Mining and Electricity - The Chicken and the Egg
In the first edition of this blog, I noted that “the electric sector underpins every other essential industry sector, and it also relies on many of them. I...think of the overlaps like the Olympic rings – all interlinked, with some overlapping more than others.”
For the next several editions, I’ll continue to focus on each critical infrastructure sector in relation to the electric sector because electricity – which began to be deployed as a service close to 150 years ago – has enabled the progress, convenience and abundance that are hallmarks of modern life. Thereafter, I’ll get into the overlapping policy issues in more detail.
Onward to the mining sector and how it interacts with electricity. I thought this one would be fairly straightforward, but it turns out, not so much. Every time I begin to delve more deeply into these critical sectors, I remember how technical and complex each of them is. When I was on Capitol Hill years ago, I supported my bosses on a variety of policy issues, some of which involved a few of these critical infrastructure sectors (agriculture, banking/financial services, energy, dams). As this blog evolves, I’ll reference some of those days and issues in more detail, but for this one I can’t resist a quick story...
Back in the late 1990s-early 2000s, I worked for a Member of Congress from Pennsylvania named Don Sherwood. Cong. Sherwood represented the 10th District which, back then, spanned Scranton north to the New York border then along that border to the West, down to Williamsport and East back to Scranton. At the time, it was the largest district in the state from a geographic standpoint, dotted with dairy farms. It was also in the middle of the anthracite coal mining area. Anthracite coal literally fueled the first half of the American Industrial Revolution. In the 20th century, mining of anthracite coal was gradually replaced with mining other forms of coal that were lighter and more easily combusted. The mines were then abandoned and, unlike modern mines, were not designed to be reclaimed. Such abandoned mines created hazards such as “mine subsidence, mine fires, hazardous mine openings, contaminated or diminished water supplies, coal refuse piles (culm banks), abandoned mine drainage (AMD), and dangerous highwalls,” according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
During my tenure with Cong. Sherwood, he prioritized working with the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and other related agencies to identify priority areas in Pennsylvania for reclamation – an expensive process requiring much federal agency and state coordination. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) mandated the creation of an “abandoned mine land” fund to which all mining operations have contributed since. Nonetheless, just like any fee-based program run by the federal government, funds had to be appropriated and politics were involved in their allocation (shocking!).
Anyway, this important issue was in my portfolio. Therefore, when the Congressman wanted to travel to see some of the abandoned mines in his district, I was on point to organize the trip. After much ado, I secured a Chinook helicopter from the Army Air National Guard (with the requisite pilots to fly it, of course) and off I went in said Chinook with Rep. Sherwood and a few other staff. It was eye opening to see the huge culm piles and deep openings that precluded healthy development of the land. It was also quite chilly in that helicopter when the ramp was lowered to aid our ability to visualize. So chilly that I almost got frost bite. Literally. Somehow in the planning process, I had neglected to understand how cold it actually got in a Chinook flying in Pennsylvania, during the early spring, with its ramp partially open.
Despite my frozen fingers, we were able to successfully highlight the issue and Cong. Sherwood supported robust appropriations for abandoned mine lands during his time in Congress. There is still much work to be done, of course, but the last 20+ years have seen progress.
Onward to the history of mining. Let’s start with a definition by Brittanica:
Mining, process of extracting useful minerals from the surface of the Earth, including the seas. A mineral, with a few exceptions, is an inorganic substance occurring in nature that has a definite chemical composition and distinctive physical properties or molecular structure. (One organic substance, coal, is often discussed as a mineral as well.) Ore is a metalliferous mineral, or an aggregate of metalliferous minerals and gangue (associated rock of no economic value), that can be mined at a profit. Mineral deposit designates a natural occurrence of a useful mineral, while ore deposit denotes a mineral deposit of sufficient extent and concentration to invite exploitation.
The fossil record shows evidence of tools used by humans from 2-3 million years ago, but the oldest mine on record, the Ngwenya Mine in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland, a small kingdom in Africa between South Africa and Mozambique), dates to 43,000 years ago! Those ancient people mined hematite for ochre for use in pigmentation. Other mines of similar age have been found in modern Hungary, likely used to extract flint for tools and weapons. These ancient mines were likely begun from visible above- ground seams.
Fast forward to the time about 5,000-6,000 years ago when other major critical infrastructure industries that I’ve discussed in previous blogs – transportation, agriculture, water, oil & gas, manufacturing – made significant progress. Because of the ease with which flint could be manipulated, it was the predominant rock mined during this time, but some other hard rocks were extracted for tools and weapons as well. The Egyptians began mining copper around this time, leading to huge advances when it was smelted with tin to produce bronze. Gold, silver, and copper, once discovered, essentially in their natural state, quickly became valued for jewelry and other adornment as well as for their intrinsic monetary value. Iron mining and use dates to about 4,800 years ago in Troy and Egypt. The Great Pyramids provide the first example of the use of quarried stone – limestone and red granite – about 4,600 years ago. As noted the first mine was in Africa, and other parts of the world beyond Europe, Egypt, and Mesopotamia engaged in mining from early on in prehistory and at the onset of civilization. Like with agriculture, mining across the world depended on the resources available in particular locations, but the uses were similar – for tools, armaments, dyes and adornment.
About 3,000 years ago, we come back around to the Romans, whose master engineering techniques and innovations in mining were integral to their mastery of other critical infrastructure sectors, and vice versa. Not only did they innovate from a technical standpoint, but they used their vast geographic holdings in Europe and what is now Great Britain to exploit various types of minerals and rocks. They were the first large-scale miners. Key to that was their use of water.
In the second edition of this blog, I wrote about the Roman aqueducts. For mining, they used these aqueducts to move large amounts of water to the mine-head. Water was essential for removing refuse – rocks and dirt superfluous to the ore being mined – and to wash the ore once it was crushed. It was also used to find veins of ore, they used water to put out the fires used in fire-setting (a method used to heat the rock), and they developed a “reverse overshot water wheel” to remove existing water from underground mines. They stored excess water in reservoirs. It’s no coincidence that the Romans were master builders – these mining techniques enabled them to build massive palaces, coliseums, and the aqueducts themselves.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, mining in Europe initially focused primarily on iron and copper with some other precious metals used for jewelry and coinage – gold and silver coinage became more widely used in the 13th century. Demand for iron use skyrocketed during this period due to its use in armor and horseshoes. In the late 1400s, a silver crisis was caused by depleted mines pushed currency to paper in some cases, but gold, silver and copper coins remained in use. In the 1500s, a crucial legal decision in England led to its mining dominance over Europe. In 1568, an English judicial decision held that only gold and silver mining rights belonged to the crown, while other mineral rights belonged to private landowners. On the European continent, royalty vigorously retained their preeminent mineral rights. England was rich in iron, copper, zinc, lead, tin, and coal, and this decision incentivized landowners to lease their mineral rights to developers, a precedent that underpins such arrangements today in many parts of the world, including the U.S.
Water mills were used extensively in mining during this period and, for the first time in 1627, blasting came into play. Such initial use of explosives was enabled by black powder (gunpowder), which is a combination of sulfur, carbon (from charcoal), and potassium nitrate (saltpeter), with the first two ingredients acting as fuels and the latter providing oxidization. Black powder was likely imported from China to Europe. Blasting enabled deeper and more expeditious operations. Black powder was replaced by dynamite in the mid-1800s, and since the mid-1900s, ammonium nitrate-based blasting agents have become the norm. Human- and animal-powered drills were initially used to place explosives within rock formations to access ore deposits, being replaced by mechanized drills and processes in the last two hundred years.
Like every type of critical infrastructure sector I’ve already discussed in this blog, game-changing technology was developed in the 1800s, enabled by steam engines, manufacturing techniques, and, later in the century, electricity. Intuitively, and as likely implied by the brief history and definition I’ve included above, subsurface mining involves several major elements: 1) exploration; 2) evaluation/assessment; 3) digging/blasting; 4) extraction; 5) distillation/waste removal; 6) transportation; and 7) reclamation. Surface mining involves most of the same elements, but to different degrees. The final element of restoring/reclaiming mined lands was not widespread until the last 50 years or so and is not prioritized in certain parts of the world like it is now in the U.S.
The key inventions in the 1800s and subsequent inventions and refinements involve every element of the mining process. I will just highlight a few. The first mechanical drill powered by steam was invented in 1813 in England by Richard Trevithick. About 30 years later, a piston drill was invented, then 10 years later an air drill. Eventually, hammer drills operated with compressed air overtook piston drills. As noted by Brittanica:
“Developments in drilling were accompanied by improvements in loading methods, from handloading with shovels to various types of mechanical loaders. Haulage likewise evolved from human and animal portage to mine cars drawn by electric locomotives and conveyers and to rubber-tired vehicles of large capacity.
Water inflow was a very important problem in underground mining until James Watt invented the steam engine in the 18th century. After that, steam-driven pumps could be used to remove water from the deep mines of the day.
Early lighting systems were of the open-flame type, consisting of candles or oil-wick lamps. In the latter type, coal oil, whale oil, or kerosene was burned. Beginning in the 1890s, flammable acetylene gas was generated by adding water to calcium carbide in the base of a lamp and then released through a jet in the center of a bright metal reflector. A flint sparker made these so- called carbide lamps easy to light. In the 1930s battery-powered cap lamps began entering mines, and since then various improvements have been made in light intensity, battery life, and weight.”
In the 20th century, the U.S. and Canada dominated mining of copper, coal, lead, and iron. Important mines were also developed in Australia during the last century and that country is now a key global mineral producer. China has come to the forefront over the last few decades and is now the largest producer of more than 20 metals, including aluminum, cement, coal, gold, graphite, iron and steel lead, magnesium, rare earths, and zinc. As I learned from this research, a rare earth mineral isn’t actually “rare” (don’t you just love misnomers?), but rather is one that contains one or more rare earth elements as a major metal component. Seventeen rare earth elements have magnetic and conductive properties needed for most electronic devices.
Without mining, there would be no electricity, no TV, no iPhones (“OMG,” as my 15-year-old would say). Copper wire enables electricity to be transmitted. Steel (derived from mined iron) forms the basis of electric transformers and the bucket trucks that are used to build and maintain electric wires and poles – and many other things. Power plants are made from steel and many other components derived from mining – all types, from nuclear to coal to natural gas to wind to solar to hydropower. Solar panels use silicon derived from quartzite, mined from quartz sandstone.
Serious policy issues arise about who controls these critical minerals, how they are mined, how the mines are reclaimed, etc., but the need for mining is obvious. I’ve also previously touched on global supply chain constraints and how they impact manufacturing of electrical components such as distribution transformers. Such constraints have a direct link to mining and transportation. As we continue to electrify more of our economy, we must have a transparent and serious understanding of these linkages, how much we can absorb supply chain disruptions in the future, and how much of these supplies we should control. I know some leaders in Congress and the agencies are thinking and talking about this, but I would encourage greater discussion between and among the critical infrastructure sectors involved.
Off my soapbox for now, here are some other ways that the mining sector and the electric sector overlap:
Reliance on transportation. All mined products must be transported from the mine to manufacturing or packaging facilities -- via ship, train, truck, or pipeline. Electric utilities transport coal, but also must ensure deliveries of critical grid components, bucket trucks, copper wire, poles, and the list goes on...
Reliance on critical manufacturing. For mined products, the manufacturers buy them directly from the mining company for further processing, with a few exceptions, like coal. If the parts are not available, the drills, pipelines, etc., don’t function, and nor do the wires, poles, and power plants. The manufacturers are in the middle between the mines and the electric utilities (again, with coal as a fuel source as the exception).
Environmental regulation/climate change. Both face significant regulation and scrutiny related to their impacts on water, air, and land – and should continue to collaborate to educate regulators and policy makers on maintaining balance in their operations.
The use of natural gas. Natural gas comprises approximately 40% of domestic electricity generation, as mentioned above. Natural gas is a key component of ammonium nitrate production, which is widely used for blasting. Natural gas continues to be scrutinized because of its impact as a greenhouse gas when burned, a fact that both industries must address.
Reliance on water. Water is still used for all types of mining. Electric utilities also use traditional hydropower and new water-power technologies to produce emissions-free electricity. They also use water to cool nuclear and fossil-fueled power plants. But the resource can be constrained in drought conditions, especially out West.
Workforce challenges and the knowledge drain that has resulted from retirements in recent years.
Supply chain constraints that impact every aspect of infrastructure deployment and maintenance (see manufacturing components above).
How to best use technology to create efficiencies and minimize expenses.
How to manage the cybersecurity risk that comes with those technology deployments. Both industries are acutely focused on this and are already working together in some ways – that should continue.
I hope I have given you a sense mining – surprisingly, one of the oldest critical infrastructure sectors so far. Bottom line -- no mining, no electricity. We’ll come back to some of the policy implications in later blogs.