Mining in ColoradoThe United States is the largest producer of several minerals that have wide applications in the modern industry such as coal, and gold. Gold is precious in jewelry; however, coal is very valuable to industries that consume energy in large scale. United States also produces other minerals such as copper, clay, lithium, magnesium, silica, and sulfur among other useful minerals. Sulfur, in particular, occurs in Louisiana state where is mining takes place through the famous Frasch process (Colorado Mining Association, 2012). The process of mining in Colorado dates back to 1859 when potential miners found gold deposits on lying on gravels in Denver. This paper will reflect on the several aspects of mining in the Colorado state such as history of the mining process, the types of rocks mined, the historical advances in the process of mining, and finally, the current state of mining.The mining works in Colorado state dates back to 1859 when the first gold deposits were found in Cherry Creek about south of the Denver city. More prospects discovered that there were more gold in towns such as Blackhawk, and Central City. These discoveries prompted a rush for the gold deposits that occurred in Colorado County. The production of gold in the Front Range area had reached almost seven ounces in the beginning of 1990 (Don & Jean, 1996). Since the year 1859, the Colorado mines have produced a total of nearly forty five million ounces in gold.The most prominent gold discovery in the state of Colorado was in Cripple Creek around 1893. The total production coming from the Cripple Creek alone stood at 22 million ounces a year. The Cripple Creek site remains as the sole site where gold is being produced in the whole Colorado mine with its annual production standing at about a quarter million ounces by the year 2000 (Colorado Mining Association, 2012). More prospects for minerals continued, and the discovery of an unknown mineral occurred in the Leadville area. This unknown mineral was an ore containing silver and prompted the rise of several districts such as Kokomo, Leadville, and Gilman (Don & Jean, 1996). These sites produced a combined total of about 1.9 million tons of zinc mineral, 1.3 million tons of lead, 333 million tons of silver, and 3.6 million tons of gold all the way to the year 1999.The discovery of Molybdenum was in the year 1879 in the Climax area neighboring the Fremont Pass, lying in the northern part of Leadville. The mineral that had no apparent use at the time, later found great applications in the hardening of steel. This alloy of iron with varying degrees of other minerals such as carbon was useful in the making of various types of armaments in the onset of World War I (Duane, 2011). The production of these minerals continued until World War II. In the onset of the 1980s, more production sites came following the discovery of molybdenum, particularly the famous Henderson Area in Clear Creek, which officially opened in the year 1976. By the year 1986, the Climax Mines closed down, and the only mine that served then onwards was the Henderson mine in the Colorado.Apart from the minerals so far discussed, the discovery of uranium deposits came in the 1950s in the southwestern part of the Colorado mine in the Front Range area (Colorado Mining Association, 2012). The most important mining area was in Shwartzwalder, which was lying between the Golden and the Boulder areas. Around 1997, the Schwartzwalder mine had a total production of about 500, 000 pounds of uranium. However, this mine officially closed in the year 2000. The Colorado area is very famous for some of the most important minerals, and ores such as diamond gemstones, beryl, aquamarine, and rhodochrosite among other vitals minerals. The diamond mineral was discovered 1975 (Mining Artifacts, 2014). However, the Larimer County based Kelsey Lake began the commercial level production around the year 1996. This mine produced some of the best quality diamonds spanning to almost 26 carats.More minerals such as sand, gravel, small stones, limestone, gypsum, and other important rocks that served as the chief materials for the local construction. These varying types of infrastructures have made Colorado an area of booming business between 1990s and 2000s. The level of production of these materials has increased steadily with the central Colorado based Yule Marble being renowned for producing some of the best marbles in the world (Duane, 2011). Most of these marbles from the Yule quarry have found high profile uses such in the construction of Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D .C, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.Some important compounds with varying applications in the industry such as sodium hydrogen carbonate are also present and mining such compounds employs the use of the famous solution mining. The deposits that produce the sodium bicarbonate come from ores such as nahcolite found in the Piceance basin lying in the northwestern part Colorado state. Sodium bicarbonate have several industrial uses, however, the sodium carbonate obtained after the thermal decomposition of the corresponding bicarbonate have varied uses, and is a more important raw material in the industrial process (Duane, 2011). Consequently, the American soda company installed a plant that converts sodium bicarbonate into sodium carbonate that is the chief raw material in the glass and water softening industries.The coal mining process in Colorado started after the arrival of the first settlers and several miners in the Front Range area. This area lying between the Boulders and Weld counties have nearly one hundred mines that produce coal. The production of coal employs either the open earth method or the deep underground mining method (Duane, 2011). The production level in these mines was nearly 30 million tones of coal, taking Colorado State to position eleven out of the thirty cola mining states in the United States.Many of the minerals used in the production of several materials that citizens consume come from the Colorado mines in the United States. The outline of these minerals and their uses follows below:This mineral is a chief source of industrial energy. Coal is a material that burns producing a lot of heat. It is formed from rudimentary plants such ferns that died during the time of the dinosaurs. There are several varieties of coal such as anthracite, lignite, sub-bituminous, and bituminous types (Colorado Mining Association, 2012). Most of the varieties in Colorado assist in the generation of electricity.Gold has several uses such as in dentistry, jewelry, medallions, and making of coins among other notable uses. The major gold producing area in Colorado is the Cripple Creek.This mineral has several uses such as making of cement, and building plasters. The American Eagle Gypsum Company mines it.This mineral composed of calcium carbonate forms from the remains of sea creatures. The conversion of limestone to marble requires the use of heat and pressure in the industry.Molybdenum has several uses such as removal of sulfur from crude oil, making of gas pipes, vehicle parts, and lubricants.Colorado mine is the only mine in the entire United States that produces pure sodium bicarbonate. The important derivative of this mineral is sodium carbonate that has several uses such as in the making of glass, and water softening.This important mineral has several uses. These include photography, chemistry, silver plating, making of mirrors, electronics, and solders.Colorado has the largest titanium deposit in the entire United States. Titanium has several uses such as making jet engines, and space aircrafts (Colorado Mining Association, 2012).This important mineral has one wide application, which is the production of nuclear energy.The methods of mining changed rapidly as the availability of the ores or minerals on the surface decreased. The miners had to device rapid and more efficient methods of mining that could ensure more production, and sustainable earning.The mining of gold, silver, and other minerals has evolved over time with miners devising more and more efficient ways of obtaining the ore from the rocks, underground deposits or from the crushed ore itself. In the earlier days, the miners used the method of placer mining. This method involved scooping water mixed with soil from the riverbed, swirling it to remove the lighter soils, and leaving gold behind (McDade, 2014). Secondly, the method of winnowing was also very relevant. The Indians took advantage of the wind, which swept away the lighter sand leaving behind the heavier gold particles.In 1858, the gold dusts that were occurring on the surface had diminished; the miners began thinking on how to dig for the gold deposits that were lying underground. This called for other methods of mining such the hard rock mining, hydraulic drills, and stamps, which crushed the rocks that originated from the underground mines. The crushing of the rocks containing the ores turned them into powder (James, 2009). However, there was a problem on how to separate gold from other minerals such as silver. This called for new methods, as the older methods of separations were wholly inadequate, and led to wastages of about 70%.The solution to this problem came from Professor Nathaniel Hill, who had visited the Colorado mining area to explore the investment opportunities for several potential investors. The chemistry teacher from the Brown University met the miners who presented the problem of separating the gold from the underground ores once were crushed. This intrigued Nathaniel; however, he later developed the smelting method that served to work more efficiently than the other previous methods. He later established the smelting company that made a lot of profit since the miners were interested in the refining o f their gold ores (Denver Mineral Engineers, 2014).The current methods of separating gold from the ore vary from use cyanide to gravitation among other modern techniques.Colorado has a rich history of mining since the year 1859. This year marked the discovery of gold. Over the years, there have been discoveries of new reserves. The present states of mining in Colorado entails safe, modern, and environmentally friendly mining methods enabling citizens to extract minerals valued at nearly $ 2 billion. The mining in Colorado contributes about $ 8 billion to the economy of the state.The mining in Colorado employs almost 12,000 people, and generates about 46,000 jobs in varied areas such as engineering works, geological works, transportation, and finance among other areas that directly employ the citizens of this state. Moreover, the miners at the Colorado mines are the highest paid workers earning an average of almost $ 98,250, which represents twice the pay that the private sector offers. In the year 2008, the state of Colorado received almost $ 174 million in royalty fees that directly supports education. In the year 2012, Colorado produced 29 million tons of coal with a value of $1.1 billion. This production made Colorado rank number nine among the other coal producing states. Cheap electrical energy from coal constitutes 66% of the total electric energy consumption in the state. However, the coal from the Colorado mines is the safest, and the finest varieties in the whole world, and thus burns producing clean energy, which requires no further purification. The coal production in the Colorado mines employs the very productive long wall method. The Peabody Energy that owns the operation was the first to break the world record of being the first of produce one million tons of coal in one month.Currently, the most productive gold mine in Colorado is the Cresson Mine, which produced over a quarter million ounces of gold in the year 2008. Colorado comes at number four among the gold producing states. Colorado also hosts the mines that produce the largest quantity of molybdenum in the entire world. In the year 2008, Colorado mine produced over 40 million pounds of molybdenum. Molybdenum has several uses; however, the pure form of this mineral from the Colorado mines helps in the manufacture of automobile air bags for the safety of passengers.The Colorado mines provide minerals that have extensive uses in the current industries. However, there several environmental challenges that face the mine. In the year 2000, an agreement brought the closure of the pumice mine in Flagstaff after several occasions of protest from the Indian tribes, and the environmental groups. Moreover, the extensive stripping of the land leads to loss of vegetative cover causing soil erosion, and gross habitat loss (Earth Justice, 2014). The infiltration of wastes from the mines to the local underground water system also contaminates the water with making them unsafe for human consumption. This is due to the excessive contamination from the heavy metals such as copper, zinc, manganese, and lead.Colorado mines produce some of the finest quality minerals in the world. Moreover, the state ranks well in comparison to other states with regard to its production capacities. The most important minerals produced include gold, silver, coal, molybdenum, diamond, and sodium carbonate among other useful chemicals. Such chemicals find varied uses in the current industries like the automobiles, electronics, water purification, glass making, refining of crude oil among other uses. The methods of mining have evolved with both time, and the level of depth at which the minerals occur.In Colorado mines, the minerals produced have varied uses; the citizens of the state have reliable jobs, and favorable sources of income. However, there are inherent environmental impacts that directly result from the mining process in Colorado. Such effects include contamination of under ground water with heavy metals, removal vegetation cover that accelerates soil erosion, and loss of habitat. Such concerns still require further deliberations so that citizens can enjoy the benefits of mining alongside a clean and friendly environment.ReferencesColorado Mining Association. (2012). Mining facts and resources. Retrieved from http://www.coloradomining.org/mc_miningfacts.php.Don, L. & Jean, H. (1996). 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