Which is an economic impact of mining?

taxes paid to the government. Economic impacts are about money and jobs.

What is bioremediation?

using living organisms to remove pollutants. Bacteria and plants break down or take up the pollutants.

Which is an example of repurposing a mine site?

turning the pit into a landfill site. Repurposing gives the land a new use. The others are restoration.

Why does mining reduce biodiversity?

habitats are destroyed when land is cleared. Fewer habitats means fewer species.

Which is a limitation of land restoration?

it is expensive and takes many years. Soil and ecosystems recover slowly.

A mine improves roads and builds a clinic for a remote town. Which type of impact is this?

social. Facilities and infrastructure change how people live.

Impacts of mining and restoring the land · Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management

In plain words

A mine brings jobs and money, and it leaves a hole. Both halves matter in the exam. You are expected to weigh the gains against the harm, and to know how a worn-out mine can be made useful again.

10 things to know

Environmental impacts. Clearing land for a mine destroys habitats, so biodiversity falls.
Mining causes pollution of several kinds. Dust and fumes pollute the air. Blasting and lorries make noise. Heaps of waste rock spoil the view and pollute the land. Toxic substances drain from the mine and its waste into rivers and ground water.
Mining uses large volumes of water, for washing ore and keeping dust down. That can leave less for local people and farms.
A mine produces far more waste rock than useful material. The waste must be stored so that it cannot slide or leak toxic substances.
Economic impacts. Employment opportunities change: jobs are created in the mine and in the businesses that supply it, but jobs may be lost in farming and tourism, and the mining jobs go when the mine closes.
The local economy grows as workers spend their wages. The national economy gains from taxes and from exports.
Social impacts. Facilities and infrastructure improve, because roads, power, water, schools and clinics are built for the mine and its workers. Against that, people may be moved off their land, and dust and noise harm health.
Land restoration returns the land to something like its old state. The overburden is put back, the soil is improved, and trees are planted. Bioremediation uses living organisms, such as bacteria and plants, to break down or remove pollutants.
Repurposing gives the land a new use: a landfill site, a lake, a place for recreation, or a nature reserve.
Limitations. Restoration is expensive and slow, and the original ecosystem may never fully return. A landfill can leak pollutants and release methane.

Worked example

An old open-pit mine is to be turned into a lake for sailing and fishing. Give one benefit and one limitation of this plan.

Benefit: it creates a place for recreation, which brings visitors and jobs, and the water gives a new habitat for wildlife.
Limitation: toxic substances left in the rock may dissolve into the water, so it may need treatment and testing first.
A limitation of any repurposing is that the original habitat is not brought back.

Tips and tricks

When a question names one kind of impact, environmental, economic or social, give only that kind. Good points of the wrong kind score nothing.
"Discuss the benefits and limitations" needs both. One strong benefit and one clear limitation beat four benefits.

6 questions, about 2 minutes.

It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.

Impacts of mining and restoring the land: 6 questions and answers

These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.

Which is an economic impact of mining?
- taxes paid to the government (the answer)
- noise from blasting
- loss of habitat
- dust in the air
Economic impacts are about money and jobs.
What is bioremediation?
- replacing the overburden
- using living organisms to remove pollutants (the answer)
- flooding a pit to make a lake
- burning waste from a mine
Bacteria and plants break down or take up the pollutants.
Which is an example of repurposing a mine site?
- replacing the soil
- planting the original tree species
- turning the pit into a landfill site (the answer)
- improving the soil with fertiliser
Repurposing gives the land a new use. The others are restoration.
Why does mining reduce biodiversity?
- habitats are destroyed when land is cleared (the answer)
- miners eat the wildlife
- metals are removed from the food chain
- the climate becomes colder
Fewer habitats means fewer species.
Which is a limitation of land restoration?
- it creates habitats
- it removes visual pollution
- it reduces the risk of landslides
- it is expensive and takes many years (the answer)
Soil and ecosystems recover slowly.
A mine improves roads and builds a clinic for a remote town. Which type of impact is this?Stretch
- environmental
- social (the answer)
- geological
- biological
Facilities and infrastructure change how people live.

6 questions

Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.

Worksheet

3 questions, 8 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.

Impacts of mining and restoring the land

Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management 0680 · 8 marks · papermunch.org

Name ______________________________ Date ______________

Describe three types of pollution caused by a mine.[3]
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Any three: air pollution from dust and fumes; noise pollution from blasting and vehicles; visual pollution from waste heaps and the pit; water pollution from toxic drainage; land pollution from waste rock.
I got this one
Describe how the land of a closed mine can be restored.[3]
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The overburden is replaced. The soil is improved, for example with fertiliser or organic matter. Trees are planted. (Also: bioremediation, using organisms to remove pollutants.)
I got this one
Explain why a mine can have a negative effect on local employment in the long term.[2]
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The jobs last only as long as the mine. When the deposit runs out the mine closes, and jobs in farming or tourism may already have been lost.
I got this one

Answers: Impacts of mining and restoring the land

1. Any three: air pollution from dust and fumes; noise pollution from blasting and vehicles; visual pollution from waste heaps and the pit; water pollution from toxic drainage; land pollution from waste rock.
2. The overburden is replaced. The soil is improved, for example with fertiliser or organic matter. Trees are planted. (Also: bioremediation, using organisms to remove pollutants.)
3. The jobs last only as long as the mine. When the deposit runs out the mine closes, and jobs in farming or tourism may already have been lost.