# Could Mining alter the Earth's Orbit?

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#### thedoc

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##### Could Mining alter the Earth's Orbit?
« on: 03/04/2012 16:49:05 »
With all the millions of tons of material that is mined from the earth and redistributed around the globe is there a chance it could effect or alter the planet's orbit?

Andy from Folkestone

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« Last Edit: 03/04/2012 16:49:05 by _system »

#### CliffordK

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##### Re: Can mining alter Earth's orbit?
« Reply #1 on: 21/03/2012 12:39:38 »
As long as the material stays on Earth, it will  not affect Earth's orbit around the sun as the mass of Earth would remain unchanged.  Even moving it into the atmosphere doesn't affect the overall mass of the planet.  Moving material from one location to another, or from below the surface into the atmosphere could potentially affect Earth's spin, but the amount of material we mine is a tiny fraction of the weight of the Earth.

That means that we are mining and redistributing on the order of $$\frac{1}{10^{11}}$$ of the earth, or on the order of ten nanograms per kilogram.  And, remember, this material isn't lost, it is just moved.