<P> Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weathering process but is exacerbated by large - scale earth disturbances characteristic of mining and other large construction activities, usually within rocks containing an abundance of sulfide minerals . Areas where the earth has been disturbed (e.g. construction sites, subdivisions, and transportation corridors) may create acid rock drainage . In many localities, the liquid that drains from coal stocks, coal handling facilities, coal washeries, and coal waste tips can be highly acidic, and in such cases it is treated as acid rock drainage . </P> <P> The same type of chemical reactions and processes may occur through the disturbance of acid sulfate soils formed under coastal or estuarine conditions after the last major sea level rise, and constitutes a similar environmental hazard . </P> <P> Dissolution and transport of metals and heavy metals by run - off and ground water is another example of environmental problems with mining, such as the Britannia Mine, a former copper mine near Vancouver, British Columbia . Tar Creek, an abandoned mining area in Picher, Oklahoma that is now an Environmental Protection Agency superfund site, also suffers from heavy metal contamination . Water in the mine containing dissolved heavy metals such as lead and cadmium leaked into local groundwater, contaminating it . Long - term storage of tailings and dust can lead to additional problems, as they can be easily blown off site by wind, as occurred at Skouriotissa, an abandoned copper mine in Cyprus . </P> <P> The implantation of a mine is a major habitat modification, and smaller perturbations occur on a larger scale than exploitation site, mine - waste residuals contamination of the environment for example . Adverse effects can be observed long after the end of the mine activity . Destruction or drastic modification of the original site and anthropogenic substances release can have major impact on biodiversity in the area . Destruction of the habitat is the main component of biodiversity losses, but direct poisoning caused by mine - extracted material, and indirect poisoning through food and water, can also affect animals, vegetals and microorganisms . Habitat modification such as pH and temperature modification disturb communities in the area . Endemic species are especially sensitive, since they need very specific environmental conditions . Destruction or slight modification of their habitat puts them at the risk of extinction . Habitats can be damaged when there is not enough terrestrial as well by non-chemicals products, such as large rocks from the mines that are discarded in the surrounding landscape with no concern for impacts on natural habitat . </P>

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