We learned a lot… actually, I hope you’ve learned a lot about the importance of minerals and the need for mining in Module 1. We now have a much better understanding of where we mine and why we mine. We have learned about the complexity of conducting a mining operation in a societal context. The study of this has allowed us to gain not only an appreciation for the complexity of operation in today’s world, but it has also given us a reason to learn more about the major stakeholders. We will draw on much of this recently acquired knowledge throughout this course.
So, we know a lot the importance of minerals in modern society, we better understand how ubiquitous mining is in the national and global economies, and we know about the important stakeholders. Suppose we want to mine one of those 85+ minerals found in economic quantities within the U.S. How do you go about opening and operating a mine? We’ll first address this topic in Lesson 2.1, where we will examine the life cycle of a mine. In Lessons 2.2 and 2.3, we’ll look at the body of laws that apply to particular parts or throughout the life cycle of the mine. Equipped with this knowledge, as well as that of Module 1, we will then devote the remainder of the course to the specific details of surface and underground mining.
At the successful completion of this module, you should be able to: