Extraction of inert materials right bank of the Osh-Razzakov highway, Iiri-Sai section (Ak-Terek), Kara-Suu district.

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Coordinates: 40.471414, 72.758856

The extraction of valuable resources invariably benefits people and harms the environment. Numerous ecological problems arise during their extraction and processing stages.

When developing mineral resources: rocks are extracted from the earth, underground voids appear, subsidence occurs, dumps, sludge storage facilities, and spoil heaps are created, surface and groundwater become polluted, their levels change, atmospheric air becomes dusty, vegetation is destroyed, and modern geological processes develop that worsen the ecological situation. There is atmospheric pollution from vehicles. It will take many years to restore the natural environment.
The open-pit mining method involves creating pits at the deposit site, known as cuts or quarries.

During the extraction and processing of mineral resources, a significant geological cycle occurs, involving various systems. As a result, there is a considerable impact on the ecology of the mining region, and this impact leads to negative consequences. The impact of mineral extraction on the lithosphere:
1. The development of deposits of dense rocks is accompanied by significant land withdrawal from agricultural use and forest lands. Extraction leads to significant landscape changes: the creation of anthropogenic forms of mesorelief – quarries, dumps.
2. There is a possibility of activating geological processes (karst, landslides, rockfalls, subsidence, and movement of rocks). Underground mining creates subsidence bowls and sinkholes.
3. Mechanical disruption of soils and their chemical pollution.

For the atmosphere, the main sources of pollution are vehicles operating at construction sites. They emit gases such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, among others. The production of construction materials, depending on specific technologies and substances produced, can contribute to the emission of other hazardous substances. It is also important to note the role of dust generated during any earthworks. Dust can impair the photosynthesis processes of plants and cause respiratory diseases in humans and animals. Construction activities lead to significant noise and vibration pollution.

Open-pit mining causes not only the degradation of the earth's surface in the area of mining operations but also a sharp change in hydrological and hydrogeological conditions, leading to changes in the quality of surface and groundwater.

Quarry developments lead to a number of ecological problems: atmospheric pollution as a result of extraction or explosions during mining operations; exposure of aquifers and a decrease in water pressure within them; contamination of fresh groundwater with minerals and salinization; withdrawal of large areas of land from economic circulation. The increase in mineral extraction exacerbates climate change and environmental pollution.

Thus, as the analysis of the impact of the extraction and processing of non-metallic mineral resources shows, the relevance of ecological issues is constantly increasing. To protect nature, the mining industry must utilize all major directions: the protection and rational use of land, atmosphere, water resources, and subsoil, as well as implement a comprehensive approach to waste management.