of the high carrying costs which characterize land development projects delays can result in sharply higher prices for the final products environmental all of utah's mining operations are conducted by surface methods — strip mining in the case of coal and open pit mining for the extraction of uranium copper and iron ores the use of surface mining methods is dictated by the relatively shallow depths at which these minerals are found eventually the company may resort to underground methods in order to gain access to mineral deposits located at greater depths as compared with underground mining the use of surface mining techniques offers substantial advantages and benefits that need to be understood by a wider audience these are primarily three • safety surface mines maintain a far better safety record than underground mines no mining operation is free from industrial accidents but over the years the incidence of fatalities in underground mines has been approximately eight times greater than it has in surface mining operations • conservation natural resources are better conserved in surface mining operations particularly in the mining of coal where virtually 100 of the mineral deposit can be recovered a large proportion of the total coal in underground mines must be left in place as pillars for roof support and thus can never be extracted and used surface mining often makes it possible to mine ore of a lower grade than could be extracted utilizing underground mining tech niques thus making available minerals that otherwise could not be recovered ¦ economy surface mining is used only when it recovers minerals at lower cost than other mining methods and the savings are reflected in the pricing of minerals to consumers surface mining by its very nature disturbs land surfaces in the areas of operations utah assigns a high priority to the task of assuring that the effect upon the environmental conditions pre-existing its operations is minimized and that upon completion of mining those areas disturbed by its operations are restored to the maximum extent practicable no two of the company's mining operations are exactly alike and each presents environmental conditions requiring separate analysis operating personnel and a fully staffed department of environmental quality collaborate in developing solutions tailored to the requirements of each project surface mining operations and the movement and treatment of the minerals produced involve relatively minimal and highly localized emissions of air pollutants and the effects on the regional ambient air quality are negligible and scarcely measurable outside the project boundaries drainage can be controlled to prevent pollution of streams and underground water resources of greater importance than either of these considerations is the reclamation of land surfaces where mining has been completed and it is to these areas that utah has primarily devoted its attention under reclamation programs at all of utah's mines in the united states and canada to the degree practicable mining operations will be followed by measures designed to establish surface contours in affected areas that will be compatible with the surrounding topography and to propagate vegetation at the navajo mine in new mexico the reclamation program includes solid waste disposal in the form of burial of ash from the nearby thermal generating plant as an important added function reclamation of utah's australian coal mines was anticipated in the agreements with the state of queensland the proposed project for gasification of uncommitted navajo coal reserves has important advantages from an environmental standpoint gasi fication results from a chemical process which produces a gas that is the equivalent in heat energy of natural gas and is equally clean and non-polluting utah's objective is and will continue to be to maximize its production of essential minerals at competitive cost levels and to continue all physical efforts consistent with available technology to minimize the effects of its operations upon the environment 20 environmental awareness must assume a vital role in the plans for any project which changes its sur roundings the challenge facing business today is to formulate and implement enlightened environmental standards which will not stifle the flow of those material goods essential to development and prosperity seeding and the natural re-establishment of native vegetation oster growth on reclaimed expanded to include program lor the enti es and growth patterns 1970 have now been an extensive revegetation