Nowadays, environmental protection is enforced before and after mining. The operation to extract useful substances from the ground has negative impact on the land and soil, but the introduced "pollutants" can be neutralized or removed during and after mining activities. The land should be returned as clean as it was before mining started. That was not the case 20 to 30 years before the present.

Mining has an adverse effect on soil quality. Soil degradation is the prime impact. Another impact is deforestation and loss of fauna and flora.

Mining if not done carefully in case of coal mining may lead the production of Green house gases and coal dust in the air. Water quality also degrades if appropriate steps are not taken. Pollutants buried are released to the environment creating severe environmental pollution.Toxic chemicals and acidic water are found during and after mining contaminating the environment

Loss of biodiversity few habitat loss are all the impacts of mining.

Dear Olayemi Olanrewaju Fatai, you have raised an important issue that inquires strong attention while implementing it.

I strongly agree with the comprehensive responses of Dr. K N Sheth and Dr. Michael Issigonis

Dear Olayemi Olanrewaju Fatai , the effect of mining is not only limited to land and soil but also to society, biodiversity, environment, society etc.

Mining requires large areas of land to be cleared so that the earth could be dug into by the miners. For this reason, large-scale deforestation is required to be carried out in the areas where mining has to be done. Besides clearing the mining area, vegetation in the adjoining areas also needs to be cut in order to construct roads and residential facilities for the mine workers. The human population brings along with it other activities that harm the environment. For example, various activities at coal mines release dust and gas into the air. Thus, mining is one of the major causes of deforestation and pollution.

Loss of Biodiversity: The forests that are cleared for mining purposes are home to a large number of organisms. Indiscriminate clearing of the forests leads to loss of habitat of a large number of animals. This puts the survival of a large number of animal species at stake. The cutting down of trees in itself is a big threat to a number of plants, trees, birds and animals growing in the forests.

Erosion of exposed hillsides, mine dumps, tailings dams and resultant siltation of drainages, creeks and rivers can significantly impact the surrounding areas. In wilderness areas mining may cause destruction and disturbance of ecosystems and habitats, and in areas of farming it may disturb or destroy productive grazing and croplands. In urbanised environments mining may produce noise pollution, dust pollution and visual pollution.

Pollution: Despite measures being taken to release the chemical waste into the nearby rivers through pipes, a large amount of chemicals still leak out onto the land. This changes the chemical composition of the land. Besides this, since the chemicals are poisonous, they make the soil unsuitable for plants to grow.

It has devastating effect on land and soil quality

I agree with Dr K N Sheth and Dr Beemnet Mengesha Kasshun

Mining activities though inevitable for economic development, are environmentally hazardous and result in drastic disturbances of land. The disturbances include mining dumps, tailings and slimes, compaction, heavy metal toxicity and acidity. During mining operations overburden materials are removed and dumped in haphazard manner without any consideration for the respective sequence of soil profile. These overburden dumps are known as mine spoil. This drastically system is highly prone to erosion and causes contamination of rivers and adjoining agricultural lands with harmful substances leached out from it through rain water.

Ecosystem disruption by mining results in increased nutrient export from the system and depletion of soil carbon pool. Furthermore, disturbance by mining drastically alters the flow of nitrogen through a stable soil-plant-microbial ecosystem. Mining activity causes loss of litter layer, which is an integral storage exchange site for nutrients.

Please also have a look at these links and PDF attachments.

Article Effect of opencast mining on soil fertility

Article Environmental implications of high metal content in soils of...

Micheal Issigonis,

Dr. K.N Sheath,

Beemnet Mengesha Kassalun,

Dr. Latief Ahmad,

Priyanka Mehta and Arvind Singh....

I appreciate you all for your recommendation. GOD Bless you all.

This is a very broad question that one may find very difficult summarising at a go. The reason is that what affects the soil or land also affects every terrestrial creatures. Its a broad question indeed. However, Mining can contaminate soils over a large area. Agricultural activities near a mining project may be particularly. This seems very important because anything that affect agricultural activities has indirectly affect human beings in various ways; economic or health-wise and the population in general.

According to a study commissioned by the European Union:

“Mining operations routinely modify the surrounding landscape by exposing previously undisturbed earthen materials. Erosion of exposed soils, extracted mineral ores, tailings, and fine material in waste rock piles can result in substantial sediment loading to surface waters and drainage ways. In addition, spills and leaks of hazardous materials and the deposition of contaminated windblown dust can lead to soil contamination.

“SOIL CONTAMINATION: Human health and environmental risks from soils generally fall into two categories: (1) Contaminated soil resulting from windblown dust, (2) soils contaminated from chemical spills and residues.

Fugitive dust can pose significant environmental problems at some mines. The inherent toxicity of the dust depends upon the proximity of environmental receptors and type of ore being mined. High levels of arsenic, lead, and radionucleides in windblown dust usually pose the greatest risk. Soils contaminated from chemical spills and residues at mine sites may pose a direct contact risk when these materials are misused as fill materials, ornamental landscaping, or soil supplements.

You can check more literature.