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Subsidence Index | Coal Mining Index | Diagnostic Characteristics | Geographic Occurrence | Investigation & Mitigation | Key Contacts & Expert Advice | Photo Gallery | Essential References & Further Reading | Definitions & Glossary | Mining, alongside agriculture, represents one of man's earliest activities, the two being fundamental to the development and sustainability of civilization. Mining has been recorded back into Palaeolithic times and, as such, it has played an important role in the development of civilization. It also is an activity that has and is going on more or less worldwide. The exploitation of minerals is fundamental to society now and will continue to be in the future. In other words, the mining of minerals contributes to the sustained economic progress of developed nations, and helps to alleviate poverty and improve the quality of life of people in developing countries. First, mineral deposits, like coal, have to be located; they then are worked and subsequently processed. It is the working and processing of mineral deposits that can give rise to environmental damage such as subsidence. Coal mining on some scale has taken place in every county in England and Wales and, except for the Western Isles and parts of the Highlands, every region in Scotland. Many urban and industrial areas owe their location to the presence of mineral deposits, especially to that of coal that provided the energy and/or acted as raw material. For example, in Britain these include the industrial areas of north east England, Yorkshire and Lancashire, Nottingham, the West Midlands, South Wales, parts of Cornwall and the Midland Valley of Scotland. Mining dates back several centuries and has left a legacy of mining relics which are potentially hazardous when developing an area of ground. Subsidence is one of these hazards. Mining activities in the urban environment have not been restricted to coal, but include bulk minerals and metalliferous ores, though the latter, with the exception of parts of the Cornish tin and west Cumbria haematite mining fields, tend to be in rural areas. The restructuring of the coal mining industry since the 1970s has resulted in the closure of many of the deep mines in Britain, and in some cases the complete abandonment of coal mining basins. Although subsidence may still occur many years after mining has ceased. With time, the use of coal and other minerals has increased in both volume and variety in order to meet a greater range of purposes and demand by society. Accordingly, present day society is more dependent on the minerals industry than in the past. Indeed, the exploitation of minerals is fundamental to society now and will continue to be in the future. In other words, the mining of minerals contributes to the sustained economic progress of developed nations, and helps to alleviate poverty and improve the quality of life of people in developing countries. The geohazards associated with mining, such as subsidence, and the impact of coal mining on the environment occurs throughout the developed and developing world. Subsidence associated with historical and current coal mining occurs in many parts of the world including the major coal producing nations such as Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine and USASubsidence Index | Coal Mining Index | Diagnostic Characteristics | Geographic Occurrence | Investigation & Mitigation | Key Contacts & Expert Advice | Photo Gallery | Essential References & Further Reading | Definitions & Glossary | |
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