Minding the mines

The ultimate lesson on the most important supply chain for contemporary humans...

Lithium fields Salar de Atacama, Chile. Image: World Economic Forum

On the one hand, it’s nothing short of fascinating and admirable how humans have learned to derive bits and chunks of materials from deep inside the Earth and mold them into beautiful, functional objects and stunning cityscapes.

The transformation of materials such as coal and natural gas into energy itself… nothing short of incredible.

Take a look around. Our lives, homes, cars, blenders, showers, the gym… everything has to be mined for. Even articles made of wood, plants, and paper require energy to be processed, which has to be mined for.

Image: Adobe Stock

Our contemporary lives — in their entirety — are heavily powered by the underground. Even solar and wind energy require artifacts that come from the underground (perhaps even more so).

So, why should we care more about the mining that’s at the basis of our lives?

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Image: World Economic Forum

Mining contaminates water, deforests the land, kills biodiversity, and deteriorates culturally rich peoples and zones.

A woman from the Pataxo Ha-ha-hae tribe looks at dead fish near the Paraopeba River after a tailings dam owned by Brazilian mining company Vale SA collapsed near Sao Joaquim de Bicas, Brazil, Jan. 28, 2019. (Credit: Adriano Machado/Reuters via CNS.)

Often, miners hire local people, and other cultural activities disappear. Entire communities can be displaced, and centuries of cultural knowledge and artisanry can be lost. At the heart of current mining processes lies a complex philosophical and ethical debate.