Aftermath: This sheet of mica, once nestled in the mountains of the Spruce Pine Mining District in North Carolina, was extracted by surface mining then discarded as “waste” in Mitchell County. North Carolina is the nation’s leading producer of mica. And mining is a billion dollar industry in the state. Surface mining—including strip, open-pit, and mountaintop removal mining—of coal and minerals in Appalachia leaves behind much more than natural crystals tossed aside as trash. The aftermath of surface mining also includes permanent changes in soil, topography, surface and ground water, and flora and fauna. It leaves a land once robust and fortified by solid rock, a land which once guarded these crystals, scarred and vulnerable to caving in and sinking. (The mica was collected on site then photographed in my studio.) Photograph Copyright Lynda Ward, All Rights Reserved.