Flint mines have been found in chalk areas where seams of the stone were followed underground by shafts and galleries. These were used to make early tools and weapons for example, high quality flint found in northern France, southern England and Poland was used to create flint tools. Since the beginning of civilization, people have used stone, ceramics and, later, metals found close to the Earth's surface. Moreover, unregulated or poorly regulated mining, especially in developing economies, frequently contributes to local human rights violations and resource conflicts. Work safety has long been a concern as well, and where enforced modern practices have significantly improved safety in mines. Hence, most of the world's nations have passed regulations to decrease the impact however, the outsized role of mining in generating business for often rural, remote or economically depressed communities means that governments sometimes fail to fully enforce regulation. Mining operations usually create a negative environmental impact, both during the mining activity and after the mine has closed. Modern mining processes involve prospecting for ore bodies, analysis of the profit potential of a proposed mine, extraction of the desired materials, and final reclamation of the land after the mine is closed. Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or feasibly created artificially in a laboratory or factory. Ores recovered by mining include metals, coal, oil shale, gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay.

Exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic viability of investing in the equipment, labor, and energy required to extract, refine and transport the materials found at the mine to manufacturers who can use the material. Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit.

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