#Opencast

[tjerra14]

have a bit of Lake™ from today's bike ride

[wall-of-knowledge]

mine vocational training

Key Points It seems likely that vocational training in mines is required to enhance the knowledge and skills of mining personnel for safe and efficient work, given the hazardous nature of the industry. Research suggests that trainers must have at least 5 years of mine experience, be safety-minded, skilled, and have an aptitude for training, with no prior rejection from production. The evidence…

[studiolevez]

The Fight Against Open Cast Lithium Mining: A Call to Action . Mining companies have acquired huge swathes of Portugal's most scenic land in the beautiful Guarda countryside, home to the Serra da Estrela Natural Park. Luckily the park is protected land but it's in danger of becoming an oasis in a desert landscape as its surrounding mountain scenery is being ravaged by bulldozers in the search for lithium.

In recent years, the demand for lithium has surged due to its crucial role in the production of batteries for electric vehicles, smartphones, and renewable energy storage systems. While the benefits of lithium are undeniable, the environmental and social costs associated with open cast lithium mining cannot be overlooked.

Despite prosecutors currently investigating alleged corruption into lithium mining deals, the destruction of Portugal’s countryside continues. The latest proposal is to extend the Alvarrões mine near the village of Gonçalo from 6.5 hectares to 32 hectares. It will be an environmental disaster for the area. Trees will be razed to the ground, habitats for endangered species destroyed and water courses will be in danger of being polluted. The site is next to the Zezere river which supplies water to the half a million inhabitants of Lisbon.

The region has already seen enormous environmental damage with the destruction of over 27,000 hectares of forest in the 2022 wildfires. Lithium mining will further exacerbate this environmental damage.

The local residents have just 30 days to protest the expansion. A petition against the lithium mine expansion has been started at https://peticaopublica.com/pview.aspx?pi=Alvarroes#google_vignette

As global citizens, we must raise our voices against this destructive practice and advocate for more sustainable and ethical methods of lithium extraction. One of the most glaring issues with open cast lithium mining is the extensive environmental destruction it causes. Open cast, or open-pit, mining involves removing vast quantities of earth to access the lithium-rich ore beneath. This process results in significant deforestation, habitat loss, and soil erosion. Forests, which play a vital role in carbon sequestration and biodiversity preservation, are being decimated to make way for lithium mines. The loss of these ecosystems not only contributes to climate change but also endangers countless species of flora and fauna. The economic benefits promised by mining companies rarely materialize for local communities. Instead, the profits are often funneled to multinational corporations and distant investors, leaving local populations to deal with the environmental fallout. The jobs created by the mining industry are typically low-paying and short-term, offering little in the way of long-term economic stability. Once the lithium reserves are depleted, mining companies often abandon the area, leaving behind a scarred landscape and a community in economic disarray. Health issues are another significant concern. The pollution generated by open cast mining can lead to respiratory problems, skin diseases, and other health issues for local residents. The dust and particulate matter released during the mining process can travel long distances, affecting not only those in the immediate vicinity of the mine but also communities further afield.

Links: Petition against the expansion of the Alvarrões mine https://peticaopublica.com/pview.aspx?pi=Alvarroes#google_vignette Facebook group - Living Forest Action https://www.facebook.com/florestavivaguarda Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ7fDM5Drx8

[cetaceous]

Excavator, Coal Mine 2014 The Hambach Opencast Mine, Lower Rhine Basin, Germany aerial photography by Bernhard Lang image credit: Photography - Bernhard Lang

[nullnvoid911]

German riot police lead Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg out away from the edge of the Garzweiler II opencast lignite mine in Erkelenz, Germany.

Federico Gambarini, January 17, 2023

[starzec]

Poverty shafts, Wałbrzych, December 2024, from Anew series

Biedaszyb (lit. Poverty shaft) is a mining shaft constructed illegally near an outcrop, most often providing access to hard coal. After the closure of mines, such shafts have become widespread in almost all neighbourhoods in Wałbrzych. In some places, even the surface deposits are rich in good quality coal. Mining is carried out using opencast methods (creating extensive excavations), or in the form of narrow holes, often going down to a dozen or so meters.

[landscape-stories]

LS NEW BOOK

Daniel Chatard - Niemandsland

landscapestories.net

In the German Rhineland, people's lives are marked by huge, slowly but steadily creeping holes that have already swallowed up fields, dozens of villages and entire forests. They are marked by their powerlessness in the face of an energy giant, which is rooted more deeply in the region than any tree in the resettlement sites. What does it feel like to look into these gaping holes and know: Somewhere there was my home? The project "No Man's Land" looks at the conflict over the extraction of brown coal in the Rhineland, where the energy company RWE operates the opencast mines Hambach, Garzweiler and Inden. Together, they form the largest source of CO2 emissions in all of Europe. To enlarge the mines, fields had to give way, forests were cut down and entire villages destroyed and resettled. While Germany claims itself to be in a leading position in the transition towards renewables, the country is still heavily dependent on coal for energy production, with brown coal being the dirtiest source of energy available. The conflict over space is documented to examine the current struggle in Germany between environmental, public and economic interests. It captures an era of the beginning of the end of coal within the transition of energy production in Germany.

The Eriskay Connection: Order the book here

[bernhard-schipper]

‘Aktivist’ Digital Collage, 375 x 375 mm, 2023 Fine Art Pigment Print under Acrylic Glass, Black Aluminium Art Box

‘Activist’ is probably the most totalitarian-seeming image in the series so far. The composition consists only of visual set pieces of the socialist hero glorification in the mining industry and the German miners' song 'Vor dem Anfahren' from the Mansfelder Land from 1797. I tried to reduce the aggressive expression - not particularly successfully. Until I realized that the elements such as: danger of being buried, community, omnipresent death, uniforms, and (the built-up) ideal of serving the people are inherent in the theme and I have to accept this in order to complete the picture.

Mining is war against Earth - our home planet.

I have to admit that I have had little contact with the mining culture so far. But since the beginning of the 1990s at the latest, it has been clear that mining in Germany is a phased-out model - an industry with no future due to dwindling resources, high environmental pollution and the health consequences for employees. But politicians in eastern Germany in particular cling to the myth that fossil resources never run out - also because they have failed to develop sustainable alternatives and perspectives. Mining has caused irreparable damage to the landscape and has irrevocably destroyed autochthonous culture, especially in the opencast mining areas of East Germany. Mining companies criminally mislead the public when it comes to water extraction from ecosystems.

Ultimately, the glorification of fossil fuel industries can no longer be justified. This is not to deny the achievements, hardships and sacrifices made by miners and their families for centuries. The picture is dedicated to them.

[climatecalling]

They might not look like archetypal environmental campaigners, but together they’ve spent the past two decades in the trenches of a colossal climate battle – one that unfolded right on their doorstep. Just a few hundred metres away from where we’re sitting is the Ffos-y-Fran opencast coalmine: the UK’s largest, owned by Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd. Even before it opened, they opposed it. It’s a fight they believe, on all accounts, should long be over. Not only because we know how environmentally damaging burning coal is, amid an ever-escalating climate crisis. It’s also that in September last year, permission to mine there expired. The Austins, expert lawyers and environmental groups all allege it has continued to operate illegally. Coal Authority records reveal that more than 284,000 tonnes of coal have been extracted since September. ... For 15 years, they refused to give in. There was an attempted years-long legal action; Alyson put herself on the line, risking the house with costs, to lead a test case that made its way to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. “I was crapping myself,” she says, “but in the end, that failed. ... “Nobody seemed to care,” Chris says, bluntly. In fact, in April this year, Merthyr Council refused an application by the company to extend operations until 2024, and in May issued a notice for the company to halt mining. It took effect in late June. Not that it stopped anything.

[tjerra14]

not sure since when I've reached the age where reading people fighting in the comments on a local newspaper article about the slightly different colour of the local tap water has become an amusing evening activity but here we are

[projectourworld]

‘We became activists by necessity’: The fight to close the UK’s largest opencast mine. The Ffos-y-Fran coalmine was supposed to close last September. So why is it still operating? And how long will the local community have to put up with the noise, pollution and health impacts? Courtesy The Guardian

[mylostgems]

RARE Millerite Crystal | Park Slip Mine, Kenfig Hill, Wales, UK | British Nickel Sulfide Specimen | With Certificate | Actual Specimen

Own a highly collectable and scientifically fascinating mineral with this RARE Millerite Crystal specimen from the Park Slip West Opencast Coal Mine, located at Kenfig Hill, West Glamorgan, Wales, UK. Characterised by its radiating, metallic needle-like formations, Millerite is a rare nickel sulfide mineral highly prized by collectors, especially when sourced from such well-documented British localities.

The specimen you see in the photos is the exact piece you will receive. Each photo includes a 1cm scale cube for accurate size reference—please review the full photo gallery for exact dimensions.

Geological Information:

Millerite is a nickel sulfide mineral with the formula NiS, known for its metallic lustre and fine, hair-like or radiating needle crystals. It typically forms in hydrothermal veins, low-temperature metamorphic environments, or as a secondary mineral in oxidised zones of nickel-rich deposits. The Park Slip West Opencast Coal Mine is a notable site in Wales for Millerite occurrences, often found in association with carbonaceous shales or sulfide-rich seams in coal-bearing strata.

Crystal Type:

Species: Millerite

Chemical Formula: NiS (Nickel Sulfide)

Formation Environment: Hydrothermal or sedimentary environments in nickel-rich geological settings, particularly coal mines and low-temperature veins

Metaphysical Properties:

Millerite is associated with transformation, mental clarity, and energetic detoxification. It is believed to support the Solar Plexus and Root Chakras, grounding energy while also enhancing one’s capacity to break through limiting patterns. Though not traditionally used in healing as frequently as quartz or tourmaline, its high metallic energy is valued for focus, decision-making, and aligning with one’s inner compass.

Why Buy From Us:

All of our crystals are 100% genuine natural specimens and include a Certificate of Authenticity. This Millerite Crystal from Park Slip West Mine, Wales, is a rare addition to any British or global mineral collection—ideal for collectors, educators, and mineralogists seeking unique regional specimens.

Order today to own a piece of Welsh geological history and the rare, radiating beauty of natural Millerite.

[odnewsin]

BJP leader urges CM Majhi to act on coal smuggling in Sundargarh

Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and former Sundargarh MLA Kusum Tete, Monday, demanded a high-level probe into the rampant coal smuggling from opencast coal mines in the Hemgir block of the Sundargarh district in Odisha. Tete, through a letter addressed to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, has drawn his attention towards the rampant smuggling of coal from Sundargarh to outside the state. She…

[tigermike]

🇩🇪 Paffendorf Castle is one of the many castles and manors in the Erftniederung. Built in the 16th century, the complex is surrounded by moats and consists of the multi-winged, two-storey mansion and the formerly agricultural forecourt, which encloses a spacious farmyard at right angles. Two massive round towers, diagonally opposite, flank the main building. The outer bailey is bounded at the corners by massive towers, which with beveled pedestals reach down to the ditches then fed by Erftwasser. In the middle of the 19th century, the castle received its neo-gothic appearance through a fundamental reconstruction. The buildings owe their battlements, turrets, balustrades and balconies as well as figurative jewelery. When in 1958 the progressive opencast mine Fortuna-Garsdorf reached the lands belonging to the castle, the then owner sold all the property to a predecessor company of RWE Power. The castle includes a 7.5-hectare park. Extensive water surfaces and numerous distinctive single trees, among them old sequoias, gingko and giant life trees, characterize the picture. A forestry education gives an impression of the flora of the Tertiary. Descendants of primeval trees, shrubs and moorland plants from other parts of the world provide visitors with a literally living image of the Tertiary.