The mining industry faces diverse challenges to maintain sustainable production, particularly regarding critical water and energy supplies. As a significant player in the copper mining industry, Chile has become a global reference. Therefore, this research analyses the distinct challenges of the Chilean copper mining industry in terms of water and energy. We also identified ten key challenges that the Chilean copper mining industry must address to remain competitive and relevant. Several mining companies were examined to review and understand the different types of Environmental Management Initiatives (EMIs) adopted. The most prevailing strategies involved implementing Environmental Management Systems, which allow organisations to define, implement, and track their specific goals and standards. This review acknowledged four relevant water-related initiatives, including seawater use, community strategic plans, general environmental monitoring programs, and water recycling and recirculation systems. In terms of energy, the key initiatives included energy efficiency projects, the use of Non-Conventional Renewable Energy (NCRE), and mine process optimisation. The benefits of implementing EMIs are multiple, with the most relevant being ensuring continuous operation, cost reduction, and improved Social License to Operate (SLO) outcomes.

Mercury is a toxic pollutant that can negatively impact the population’s health and the environment. The research on atmospheric mercury is of critical concern because of the diverse process that this pollutant suffers in the atmosphere as well as its deposition capacity, which can provoke diverse health issues. The Minamata Convention encourages the protection of the adverse effects of mercury, where research is a part of the strategies and atmospheric modelling plays a critical role in achieving the proposed aim. This paper reviews the study of modelling atmospheric mercury based on the southern hemisphere (SH). The article discusses diverse aspects focused on the SH such as the spatial distribution of mercury, its emissions projections, interhemispheric transport, and deposition. There has been a discrepancy between the observed and the simulated values, especially concerning the seasonality of gaseous elemental mercury and total gaseous mercury. Further, there is a lack of research about the emissions projections in the SH and mercury deposition, which generates uncertainty regarding future global scenarios. More studies on atmospheric mercury behaviour are imperative to better understand the SH’s mercury cycle.

Ibuprofen (IBP) and diclofenac (DFC) are two of the most commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to treat inflammation and pain. However, they can impact the environment if not treated adequately before discharge into waterways. Biodegradation through the nitrification process is an alternative to reducing the concentration of these micropollutants (MPs) in wastewater. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the effect of natural zeolite on IBP and DFC removal in a nitrifying batch reactor. Mini-reactors were set up with 90 mL of inoculum and 110 mL of synthetic wastewater with a concentration of 25 mg total ammonia nitrogen TAN/L, at 25 °C and 1 vvm (volume of air/volume liquid∙min) of aeration. Two conditions were tested: high concentrations (IBP = 700 μg/L, DFC = 100 μg/L) and low concentrations (IBP = 30 μg/L, DFC = 20 μg/L). The research used a concentration of 5 g/L of the natural zeolite. Results indicated that the zeolite negatively affected the nitrification rate. At high MPs concentration, the natural zeolite negatively affects the removal of IBP and DFC, where biodegradation and sorption are the mechanisms that eliminate both NSAIDs. Conversely, at low DFC and IBP concentrations, the natural zeolite improves the removal of IBP and DFC, wherein biodegradation is the primary removal mechanism.

In copper smelting processes, acidic effluents are generated that contain inorganic contaminants such as arsenic and copper. Nowadays, the treatment of wastewater is done by physicochemical methods without copper recovery. Electrodialysis is an alternative process that can recover copper. Moreover, when electrocoagulation is applied to remove arsenic from wastewater, a more stable final sludge of less volume is obtained. The present research studies the application of a combined electrodialysis and electrocoagulation process to (1) recover Cu and (2) precipitate and remove arsenic simultaneously in the same batch reactor, using synthetic wastewater that simulates wastewater from a copper smelter. Copper and arsenic could be removed and separated by the electrodialysis part, and the electrocoagulation of arsenic was verified. With electrodialysis, the arsenic and copper removals were 67% and 100%, respectively, while 82% of the arsenic arriving at the electrocoagulation part of the cell could be precipitated and removed by this process. Initial concentrations were around 815 mg L−1 Cu and 7700 mg L−1 As. The optimal current was found to be 1.36 A due to the shorter treatment times necessary to get removal percentages, recovery percentages and energy/removed copper mass ratios in the same ranges as the values achieved with a current of 1.02 A. In summary, the combined process is a promising tool for simultaneous copper recovery and arsenic removal.