Don’t simply vilify mining

WE SEEM to be getting a lot of promotion for electric vehicles as being the saviour of our energy resources.

I have nothing against this but do we consider the fact an electric vehicle requires four times the amount of copper as a conventional petrol/ diesel vehicle?

This copper is not something that grows readily in the environment. It is a mineral that must be mined and refined in the same way as does coal, iron, aluminium etc. This mining, refining and forming into wires requires an enormous amount of energy ( heat) which needs to be supplied by either coal, gas or electric fired furnaces.

I think we need to understand that all mining is not evil and much of it is necessary for our way of life.

Without mining we would have no TVs or mobile phones – we would have no batteries. Instead of vilifying the mining/ manufacturing industries, perhaps we should be concentrating our energies on to making these industries safer and cleaner. PETER BEATTS, Mareeba.