Posted on September 30, 2019

Today, we take a closer look at the environmental impacts of underground metal mines. While underground metal mines, like the mines that operated in north Idaho for decades, results in many beneficial materials that are used to build and power technological advancements, there are also damaging effects to mining raw... [Read More]

Posted on September 23, 2019

All of these mining photos may have inspired you to explore an abandoned mine but BEWARE! Just on federal land alone, there are 510 abandoned mine sites in north Idaho and there could be many more on private land. However, most of these abandoned mines are dangerous and deadly because... [Read More]

Posted on September 16, 2019

So far, we’ve stayed underground to explore north Idaho metal mines. Today, we’re taking a break from the underground and coming back to the surface to see what mines look like from the outside! [Read More]

Posted on September 9, 2019

Last week, we learned about smelting ore into base metals for the purpose of building technology, including the many devices that we rely on every day. This week, we’ll take a closer look at the automation side of underground metal mines. Machines, railways, hoists, and ore carts on tracks are... [Read More]

Posted on September 2, 2019

Last week, we learned about milling mineral ore. This week, we’ll look at what happens after minerals have been milled. [Read More]

Posted on August 26, 2019

Last week, we learned about extracting raw mineral ore. This week, we’ll learn about the process of milling, which is the first of two steps required to take raw mineral ore and turn it into a usable product (the second of which is smelting, which we’ll explore next week!) [Read More]

Posted on August 19, 2019

Last week, we learned about the dangers posed to an underground metal miner. This week, we’ll focus on the process of mineral extraction, which is what mining is all about! Extracting raw materials from the Earth supports much of our economic and social infrastructure (smartphones, for example, are made of... [Read More]

Posted on August 12, 2019

We’re starting a new series featuring one of our strongest collecting areas: mining in north Idaho. North Idaho mines began operation in the late 1800s and were shut down and abandoned around the mid-20th century and were primarily underground metal mines that extracted mineral ore such as lead, zinc, silver,... [Read More]