I enjoyed a tour of the
American Gypsum mine and plant recently and wondered – how many of the local residents are even aware that there IS A MINE IN THEIR BACKYARD? How many of them know that this extremely efficient operation makes the
drywall used to build their house? That
gypsum is used in some Portland cement to make their sidewalks and driveways. And uses for
recycled gypsum include many agricultural purposes, athletic field marking, as a stucco additive, grease absorption, sludge drying, and water treatment.
Did you know that you are surrounded by mined materials every day and that these mined materials help to build the world we live in? From houses and cars to toothpaste and medicine, mined materials are literally in everything we do.
Let us start at home… literally. Can you look around and find the items made from mined materials? Spoiler Alert: nearly everything you see has some form of mined material used in its creation. Visit the
MEC website for outreach and awareness, a mining and minerals database, and K-12 education activities.
As you think about the world you live in and the items you interact with every day, think about where we would be if we didn’t have mining. It would be radically different, wouldn’t it? Mined material makes our lives easier and helps to create the modern conveniences we enjoy so much.
So, how are
you going to share the message of “why mining is important in our lives” with the world?
Jackie Dorr, Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration.