Mining has negative long-term environmental impacts and threatens forests worldwide. Coltan mining in particular causes issues, as the Democratic Republic of Congo has 80% of world reserves but sees exploitation of children and conflict. Coltan is an important mineral for electronics due to its conductive and heat-resistant properties. Potential solutions include regulating coltan mining through international agencies to improve working conditions and management of resources.

1. thecoltanandtheenvironmental
impactofmineralextraction.
by: Marta Serrano, Manuela Galisteo and Merche Peña

2. NEGATIVEEFFECTSOFMINERALEXTRACTION.
Mining. It can be argued that mining is necessary to deliver various goods to
humans, but which certainly can not be argued is that is sustainable, being as
it is an activity based on the extraction of nonrenewable resources. Mining is
a short-term activity but with long-term effects. No one should doubt that
when performed in forests is a factor of predation thereof. It is estimated
that, together with petroleum exploration threatens 38% of the last tracts of
primary forests worldwide.

3. NEGATIVEEFFECTSOFMINERALEXTRACTION.
Mining activity , as most of the activities done by man for their livelihood , make
changes in the environment , from the most subtle to represent them clear impacts on the
environment in which they develop .
This leads us to define the concept of environmental impact of an activity : the
difference in the natural environment between the time that the activity starts, the time
when the activity takes place , and above all , the time of completion .
These issues , which some years ago were not perceived as a risk factor for the future of
humanity today is viewed with great concern, that is not always justified , because the
man is altering the environment since has been able, but certainly abuses in this field
have a greater awareness of the need to regulate these impacts.

4. photosofmines
underground mines outside mines

5. theenvironmental impact:assessment
This impact assessment is the quantification of these differences, by performing a multidisciplinary
study that will seek to identify, predict and prevent the consequences or effects on the environment
from mining
The objectives of the environmental impact study would be:
1. Avoid errors and possible environmental damage caused during the extraction process, the subsequent
correction could be costly, both in private view (transferable costs for businesses) and from the
social point of view (transferable costs to society ).
2. Provide data to enter into business decisions the effects of development projects in the natural and
social environment always difficult to quantify and evaluate .
3. Presenting an integrated about the impacts of our activities on the environment information.
4. To integrate the various public and private agencies that have some degree of responsibility for
decisions that affect the environment.

6. whichitisthecoltan? whatisitfor?
-It is that mysterious mineral that is used to make key mobile , smartphones and
increasingly powerful and sophisticated portable electronics components.
-Tantalum is a metal that is characterized by a very high melting point , being a good
conductor of electricity, very hard and very resistant to acids. All this means that it
has become a basic and important for the manufacture of electronic circuit capacitors raw
material, voltage rectifiers , surgical supplies , laboratory materials , camera lenses
... The problem with us today this material is the difficulty to replace it very
-Coltan is a mixture of mineral columbite ( an ore of columbium or niobium ) and tantalum
( an ore of tantalum ) . Coltan is dark gray metallic .

7. coltan
Columbite Tatalum
Coltan

8. locatedminesofcoltan
-The main producer of coltan is the Democratic Republic of Congo with about 80 % of world
reserves estimated , although there largest proven reserves or exploitation in Brazil with
5% of the reserves, Thailand with another 5% and Australia , this last with 10% of world
reserves estimated.
-Rwanda and Uganda are currently exporting stolen from Congo to the West ( mainly the
United States) coltan , where they are used almost exclusively in the manufacture of
tantalum electrolytic capacitors . It is used in almost all electronic devices : mobile
phones , GPS, satellites , guided weapons , plasma TVs , game consoles, laptops , PDAs ,
MP3 , MP4 …

9. Brasil Tailandia
África

10. locatedminesofcoltaninspain
-Now a Canadian company Solid Mines Spain , who won his first research permit
to probe the subsurface Galician eight years and belonging to the venture
capital company Solid Mines says that the probability that the deposit of tin
and tantalum Forcarei ( Pontevedra) can be exploited today is high.
-The mine would cost about 20 million euros and generate 50 direct jobs and
150 indirect .

11. Theexploitationofchildren intheminesofcoltan
- AFter the coltan came the cassiterite with went the child
labor , mass rape and the eternal war. In a place rife
with injustice, is the cruelest requiring child miners in
eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to leave school to
dig in artisanal mines that proliferate in the provinces
of Katanga and the Kivus. For less than a dollar a day,
almost naked and often malnourished , these children feed
the world market for coltan , copper , tin and cobalt
while making even deeper hole in the human dwelling .

13. whatcanwedotohelpsolvetheseproblem?
Close access to coltan: Close access to mine coltan, it is nothing
more than a disadvantage as close mines imply illegal activity by
people looking to exploit coltan. This would cause a legal scandal,
and would likely result in more bellicose confrontations.
Create an agency for the exploitation of minerals: UN as a global
entity, should find a solution, which could be the creation of a
division in order to control the extraction of coltan from mines
places with good working conditions, where there is a proper
management of resources, do not fall into armed conflicts between
African, by seeking control in sales of products extracted.

14. WEBGRAPHY.
http://www.uclm.es/users/higueras/MAM/MMAM1.htm
http://www.ecoportal.net/Temas-
Especiales/Mineria/La_Mineria_y_su_grave_impacto_sobre_los_Bosques_y_los
_Pueblos
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt%C3%A1n
http://explotacioncoltan10a.blogspot.com.es/
http://www.accesoglobal.info/coltan-el-mineral-maldito-de-la-rdc/

15. conclusions
we learned a lot with this work we now know the negative
effects of mining, causing coltan problems how important
coltan in the world and appreciate more how lucky we are not
being exploited as some children.