Australian Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region – Reading Answers

Since IELTS Reading is considered the second easiest module of the exam after Listening, solve and review Australian Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region Reading Answers and similar passages to ensure that your reading skills are up to the mark.

The Academic passage, Australian Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region, is a reading passage that appeared in an IELTS Test. Since questions get repeated in the IELTS exam, these passages are ideal for practice. If you want more practice, try taking an IELTS reading practice test.

There are 14 questions in IELTS Reading Answers of Australian Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region, which showcase two different IELTS Reading question types. They are:

• Short Answer Type Questions (Q. 1-6)
• Summary Completion (Q. 7-14)

Reading Passage

Australian Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region

Environmental impact on people 

Mining operations by their very nature have major impacts, positive and negative, on the local area and on local communities. They are usually in remote places and the people affected are often isolated or neglected communities.

It is inevitable that mining operations will disturb the environment in a fairly dramatic way. Forest cover may have to be cut down to clear the site of the mine or for access roads. Tunnels or open-cut pits are dug. Overburden (worthless rock or soil covering valuable ore) is removed and dumped nearby, usually to erode slowly into nearby streams and rivers. Tailings (waste rock or ore from a mining operation) from the ore processing plant have to be put somewhere – preferably into an on-site tailings dam, but more likely straight into a river and/or the sea.

Mine tailings may contain some dangerous chemicals, but the major problem is usually the huge amounts of solid sediment that they put into the river system, and the effect this has on water quality like that and marine life. This can directly affect the livelihood of people living downstream who depend on the river for fish, for drinking water for themselves and their animals or for cooking or washing. Heavy sedimentation can silt up rivers, making transportation difficult and causing fields and forests by the river banks to flood.

Other environmental effects can include air pollution from trucks tearing along dusty access roads, or more seriously, fumes from ore processing plants. Kelera, a woman who lives with her husband and two school-age children near the Australian-owned Emperor Gold Mine in Fiji, describes it thus:

When the gas comes, sometimes in the morning, it falls like a mist, and all the children start coughing, and we cough too. The people who get asthma, they are the ones who are really frightened to death. But what can you do? When the gas comes, you have to breathe it… You know how strong it is? I tell you. The chili and the betel leave that we grow they just die. It’s as though you took hot water and spilled it on the grass, and the next day you go and see what it looks like. It’s just like that.

Social impact

The social impact of a modern mining operation in a remote area can also be great. Some people may have to move off their land to make way for the mine. Many more will probably relocate themselves voluntarily, moving in from more remote areas to the mining road or the mining settlement, drawn by the prospects of jobs and money, trade stores, and health clinics, or just by the general excitement of the place. In many cases, the men will come in by themselves, leaving the women to fend for themselves back in the village. Traditional agriculture and other pursuits are as a result often neglected.

But the social environment into which they come is a culturally alien one which can undermine traditional kin and gender relations and traditional authority and control, often with bitter consequences.

Large amounts of cash will normally be injected into the local community in the form of royalties or compensation to landowners, wages to mine workers or payments to sub-contractors. While this can be very beneficial it can also lead to inequalities, disputes, and problems.

Those in the local community who acquire cash from wages or compensation and the power that goes with it are not necessarily those who by tradition hold power in that society. The very advent of cash can have a disruptive effect on traditional social structures.

Also in societies where resources including cash are owned communally and shared out according to traditional rules and precedents, the injection of very large amounts of money can strain the rules and tempt some to keep more than their entitlement, thus causing internal rifts, disputes, and fighting.

Disputes between landowners and mining companies over payments or compensation are also common and can lead to violent reactions against landowners by the police or armed forces, or repression by the authorities.

For and against

12 Mining also, of course, brings considerable benefits. Locally it provides jobs and incomes, and for those who use their income wisely, an escape from grinding poverty and a life of hardship and struggle. It also brings development services such as roads, wharves, airstrips, stores, health clinics, and schools, to areas which are usually remote and often neglected by the government. The advent of healthcare and educational facilities to remote areas that would otherwise not have them can be especially beneficial.

Opinions about a mine will usually vary. Those most in favor tend to be those living near the mine and enjoying its facilities, who have been generously compensated for the loss of land or the damaged environment or who are earning good money as mine workers or sub-contractors. Among those least in favor will be women living in or near the mining settlements who have to put up with alcoholism, domestic violence, sexual harassment or other social ills, and people living downstream, far enough away from the mine to be receiving little or no compensation but who nevertheless suffer its polluting effects.

Check Out – IELTS Test Day Advice

Questions 1-6

1 In what kind of areas do mining operations usually occur?

2 What will be cleared from a site before mining begins?

3 Where do the tailings come from?

4 What aspect of mining will have the major impact on the river system?

5 What two air pollutants are often associated with a mining operation?

6 What does the overburden consist of?

Questions 7-14

Once a mining operation begins the 7………. is likely to change considerably. Many people will leave the area, and not all will go 8…….. Most outsiders who come into the area will find 9……… in a culturally alien social environment. Among local villagers, there will often be changes in the traditional 10…….. which may create dissension. There will also often be 11………… over land. Often the intervention of the 12……… will be necessary to settle them. All of these factors can have a disastrous 13…….. on the society. However, improvements in infrastructure and in the provision of 14……. services will be beneficial for the community.

Answers of Australian Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region Reading Answers with Location and Explanation

1 Answer: remote/isolated places

Question type: Short Answer Type Question

Answer location: Paragraph 1, Line 2

Answer explanation: The second line of the first paragraph tells us, “They are usually in remote places and the people affected are often isolated or neglected communities.”. So, it can be concluded that mining operations usually occur in remote or isolated places. Hence, the answer is ‘remote/isolated places’.

2 Answer: forest (cover)

Question type: Short Answer Type Question

Answer location: Paragraph 2, Line 2

Answer explanation: In the specified line, it is stated that “Forest cover may have to be cut down to clear the site of the mine or for access roads.‘. This shows that one of the first steps that is taken before the start of the mining operations is that forest cover is cleared for road access. Hence, the answer is ‘forest (cover)’.

3 Answer: ore processing plant

Question type: Short Answer Type Question

Answer location: Paragraph 2, Line 5

Answer explanation: In the mentioned paragraph, it is given that “Tailings (waste rock or ore from a mining operation) from the ore processing plant have to be put somewhere…”. It can be concluded that the tailings come from the ore processing plant. Hence, the answer is ‘ore processing plant’.

4 Answer: solid sediment

Question type: Short Answer Type Question

Answer location: Paragraph 3, Line 1

Answer explanation: The third paragraph mentions that “Mine tailings may contain some dangerous chemicals, but the major problem is usually the huge amounts of solid sediment that they put into the river system, and the effect this has on water quality like that and marine life.”. It points out that the dumping of a huge amount of solid sediment is affecting the river system on a large scale as it is affecting the water quality and marine life. Hence, the answer is ‘solid sediment’.

5 Answer: dust, fumes

Question type: Short Answer Type Question

Answer location: Paragraph 4, Line 1

Answer explanation: In the above-mentioned paragraph, it is stated that “Other environmental effects can include air pollution from trucks tearing along dusty access roads, or more seriously, fumes from ore processing plants.”. It can be pointed out from the quoted statement that dust from the trucks moving along the dusty access roads and the fumes from the ore processing plants are the two serious air pollutants often associated with a mining operation. Hence, the answer is ‘dust, fumes’.

6 Answer: (worthless) rock soil

Question type: Short Answer Type Question

Answer location: Paragraph 2, Line 3

Answer explanation: Through a reference line like, “Overburden (worthless rock or soil covering valuable ore) is removed and dumped nearby, usually to erode slowly into nearby streams and rivers.”, it can be concluded that overburden consists of worthless rock or soil covering the ore. Hence, the answer is ‘(worthless) rock soil’.

7 Answer: local population

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 6, Line 1-Line 3

Answer explanation: In the cited location, it is stated that “The social impact of a modern mining operation in a remote area can also be great. Some people may have to move off their land to make way for the mine. Many more will probably relocate themselves voluntarily…”. Based on this reference, it can be inferred that as the mining operations begin in remote areas, the local population will change as people move in or out according to their situation and needs. Hence, the answer is ‘local population’.

8 Answer: voluntarily

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 6, Line 2

Answer explanation: In the provided line, it is said that “Some people may have to move off their land to make way for the mine.”. This implies that while some men might move away or come in as a choice of their own, some people are moved against their wishes, i.e., it is not a voluntary action on their part. Hence, the answer is ‘voluntarily’.

9 Answer: themselves

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 6, Line 4 & Paragraph 7

Answer explanation: In the specified location, it is stated that “In many cases, the men will come in by themselves, leaving the women…But the social environment into which they come is a culturally alien one…”. From these lines, it can be deduced that the men from outside (strangers) will come by themselves into an area which is alien to them in cultural terms. Hence, the answer is ‘themselves’.

Check Out – IELTS Reading Practice Tests 2023 – Reading Passages and Samples

Tips to Solve the Question Types in Australian Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region Reading Answers

Since now you have the Australian Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region Reading Answers Key with explanation, let us check out some quick tips to answer the two types of questions in the Reading Answers of Australian Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region.

Short-Answer Type Questions:

Short Answer Type Questions is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to scan through a passage and answer questions based on the information given following the word limit.

To answer short-answer type questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Go through the instructions carefully – You will find the word limit for the answers there, which you have to follow strictly.
• Read the questions and highlight the keywords – The next step will be to read the questions to know what keywords or information you have to look for in the passage.
• Use the ‘Wh’ words in the questions – Words like ‘What’, (names), ‘Where’ (place), ‘When’ (time), etc. will enable you to understand the type of information you are looking for.
• Use reading techniques to study the passage quickly – Do not waste your time reading the whole passage. Scan through the passage to find out the keywords or their synonyms. If headers are given, use them to locate the answer easily.
• Check the spelling – Once you find the answer, note the correct spelling in your answer sheet.

Summary Completion: 

Summary Completion is a type of IELTS reading question that requires you to fill in a gap in a paragraph with a word or phrase from the passage.

To answer summary completion questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the sentences carefully: This will give you an idea of the type of word or phrase that is missing.
• Scan the passage for the keywords: The keywords in the sentence can help you to identify the correct word or phrase.
• Read the sentence with the missing word or phrase: This will help you to see how the word or phrase fits into the sentence.
• Check your answer: Once you have filled in the gap, make sure that your answer makes sense in the context of the sentence.

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