Here, Falkirk Mining Company in North Dakota uses innovative reclamation techniques to preserve prairie wetlands for wildfowl habitat.
Most people pass their days with no thought of the role mining plays in their lives.
They know where to buy the things they want but seldom consider the origins. Food comes from a grocery. . . If we do think of how these things are created, many of us probably begin with farms, factories and power stations. In fact, they all begin with mining. Without minerals and coal, we could not till our soil, build our machines, generate and supply our energy, transport our goods or maintain any society beyond the most primitive.