The Grasberg mine Flashcards
Location
The Grasberg mine is located in the province of Papua in Indonesia. Mining began there in 1990, and it is now the second largest copper mine in the world- it produces around 230 000 tonnes of copper ore every day.
The construction of the mine has had a big impact on the environment:
The main mine is a 4 km-wide open pit-digging it resulted in deforestation and loss of biodiversity.
Millions of tonnes of rock have been dumped in Lake Wanagon, causing the loss of the aquatic ecosystem.
Rock is broken up during mining, and some types of exposed rock can react with oxygen and water to form acid. Waste rock at Grasberg is producing strongly acidic solutions, which are killing vegetation.
Toxic waste from the refining process has been released into the Aghawagon-Otomona-Ajkwa river system, destroying aquatic life. Copper accumulates in organisms, so this has knock-on effects up the food chain. Waste is also draining into the Arafura Sea, destroying coastal mangrove forests.
Distribution networks associated with the mine also have environmental impacts:
New infrastructure included a port, an airport, a new town, a 121 km access road and a 109 km pipeline that carries copper slurry from the mine to the port. This has led to habitat destruction.
The trucks, planes and ships used to transport the copper and waste from the mine use fossil fuels, contributing to global warming and acid rain.
