Please list some pros and cons to Copper mining (particularly, but not just in AZ)?

Question

Also, what types of solutions do you envision on the issue of environmentally friendly practices in this industry and the need for good paying jobs to remain?

Answer 1

AZ   Arizona?

Pros: -

#  We cannot live our current lifestyle without copper.

#  Copper is a valuble base metal

#  Hundreds of secondary industries depend on Cu and Cu mining

#  Nearly all things electronic depend on copper.

# Quite simply we just have to have copper

# The mining of Cu create thousands of jobs

Cons: -

#  Mining of Cu harms the environment

#  Leaves huge open cast pits

#  Cu mining sometimes contaminates ground water

# Cu mining, processing and refining causes air pollution.

There are many things that can be done to make copper mining more environmentally friendly, but there is no time to go into that here other than to say develop better methods of mining, extracting and refining of copper.