Using sustainability reporting to assess the environmental footprint of copper mining

Northey, Stephen; Haque, Nawshad; Mudd, Gavin Mark

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.09.027

Cited by 208 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…There are two types of mining, underground and surface mining (Northey et al 2013), and the process starts by stripping and/or destroying the vegetation and removing the topsoil and overburden to varying extents (Cooke and Johnson 2002;Gathuru 2011;Mensah 2015). Depending on the quality of the ore, the processing method is either through pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical processing (Northey et al 2013).…”

Section: Characteristics Of Mine Wastelands Types Of Mine Wastelandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Depending on the quality of the ore, the processing method is either through pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical processing (Northey et al 2013). While pyrometallurgy involves the use of thermal treatment of mineral ores, hydrometallurgy involves the use of aqueous chemistry for the recovery of metals from ores; the latter generates substantial amounts of effluents.…”

Section: Characteristics Of Mine Wastelands Types Of Mine Wastelandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Progresses in restoration of post-mining landscape in Africa

et al. 2018

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Mining alters the natural landscape and discharges large volumes of wastes that pose serious pollution hazards to the environment, to human health and to agriculture. As a result, the recent 2 decades have witnessed a global surge in research on post-mining landscape restoration, yielding a suite of techniques including physical, chemical, biological (also known as phytoremediation) and combinations. Despite the long history of mining in Africa, no systematic review has summarized advances in restoration research and practices after mining disturbance. Thus, the aim of this review was to document the state-of-knowledge and identify gaps in restoration of postmining landscape in Africa through literature review. We found that: (1) there has been substantial progress in identifying species suitable for phytoremediation; (2) few studies evaluated the feasibility of organic amendments to promote autochthonous colonization of mine wastelands or growth of planted species; and (3) restoration of limestone quarries in Kenya, sand mining tailings in South Africa, and gold mine wasteland in Ghana are successful cases of large-scale post-mining restoration practices in Africa. However, the pace of post-mining landscape restoration research and practice in Africa is sluggish compared to other parts of the global south. We recommend: (1) mainstreaming the restoration of mine wastelands in national research strategies and increased development planning to make the mining sector ''Green''; (2) inventory of the number, area, and current status of abandoned mine lands; (3) expanding the pool of candidate species for phytostabilization; (4) further evaluating the phytostabilization potential of organic amendments, e.g., biochar; (5) assessing the impacts of mining on regional biodiversity.

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Section: Characteristics Of Mine Wastelands Types Of Mine Wastelandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Characteristics Of Mine Wastelands Types Of Mine Wastelandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progresses in restoration of post-mining landscape in Africa

et al. 2018

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“…However, this could be easily explained by the way each mine reports their data as data from underground and open cut mines are reported together and both have very different electricity requirements. Usually, considering the extraction process, underground mines are more intensive in electricity than open cut mines because of mine depth and ventilation [40]. Still, open cut mines have also a considerable amount of electricity demand and it has not been possible to assess the percentages that correspond to each facility in these set of data.…”

Section: Energy Intensity Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decreasing Ore Grades in Global Metallic Mining: A Theoretical Issue or a Global Reality?

et al. 2016

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Abstract:Mining industry requires high amounts of energy to extract and process resources, including a variety of concentration and refining processes. Using energy consumption information, different sustainability issues can be addressed, such as the relationship with ore grade over the years, energy variations in electricity or fossil fuel use. A rigorous analysis and understanding of the energy intensity use in mining is the first step towards a more sustainable mining industry and, globally, better resource management. Numerous studies have focused on the energy consumption of mining projects, with analysis carried out primarily in one single country or one single region. This paper quantifies, on a global level, the relationship between ore grade and energy intensity. With the case of copper, the study has shown that the average copper ore grade is decreasing over time, while the energy consumption and the total material production in the mine increases. Analyzing only copper mines, the average ore grade has decreased approximately by 25% in just ten years. In that same period, the total energy consumption has increased at a higher rate than production (46% energy increase over 30% production increase).

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“…For mining projects, there are a number of factors that can affect the embodied water of a metal or mineral output, including (Mudd 2008): It is also expected that ore grade will steadily decline as high grade ores are preferentially mines (Mudd 2010;Mudd and Weng 2012); and the decline in ore grade has large ramifications regarding the potential environmental impacts of mining wastes (Northey et al 2013). However, different mining methods and mineral processing techniques have unique water requirements.…”

Section: Environmental Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mining sector of Liberia: current practices and environmental challenges

Wilson

Wang

Kabenge

et al. 2017

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Liberia is endowed with an impressive stock of mineral reserves and has traditionally relied on mining, namely iron ore, gold, and diamonds, as a major source of income. The recent growth in the mining sector has the potential to contribute significantly to employment, income generation, and infrastructure development. However, the development of these mineral resources has significant environmental impacts that often go unnoticed. This paper presents an overview of the Liberian mining sector from historical, current development, and economic perspectives. The efforts made by government to address issues of environmental management and sustainable development expressed in national and international frameworks, as well as some of the environmental challenges in the mining sector are analyzed. A case study was conducted on one of the iron ore mines (China Union Bong Mines Investment) to analyze the effects of the water quality on the local water environment. The results show that the analyzed water sample concentrations were all above the WHO and Liberia water standard Class I guidelines for drinking water. Finally the paper examines the application of water footprint from a life cycle perspective in the Liberian mining sector and suggests some policy options for water resources management.

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Using sustainability reporting to assess the environmental footprint of copper mining

Cited by 208 publications

References 24 publications

Progresses in restoration of post-mining landscape in Africa

Progresses in restoration of post-mining landscape in Africa

Decreasing Ore Grades in Global Metallic Mining: A Theoretical Issue or a Global Reality?

The mining sector of Liberia: current practices and environmental challenges

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