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Earley, D., III; Schmidt, R.D.; Kim, K. |
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Title |
Is sustainable mining an oxymoron? |
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1997 |
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acids data processing development ground water leaching mineral resources mining mining geology models monitoring pollution production solutions 26A Economic geology, general, deposits 22 Environmental geology |
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Abstract |
Sustainable mining is generally considered to be an oxymoron because mineral deposits are viewed as nonrenewable resources that are fixed in the crust. However, minerals are conserved and recycled by plate tectonics which continually creates and destroys ore deposits. Though it is true that rock cycles have much longer periods than biomass cycles, the crust is essentially an infinite reservoir so long as we continue to invest in mineral exploration and processing technology. Implicit in the definition of sustainable development is the recognition that human development of resources in one reservoir may subsequently degrade resources supplied by another. The depreciation of overlapping and adjacent resources is often externalized in the cost to benefit accounting and cannot be sustained if the integrated cost/benefit ratio is greater than 1. The greatest obstacle to sustainability in mining is the expanding scale of excavation required to develop leaner ores because this activity degrades connected resources. In the case of open pit, sulfide ore mining the disturbed land may produce acid rock drainage (ARD). Because ARD will self-generate over the course of tens to hundreds of years the cost of controlling this pollution and rehabilitating mined lands is large and often spread over many generations. Secondary production of minerals from partially excavated deposits where there are preexisting environmental impacts and mine infrastructure help to reduce the risk of depreciating pristine resources, provided that new mining operations “do no (additional) harm” (Margoles, 1996). In turn, a percentage of the profits derived from secondary mineral production can be used for rehabilitation of the previously mined lands. These lands contain significant, albeit low grade, metal concentrations. These concepts are being developed and tested at the Mineral Park Sustainable Mining Research Facility where an in situ copper sulfide mining field experiment was conducted. Monitoring data and computer modeling indicate that ARD is not generated after closure. This is because the ore is not disturbed and is left saturated, whereas unsaturated conditions generate acidic drainage. The short term risk of groundwater contamination is mitigated by utilizing an exempt mine pit to capture any leach solutions that are not intercepted by the wellfield. Using green accounting techniques and transfer models it can be communicated that this mining scenario is an approach to sustainability. |
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Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America |
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Geological Society of America, 1997 annual meeting |
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1998-051450; Geological Society of America, 1997 annual meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, United States, Oct. 20-23, 1997; GeoRef; English |
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CBU @ c.wolke @ 16638 |
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396 |
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Author |
Goodman, G.T. |
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Title |
Ecology and the problems of rehabilitating wastes from mineral extraction |
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Journal Article |
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1974 |
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Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series A Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
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339 |
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1618 |
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373-387 |
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minerals mining natural resources pollution waste disposal ecology mineral extraction visual ugliness health hazards safety hazards reclamation process development planning site purchase land clearance land forming stabilisation drainage revegetation rehabilitation of wastes Physics Manufacturing and Production |
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Environmental problems which may be associated with mineral extraction are: (a) the visual ugliness of open pits, waste tips, and working mess; (b) the nuisance of wind- and water-borne dusts; (c) the health hazards to wildlife, crops, livestock and man of locally increased environmental burdens of potentially toxic metals (e.g. Pb, Cd, As, Zn, Cu, Ni) derived from wind- and water-borne mine dusts and smelter smokes; (d) the safety hazards of surface subsidence and tip-slippage from deep-mining. All these disamenities can be cured or reduced by the reclamation process which involves a blend of socio-economic, legal, planning, civil engineering and biological expertise devoted to development planning, site purchase, land clearance, land forming, stabilization, drainage and revegetation of the affected site |
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0080-4630 |
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Ecology and the problems of rehabilitating wastes from mineral extraction; 669765; Conference Paper; Journal Paper; SilverPlatter; Ovid Technologies |
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CBU @ c.wolke @ 16789 |
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369 |
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Rammlmair, D.; Grissemann, C. |
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Title |
Natural attenuation in slag heaps versus remediation |
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Book Chapter |
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2000 |
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Applied mineralogy in research, economy, technology, ecology and culture |
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645-648 |
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acid mine drainage; alteration; concentration; concepts; crust; deposition; design; development; diagenesis; exhalative processes; fines; fluvial features; ground water; leaching; metallurgy; mining; mining geology; mobilization; natural attenuation; physicochemical properties; Plantae; pollution; precipitation; remediation; rivers; slag; time scales; toxic materials; transportation; volatiles; wind transport 22, Environmental geology |
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Rammlmair, D.; Mederer, J.; Oberthuer, T.; Heimann, R.B.; Pentinghaus, H.J. |
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9058091643 |
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Natural attenuation in slag heaps versus remediation; GeoRef; English; 2007-039910; Sixth international congress on Applied mineralogy in research, economy, technology, ecology, and culture, Gottingen, Federal Republic of Germany, July 17-19, 2000 References: 5; illus. |
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CBU @ c.wolke @ 5864 |
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266 |
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Author |
Lin, C.; Lu, W.; Wu, Y. |
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Title |
Agricultural soils irrigated with acidic mine water: Acidity, heavy metals, and crop contamination |
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2005 |
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Australian Journal of Soil Research |
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43 |
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7 |
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819-826 |
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Contamination and remediation Irrigated agriculture Soil studies geographical abstracts: physical geography soils (71 5 14) international development abstracts: agriculture and rural development (74 1 8) ecological abstracts: terrestrial ecology (73 4 2) bioaccumulation irrigation agricultural soil acid mine drainage pH crop plant heavy metal China Far East Asia Eurasia |
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Agricultural soils irrigated with acidic mine water from the Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine, China, were investigated. The pH of the soils could be as low as 3.9. However, most of the mineral acids introduced into the soils by irrigation were transformed to insoluble forms through acid buffering processes and thus temporarily stored in the soils. Different heavy metals exhibited different fraction distribution patterns, with Zn and Cu being mainly associated with organic matter and Pb being primarily bound to oxides (statistically significant at P = 0.05). Although the mean of exchangeable Cd was greatest among the Cd fractions, there was no statistically significant difference between the exchangeable Cd and the oxide-bound Cd (the 2nd greatest fraction) or between the exchangeable Cd and the carbonate-bound Cd (the 3rd greatest fraction). It was also found that there were generally good relationships between the concentrations of various Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cd fractions and pH, suggesting that a major proportion of each heavy metal in the soils was mainly derived from the acidic irrigation water. The results also show that the crops grown in these soils were highly contaminated by heavy metals, particularly Cd. The concentration of Cd in the edible portions of most crops was far in excess of the limits set in China National Standards for Vegetables and Fruits and this can be attributable to the extremely high transfer rate of Cd from the soils to the crops under the cropping system adopted in the study area. < copyright > CSIRO 2005. |
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C. Lin, College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China cxlin@scau.edu.cn |
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0004-9573 |
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Agricultural soils irrigated with acidic mine water: Acidity, heavy metals, and crop contamination; 2828050; Australia 29; Geobase |
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CBU @ c.wolke @ 17496 |
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314 |
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