UPSC Civil Services Model Paper 4

The mining industry can impact aquatic biodiversity in different ways:
Direct poisoning is the first one, and risks are higher when contaminants are mobile in the sediment or bioavailable in the water.
Mine drainage can modify water pH.
Metal oxide deposition can limit biomass by coating algae or their substrate, thereby preventing colonization. So, statement 3 is correct.
The water sources in the region get contaminated due to mining.
Dumping of waste and slurry leads to degradation of land, soil, and an increase in stream and river pollution and leaches to groundwater too.
So, statement 2 is correct.
It also leads to soil erosion.