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0 pointsculi3y ago0 comments

> nobody ever had a complaint about gold, silver, platinum or diamond mining

In what world? NGOs, academics, journalists, and non-profits have been speaking out about these and the blood diamond industries around them for decades at least

> Gold mining is one of the most destructive industries in the world. It can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, hurt workers, and destroy pristine environments

https://earthworks.org/issues/environmental-impacts-of-gold-...

> Most silver production results in large emissions of mercury to air, soil, and water. Where silver is extracted by small-scale miners, large quantities of mercury are used, resulting in large health and environmental damages.

http://www.env-health.org/IMG/pdf/silver_fact_sheet.pdf

> The mining, metal extraction and beneficiation phases are accompanied by air and water pollution, the generation of solid waste deposited on tailings dams and waste rock stockpiles, the abstraction of vast quantities of water and the use of huge quantities of energy

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223232620_The_envir...

> Mineral resource exploitation also causes irreversible damage to the natural environment including deforestation, soil disturbance, air emissions, surface water pollution, groundwater contamination, dust, noise, workplace health and safety, and others.

http://www.imperial-consultants.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/202...

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daneel_w3y ago· 2 in thread

I know there's a "clique" criticizing this. That's not my point, but thanks for trying to balance the needle on its tip. Ask common people and the media about gold, silver and platinum mining, and you'll get a careless shrug on the shoulders in return.

Eisenstein3y ago

Wouldn't 'most people' also shrug if you mentioned mining of rare earth minerals? I don't think there is a distinction except 'most people' know what gold and diamonds and platinum are.

culiOP3y ago

I don't think academics, journalists, and NGOs formulate a "clique". I think the matter is just those that are informed and those that aren't. The simple fact of the matter is most people simply aren't aware of the environmental and ethical impacts of the production of our everyday electronics.

I really doubt more people are aware/making noise about rare earth minerals as they have been about the impacts of the sort of mining used to get gold, silver, etc

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