Where Is Asbestos Mined?

Asbestos is a mineral that was used extensively in the United States as an agent in insulation and fireproof material until it was connected to various forms of cancer. It is still mined in many parts of the world and used where bans on asbestos have not limited its uses. Many countries still import large amounts of asbestos, despite the health risks that have been proven to be connected with asbestos fibers that are inhaled or swallowed. Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that is mined by a method called open mining.

Considerations

Asbestos is mined by the open pit method in most countries where the top layers of the sediment are removed and the minerals taken out. Layer after layer of rock will be blasted away until the asbestos is exposed and then harvested with machinery. Asbestos comes in different forms and is a waxy almost greasy mineral that is relatively soft. It is very brittle and easily fractures into many pieces that are stringy.

Size

According to the United States Geological Survey statistics, asbestos production is led by Russia, which in the year 2000 alone mined 752,000 tons of asbestos. China was next with a little under half that total with Canada at 320,000 tons. Brazil came in fourth in terms of asbestos tonnage with 209,000 and Kazakhstan fifth at 179,000 tons. After Zimbabwe's 152,000 tons asbestos production drops off significantly with countries, such as Greece, India, South Africa, and the United States mining less than 32,000 tons.

History

Asbestos was found to be useful in industrial applications in the late 1800s and early 1900s, being used in trains, ships and automobile manufacturing. It began to be commercially mined all over the world and up to 3,000 different products were made with asbestos as an ingredient at one time. Over 5 million tons of asbestos was being taken out of the ground as recently as 1970 when the effects of asbestos started to bring about bans on its usage in the United States and elsewhere. By 1982 the tonnage of asbestos mined was down to 4 million, and now it is at 2 million as these bans have diminished the demand for asbestos in many parts of the world.

Geography

Canada is the largest player on the world asbestos trade market, exporting 300,000 tons of the type known as chrysotile asbestos alone each year. Almost three quarters of the asbestos used in the world today are in nations in South America, Eastern Europe and Asia, where health regulations have not caught up to the dangers of asbestos.

Warning

Asbestos is the cause of the lung disease asbestosis and a cancer known as mesothelioma. Both types of disease are incurable and progressive, worsening over time. This fact has made asbestos mining and the subsequent exportation of asbestos in nations like Canada a controversial issue. All of Canada's asbestos mines are in one province, Quebec. This area's political situation, where many in Quebec would like to be independent form Canada, adds to the controversy of providing a mineral with the deadly potential of asbestos to countries where it will surely result in deaths from its usage.

Resources

• Medscape today website for more information