How do mining companies protect the environment

The extraction of ore from underground or surface mines is but one stage in a complicated and time-consuming process of producing minerals. A mine is born through exploration and mine development. This is followed by mining and beneficiation, and ends with mine closure and rehabilitation. A mining company must undertake all mining activities to be viable and competitive. It must adhere to a comprehensive set of rules of regulations. Most states have comprehensive environmental regulations for the mining industry.

Federal regulations aimed directly at the mining industry have not yet been put into a place, but broad-based statutes such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and numerous others apply to mining activities. Further, the federal government has been addressing the cleanup of historic mine wastes through its Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,. More recently, the U. There is no evidence that this attention from the general public or the regulators will diminish, and mining companies in the United States can expect an ever-increasing level of scrutiny and control over their operations.

Proper concern and regard for the environment is one of the fundamental elements of any successful business strategy. Given the increasing level of attention to environmental issues in the mining business, it is even more critical today, as illustrated by the experience of Kennecott Corporation.

Kennecott Corporation—a wholly owned subsidiary of RTZ, PLC, the largest mining company in the world—manages mining operations and exploration activities across North America, including several low-sulfur coal mines in the Powder River Basin, precious metals mines in the Southeastern and Western United States, and copper mines in Wisconsin and Utah.

Kennecott is best known for its Bingham Canyon copper mine near Salt Lake City, which generates one-sixth of the total U. Kennecott's environmental strategy is based on an environmental policy that builds from a foundation of compliance with the legal, regulatory, and consent requirements of the countries and localities in which it operates.

The firm's environmental policy attempts to strike a balance between society's need for metals and an environmentally sound approach to operations. In general, the company's environmental policy dictates that its operations go beyond simply meeting current regulatory standards. The operations must exemplify best contemporary practice for the minimization and, where feasible, elimination of adverse environmental effects. The company does so by. Kennecott's environmental policy is administered by the vice president of environmental affairs whose responsibilities, with the cooperation and support of the other departments within the company, are the following:.

Review, approve, and monitor all environmental management and emergency response programs. Assess, coordinate, and monitor the environmental aspects of Kennecott's projects and operations for uniform and consistent compliance with current and anticipated laws, regulations, and standards. Direct environmental planning for and investigations of proposed projects and investments. Direct or review and approve, as appropriate, the preparation of all environmental studies and documentation for all operations, permits, and licenses.

Evaluate applicable developments in environmental technology and waste-management practices, and provide technical assistance and guidance for management of environmental programs at each operation. Monitor and assess trends in environmental legislation and regulation and, where appropriate, actively represent Kennecott's interests. In conjunction with each operation or project, develop and implement community relations programs that provide open, timely, and responsive communication on environmental programs.

Inform and advise Kennecott management on environmental compliance and performance and the technical and economic implications of environmental programs and developments. Develop and maintain a continuing education and training program in environmental matters for all staff. The managers of all operations, projects, or activities are responsible for carrying out this policy in accordance with the direction and guidance of the vice president of environmental affairs.

As the flagship of Kennecott's operations, Kennecott Utah Copper KUC provides as good example of this environmental strategy in action in a large mining operation. KUC produces over , tons of copper, , ounces. When complete, the program will ensure that KUC remains one of the world's cleanest and most efficient copper producers well into the next century.

Environmental considerations are an integral part of the modernization program. In addition to designing modernized operating facilities to achieve very high levels of operating efficiency and environmental control, the modernization program includes the cleanup of historic waste sites.

Accompanying the modernization program are routine efforts to improve environmental performance in many areas, such as employee and community education, hazard elimination e.

In all areas, Kennecott is attempting to stay ahead of the regulatory agencies in determining the pace and priorities of the cleanup program. Transportation improvements included a 5-mile ore conveyor system and the installation of three pipelines to replace the outdated railroad ore and waste rock haulage system. The project incorporated some of the largest state-of-the-art crushing, conveying, grinding, flotation, and filtration equipment available in the industry.

In , the first stage of the modernization program was supplemented with the construction of the fourth grinding line at Copperton. An equivalent amount of waste rock is removed from the mine each day. Ore and waste rock are transported within the pit to the adjacent waste rock disposal areas by haul trucks with capacities as large as tons.

About 80 percent of the ore is hauled to the in-pit crusher and then conveyed to the Copperton Concentration for grinding and flotation. The remaining ore is loaded on rail cars for transport to the older North Concentrator. Tailings the sandy residue left after metals are stripped from ore are delivered by gravity pipeline from the Copperton Concentrator to a 5,acre storage impoundment located 12 miles to the north along the shore of the Great Salt Lake.

Concentrate slurry is piped nearly 18 miles from Copperton to the Garfield Smelter. The modernization program at the mine and concentrators improves environmental performance primarily by making the operations among the most efficient in the world.

In this regard, the modernization represents as win-win situation in which operating considerations are entirely compatible with environmental protection and improvement. Such energy-efficient operations achieve the highly desirable goal of both direct and indirect pollution prevention. Water conservation and recycling were designed as integral parts of the modernization effort. As plans move forward for developing additional tailings storage capacity, environmental considerations are playing a major role in site identification, selection, and design, and the acquisition of permits for the sites.

In March , Kennecott announced plans to complete the modernization of its operating facilities with the construction of state-of-the-art smelting and refining facilities. The most dramatic environmental improvement will come with the reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions from the current level of about 3, Of the sulfur contained in the concentrate feed, This translates to a sulfur dioxide emission rate of about 6 pounds per ton of copper produced, which is lower than the world's cleanest smelters now operating in Japan.

These improvements will be achieved even though the smelting capacity will nearly double, enabling the modernized smelter to handle all of the concentrate produced from the Bingham Canyon Mine. Water usage will be reduced fourfold through an extensive recycling program. Pollution prevention, workplace safety and hygiene, and waste minimization are being incorporated into all aspects of the design.

The smelter will generate 85 percent of its own electrical energy through steam recovery from the furnace gases and emission-control equipment, eliminating the need to burn additional fossil fuel to provide power.

The new facility will require only 25 percent of the electrical power and natural gas now used to produced copper. The refinery modernization will improve plantwide efficiency, including energy efficiency. For example, the existing direct-current electrical system will be replaced by motor-generator sets with high-capacity solid state rectifiers. An ion exchange system will be added to control impurities, and the precious-metals refinery will be replaced with a simpler, faster hydrometallurgical process.

The materials handling system will be updated to simplify and mechanize the flow of work. Waste generated from the existing smelting and refining process consists of weak acid from smelter off-gas scrubbing, flue dust, and electrolyte bleed from the refinery.

All of these materials will be processed in a new hydrometallurical plant to recover valuable products, thereby maximizing resource recovery while minimizing the amount of waste that will require off-site disposal. The existing wastewater treatment plant and sludge storage ponds will become obsolete and will be reclaimed.

The smelter modernization program also includes plans to segregate storm water from process waters, reducing water management problems and once again allowing the natural storm flows drainages above the smelter to enter the Great Salt Lake. The KUC property has a long history of mining activities dating to the s, when the first lead, zinc, silver, and gold mining began in Bingham Canyon. Because the level of attention given to environmental matters in those early periods was not as great as today, there is a legacy of historic waste sites at and around KUC.

The historic waste sites are primarily contaminated with waste rock, tailings, sludges, and other mining waste products. Kennecott is proceeding expeditiously to clean up these sites as part of the overall modernization effort. At the same time, Kennecott is working closely with the EPA and State of Utah Department of Environmental Quality to use nontraditional regulatory frameworks to oversee these voluntary cleanup efforts.

One of the first facilities to be addressed was the leach-water handling system. Acidic metals bearing leach waters are collected at the base of the waste-rock disposal areas and are processed to recover the dissolved copper. The barren leach water is then returned to the top of the waste rock disposal areas, where it is applied to leach additional metals from the rock.

In the early days of mining, this acidic leach water was simply allowed to flow down Bingham Creek. Reservoirs and holding basins were constructed in the early s to begin to recover metals, and flow down Bingham Creek was terminated in the s.

Additional leach collection system improvements were made through the years, culminating in the construction of the Large Bingham Creek Reservoir in Companies can invest in equipment that helps in turning waste into reusable material, as well as adopting policies that allow for a more eco-friendly waste disposal routine.

Water can be reused on mining sites as grey water for washing equipment or flushing staff toilets. Mining companies should aim to reuse and recycle water as much as possible, and be sure that all unusable water is disposed of safely and responsibly.

Scrap materials can be recycled or sold to companies who can reuse them in order to reduce the amount of waste produced on site. The efficiency of the mining process can often leave much to be desired, but improving the efficiency of this process can help towards lessening the environmental impact. This also allows companies to regulate processes which may be lacking in environmental friendliness. Supervising the manufacturing processes will allow mining companies to change elements that are inefficient or that use too many natural resources.

Conducting a material flows analysis will track the physical flows of natural resources through extraction, production, fabrication, use and recycling, and final disposal.

This data will allow supervisors to develop new processes that are more efficient and sustainable than previous ones. Allowing shut-down mines to continue to stand open is a hazard not only to the community but to the environment too. Often these mines still have hazardous waste on the property which can leak into the soil and water table or come into contact with the surrounding humans and animals living close by.

The major potential environmental impacts associated with mining and associated mineral processing operations are related to erosion-prone landscapes, soil and water quality, and air quality.

At many sites, the key reclamation, soil treatment, and water quality concerns owe their origin to the same process — the oxidation of sulfide minerals, especially the iron sulfide, pyrite. Oxidation of sulfide minerals can produce acidic conditions that release metals in both waste materials and water.

Mining in the early days took place at a time when environmental impacts were not as well understood and, most importantly, not a matter of significant concern. As a result, historical mine sites may still have areas that are not reclaimed, remnants of facilities, and untreated water.

This inherited legacy of environmental damage from mining is not indicative of the mining cycle today. Now, mine closure and a number of activities to mitigate the impacts of mining are an integral part of all metal mine planning and mineral development from the discovery phase through to closure:.

Reclamation entails the re-establishing of viable soils and vegetation at a mine site. Although regulatory agencies may require complex reclamation designs, simple approaches can be very effective. One simple approach depends on adding lime or other materials that will neutralize acidity plus a cover of top soil or suitable growth medium to promote vegetation growth.

Modifying slopes and other surfaces and planting vegetation as part of the process stabilizes the soil material and prevents erosion and surface water infiltration. Even this simple approach is likely to cost a few thousand dollars per acre to implement. Where soils have a sustained high acidity, the costs of using this approach can increase, sometimes to tens of thousands of dollars per acre.

The challenge to find cost-effective reclamation approaches continues. High levels of metals in soils, not just acidity, can be harmful to plants, animals, and, in some cases, people.

A common approach used in dealing with contaminated soil is to move it to specially designed repositories. This approach can be very expensive and controversial, but it is sometimes required. One essential requirement of the Fairmined Standard criteria for Artisanal and Small Scale mines ASMs is environmental management and ecosystem restoration. Miners were also trained in environmental management, ecological restoration and ecosystem health, waste management, land rehabilitation and reclamation planning.

This was to enable the project mines to become aware of the impact of their activities on the environment and also take measures to address them. Jonathan Tettey has almost 30 years experience in gold mining in Ghana. He is the man leading the environmental sustainability activities of the mine. He remarked that the mine has adopted an eco-friendly mining method around the Akwadum river. The tailings and effluents from the mining process run over series of well-constructed slime settlement ponds and are not discharged directly into the Akwadum river.