestation. The General Mining Act of 1872 law passed in 1872 is the last preventive
mining law passed in the United States, which is underwhelming. Silver mining corporations
are given special privileges under the General Mining Act of 1872, which primarily focuses on
the appropriation of revenue royalties accrued by the companies, rather than regulating to
preserve federal lands and directing how mining should be conducted. Another approach is the
introduction of invigorating efforts for the reclamation of land by reintroducing sustainable
soil and vegetation at the mine site to increase land to counter deforestation. Higher soil
treatment that excavates topsoil laced with poisonous metals, toxins, and acid should be
evacuated and relocated to designated treatment locations.

Approaches to Prevent and Mitigate Subsidence from Silver Mining

A federal review conducted indicated there are no federal or state regulations on subsidence
either from federal statute or the Bureau of Land Management. This situation should be
remedied by enacting laws that focus on subsidence and the hydrological impacts of silver
mining. “Under the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) a
mine is required to identify and develop subsidence and hydrologic impact plans before
mining begins to deal with potentially negative environmental impacts”(Blodgett, n.d.).
Therefore, the same law under (SMCRA) should be promulgated for underground silver
mining operations to prevent subsidence and hydrological long-term impact. Another
approach will be to designate prior silver mining sites as Superfund sites, “a site operated by
the U.S Environmental Protection Agency to identify and clean up hazardous waste sites in
America,”(Shen, 2017) which usually requires a long-term clean operation. Employing the
Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 will allow potential opportunities for restoring
abandoned mines sites into possibly state-of-the-art research facilities or themed tourism
spots.

FIGURE 4. A BANDONED MINE IN

MISSOURI CONVERTED INTO TOURISM
DESTINATION [WEBSITE ].

Reduce and Clean-Up Pollution from Silver Mining

Lax environmentEnvironment lax oversight and traditional photography in the 1970s and
1980s provided a copious amount of silver that contaminated the waterways and degraded
the environment.

Therefore, it is paramount to create a set of regulations that protect and prevent something
similar from happening. These sets of regulations will consequently curb the release of
“Monovalent Ionic silver (Ag+) is the form of most environment concern with its antimicrobial
properties”. Urgent and utmost concerns should be afforded towards the more dangerous by-
product chemicals from silver mining such as lead, zinc, mercury, arsenic, and cyanide. To
protect hydrological systems from toxins and acidic drainage waste from mining operations,
an advanced standard of operation should be adopted. Finally, designate these silver mines
as Superfund Sites that require long-term clean-up operations.
Increase Nature Conservation
Adopting the above-stated and non-stated solutions will reduce silver mining's impact on the
environment. These benefits will provide an understanding of the impact on energy
consumption, waste generation, land disturbances, hydrological systems, water quality and
usage, and a few elements not discussed from the induction of silver mine designs through
operations and post-mine closure.

Introduces Thriving Biodiversity

The abundance of biodiversity displaced by deforestation from the ecosystem cannot be
understated. Reclaiming the forest will introduce thriving ecosystems such as wildlife, fauna
diversity, and aquatic and terrestrial flora into these habitats. These habitats enameled in
biodiversity have the potential to stimulate economic and societal opportunities for the
country.

These opportunities can support the provision of sustenance, food security, accommodation
designs, and combat climate change benefiting the country tremendously. The above-stated
benefits are but a tiny fraction of possible benefits.

Circumvent Costly Loss of Life and Damage Properties

Acknowledging the findings by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) that many areas of the
United States are underlain by underground mines, therefore it is paramount we adhere to
provided solutions above. These measures will prevent and reduce subsidence (sinkholes and
caved-in cavities) damages to housing communities in the shape of collapse or destroyed
buildings and utilities which might cause death or injury to human life. These subsidence
protection measures can further protect hydrological systems, which can increase aquatic
habits and the flow and quality of water to enrich all in the habitat. There are also economic
opportunities for communities to generate income from reclaimed abandoned silver mines
that turn into tourism destinations.
Benefits from Lack of Pollution
The measures to eradicate silver mining pollution will prevent toxins and poisonous
chemicals from altering our environment and landscapes. Preventing this alteration caused
by pollution will negate the tremendous manpower and funding required for long-term clean-
ups. Different regulations enacted to combat pollution will help secure different water
habitats that benefit different ecosystems. Finally, these measures will prevent the air and
water from posing a risk to human life. These preventions will reduce the risk of exposure to
chemicals and toxin that causes infections and diseases whereby lowering the mortality rate.

Conclusion
Silver mining is a scarring process that leaves in its wake a barren reshaped terrain with a
desolate atmosphere that introduces toxins (lead and cyanide) into the atmosphere while
contaminating the ecosystem with poisonous chemicals (zinc, mercury, etc.). This report has
indicated the lack of federal and state regulation that governs silver mining's interaction with
the environment. The report focuses on three main issues of silver mining: deforestation,
subsidence and abandoned mines, and pollution. The report suggested solutions that can
prevent and mitigate the issues relating to silver mining.

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