Mining for me means human's exploration and extraction.
of natural minerals from underneath the earth and then.
used for human's needs. I have to admit that my opinion.
is really based on what I have seen when I was in.
elementary school in Indonesia long time ago. The mining.
process in Indonesia might have changed now and I really.
have no idea about the mining process in Australia.
When I was in elementary school, I had school.
excursion visiting a gold mine. I have to describe the.
place as the major environmental disaster as the mine.
was just carried out without any reclamation process.
The surrounding land was harsh, dry and hard, no even.
single plant or animal could live there. The river was.
brown-black in colour and had very fishy odour. The.
waste product from the mine was just dumped to the river.
without prior processing. This is very dangerous because.
the water is often used by the surrounding villagers to.
wash their clothes, plates and even to drink. There were.
reports that some villagers experienced some vomiting.
and diarrhoea after drinking the water but the reports.
were not responded seriously. Furthermore this waste.
product also killed all flora and fauna within and.
surrounding the river and therefore disrupt the.
ecosystem. The air was also polluted by the gas released.
from the mining and numerous trucks that come and go,.
and some of my classmates experienced shortness of.
breath when we were there. During the rainy seasons the.
flood often came and washed away many people's houses.
Above of those environmental degradations, I also.
realized how important the mine is. The mine everyday.
could give tonnes of gold that could be used as various.
purposes such as jewellery, etc. The mine also gave.
prosperity to the people in the surrounding villages.
Many of them work as miners and they could earn enough.
money for their family. Many villagers also open various.
shops such as restaurants, barber shops, etc. The.
surrounding villages all have very wide and good road.