I would like to respond to the comment in Amy Roberts’ column “The great American road trip” (Oct. 5-7). She states that electric vehicle batteries include elements that are usually mined and then states this is “Hardly an ethical or sustainable practice.” I think this statement is incorrect regarding the modern mining industry and offer the following evidence to support my position.
Admittedly, the mining industry has a checkered past in which fortunes were won and lost. Mark Twain is thought to have said a mine is “a hole in the ground owned by a liar.” The legacy environmental impacts of past mining operations are readily apparent throughout the West and around Park City. However, times have changed. In my 46 years of experience as a geologist and environmental professional, I have found that modern mining companies operating in North America producing the metals, building materials and fertilizers we all rely upon for our standard of living are highly sophisticated corporations that must comply with detailed regulations related to their financial practices, operational health and safety, and environmental impacts during and after the mining operations. Communities that host local mining operations benefit from the financial support of the mines for community development and mine employee volunteers support local schools and other organizations. A recent example is that significant support of the Park City Museum’s mission to preserve some of the remaining historic mining structures around town has come from the largest mining company in Utah, Rio Tinto Kennecott Utah Copper.
With regards to sustainability, the minerals extracted in mining are a non-renewable resource so the actual production of these minerals cannot be sustainable, but the socioeconomic effects of mining can be. Park City is a good example of sustainable development initiated by mining. All of the historic buildings in Park City are lasting edifices directly due to the mining legacy of the area. A significant portion of the water that we drink in town is provided by a number of mine drainage tunnels that still flow groundwater collected from the underground mines. A good example of modern resource sustainability initiated by mining is our local ski industry. In “Treasure Mountain Home,” George A. Thompson and Fraser Buck describe how in the early 1960s, United Park City Mining Company (UPCM), American Smelting & Refining, and Anaconda Copper each put up significant funds to get recreational development started on some 10,000 acres of private surface property turned over by UPCM to the Park City Land & Development Company. This was the beginning of the modern ski resort industry in Park City that is still going strong today.
So let us give some credit to the modern mining industry in the United States for working to sustain our lifestyles in an ethical fashion. This industry is now hard at work to provide the metals that will be necessary to electrify our transportation sector.