Mining hazards are topic areas encompassing the spectrum of physical, chemical, geological, and operational risks inherent to mineral extraction and processing activities. They include ground control failures (rockbursts, subsidence, roof collapses), explosions (methane, coal dust), inundation and water inrush, ventilation deficiencies leading to asphyxiants or toxic gas exposure, and exposure to respirable dusts such as crystalline silica causing pneumoconioses. Additional hazards involve noise, vibration, thermal stress, equipment-related trauma, and chronic exposure to heavy metals and reagents. Research on mining hazards focuses on risk assessment, monitoring and prediction (e.g., geotechnical modeling, gas sensing), control technologies, and regulatory and management frameworks to reduce morbidity, mortality, and environmental impacts.
Every day, new tunnels are being built through rock across the country. The completed tunnels are safe, but the construction phase presents challenges.
Earth Sciences
Aug 18, 2025
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40
Decades of gold mining at Giant Mine in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, has left a toxic legacy: 237,000 tons of arsenic trioxide dust stored in underground chambers.
Environment
Jul 23, 2025
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29
Scientists present at the latest effort to hash out international rules for deep-sea mining say it's unclear if it's possible to restore damaged seafloor ecosystems—or how long it would take.
Earth Sciences
Jul 20, 2025
3
195
Deep-sea mining could impact marine life stretching from the tiniest bottom dwellers to apex predators like swordfish and sharks, a major piece of industry-funded research found Thursday.
Environment
Jul 3, 2025
2
108
A nickel stockpile towers over farmer Moharen Tambiling's rice paddy in the Philippines' Palawan, evidence of a mining boom that locals hope a new moratorium will tame.
Environment
Jul 2, 2025
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40
Deep-sea mining in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean could harm ocean life including whales and dolphins, new research shows.
Ecology
Jun 24, 2025
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34
Seabed mining could become one of the defining environmental battles of 2025. Around the world, governments are weighing up whether to allow mining of the ocean floor for metal ores and minerals. New Zealand is among them.
Environment
Jun 16, 2025
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24
Noise pollution from deep-sea mining carries an invisible risk for sea life, warn researchers, urging greater transparency from the industry to help mitigate the harms.
Environment
Jun 13, 2025
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34
A sprawling new mine is gouged into the lush rolling hills of northeast Myanmar, where civil war has weakened the government's already feeble writ, and pollution levels are rising downstream in Thailand.
Environment
Jun 11, 2025
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24
World leaders on Monday called for strict rules to govern deep-sea mining and warned against racing to exploit the ocean floor in a thinly veiled rebuke of US President Donald Trump.
Environment
Jun 10, 2025
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23
