| Vol.1 No.4, January 29, 2007 |
eREPORT: Know
how for the environmental professional
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Environmental Regulations in Mining: Business Opportunities for Goods and Services
In the last decades, the mining and metallurgical industries worldwide, including Chilean companies, have had to modify their technological processes to meet the environmental regulations required by their governments, as well as to comply with the public opinion.
For example, between 1989 and 2002, the five State Chilean copper smelters invested over US$ 1.5 billion in their operations to comply with the new air quality standards (particulate matter and sulfur dioxide) and of arsenic emissions regulation .
These investments generated an important market for gases handling systems.
Now, new environmental regulations such as the guidelines on hazard solid wastes management, the updating of the air quality and emissions standards, the draft law on mine closure and environmental mining wastes (abandoned mines) that is being discussed by the authorities and the mining sector, or initiatives about efficient use of the energy and water resources will allow the environmental goods and services market to keep growing.
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a d v e r t i s e m e n t
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The future of Northern Chile and water resources
Increasing growth of the mining industry in Northern Chile has produced a strong demand of water to supply different new project and expansion of existing mines. On the other hand water and environment authorities have become more and more environmentalist. For this reason the normal scarcity of water provoked by the increasing water demand looks more serious and critical.
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Indigenous Peoples and Mining
The bonanza in large mining projects in the region takes place in rural areas, where it coexists with indigenous communities historically marginalised from development processes and, what is more, it advances at the same time as many of these communities become poorer and poorer. Undoubtedly, this reality fundamentally questions the system in operation in our countries governing these natural resources and particularly challenges the mining industry in the face of the urgent need to contribute to sustainable development processes as a new paradigm..
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From Want to Need: The Core of the Modifications to the Chilean Water Code
With the publication in the Chilean Official Newspaper (June 16, 2005) of the law N° 20.017, finished a legislative procedure that took 13 years, and that culminated with very important modifications to the Chilean Code of Water in force (DFL N° 1.122, of 1981). The long parliamentary procedure makes evident the importance of the issue debated, as well as the existence of large dissents. These disagreements referred to the diagnosis and also to the form to give solution to the problems. The debate had its origin in the purpose itself of the reform. This purpose was to harmonize in practice the character of water as a national public good with the necessary security of the uses of water (property of the rights of use), achieving at the same time economic incentives and competitiveness, all with the due defense of the public interest. In this article I will present the main intentions –and its bases- of the governmental initiative destined to modify the Code of Water in force since the year 1981, and, I will refer to -- in my concept- the central elements of the modification that finally emerged.
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The Vetiver System: Proven and Green Environmental Solutions
Vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides L.) is a perennial, tropical/sub tropical grass that has been used extensively world wide for soil erosion and sediment control and steep slope stabilisation for the last 20 years. Recently vetiver has also been used successfully for mine site rehabilitation in Australia, China, Latin America and South Africa, including stabilisation of steep slopes associated with bunds, tailings dams, and revegetation of mine tailings. Important attributes of vetiver grass are highly tolerant to: 1) Extreme acidity, alkalinity, sodicity, salinity and climatic conditions; 2) Very high levels of heavy metals, pollutants and nutrients; 3) It is sterile and has no potential to become a weed.
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Efficiency of permeable reactive barriers to treat acid mine effluents
Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is the most serious environmental problem facing the Canadian Mineral Industry today. Acid Mine Drainage results from oxidation of sulphide minerals (e.g. pyrite or pyrrhotite) contained in mine waste or mine tailings. It is characterised by acid effluents rich in heavy metals that are released into the environment. A new acid remediation technology is presented in this paper by which metallurgical residues from the aluminium extraction industry are used to construct permeable reactive barriers (PRB) to treat acid mine effluents This paper describes column tests performed to simulate a PRB constructed using BauxsolTM, a chemically and physically treated bauxite refinery residue, as a reactive material. This experimentation shows promising results in neutralizing pH and removing metals from acidic mine effluents.
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TORESA: Toolkit for remote sensing assessment and environmental monitoring of mining activities
The TORESA project, Toolkit for Remote Sensing Risk Assessment and Environmental Monitoring of Mining Activities, aims to create a technology package for the low cost evaluation of the environmental risk associated with a mining operation and to support the preparation of closure plans..
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a d v e r t i s e m e n t
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Waste Management to Increase Economical Value in Mining and Metallurgical Activities
It is estimated that Chile would increase its copper production in the next years. However, the cut off grade of its copper ores are lowering, which will implies to manage more massive wastes. The reuse or recycling of these wastes residues can be a possible way of solution to this environmental problem. This article shows alternative propositions for re-utilization of valuable materials contained in massive mining and metallurgical wastes, with an especial attention to final copper slag produced during pyrometallurgical copper processing.
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Environmental solutions for the small scale natural stone producers
This article describes some solutions to the environmental impacts generated by clusters of small producers of ornamental and natural stones in Brazil. This kind of mining clusters, as most small scale mining, carry on their activities without proper technical and economic resources for an efficient and well organized production. The accumulation of individual impacts is expressive, mainly, enormous amounts of stone waste in different sizes and also effluents with big amounts of solids in suspension that end affecting rivers next to the explotaition and manufacturers. The solutions described are not only solutions proposed by the researchers but also creative solutions of the small producers themselves, solutions made possible by their insertion in the APLs supporting policies of the Brazilian government.
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