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By P. Schmieder

"The close vicinity of mining companies to other sites that are used for commercial and residential purposes or to areas under conservation as well as the fact that the people become more and more sensitive to emissions have led to a negative attitude towards mining operations in the neighborhood. It is above all the use of drilling and blasting techniques that give rise to objections, in the course of which demands for more environmentally-friendly production methods have been voiced. It is in this context that production methods without the use of explosives are considered as an option. After all, the use of such production methods is the only alternative for some quarry operators. The question is what are the true benefits of these techniques and what is the relation between a possible improvement of the environmental effects on the one hand and the technological potential as well as the costs on the other. It is intended to assess the mining techniques for solid rock in their entirety. This paper will therefore look at the aspects for assessing mining techniques in the context of their environmental impact and the costs."

Jan 1, 2005

By A. D. Davis, C. J. Webb, C. S. Johnson

The Belle Eldridge Mine is an inactive lead-zinc mine in Spruce Gulch south of Deadwood, South Dakota. Acidic mine drainage (AMD) produced at the site drains into Spruce Creek, a tributary of Whitewood Creek. The site is on U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property. Extensive fieldwork was done at the Belle Eldridge Mine through the cooperation of the BLM and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The site was extensively mapped to identify physical and environmental hazards such as tailings, waste rock, collapsed buildings, adits and workings. An exhaustive search of the historical records of the Belle Eldridge Mine was conducted. Maps of the under-ground workings of the Belle Eldridge dating from the 1930’s and 1940’s were found. The maps were used to correlate currently collapsed features to old adits and tunnels. Using hand corers and a portable drill rig, waste rock, tailings and soil core samples were collected and depth to bedrock was determined and the total volume of waste and tailings pile were determined. Related work examined the hydrology of the site. The site is very complex hydrogeologically. Numerous underground and surface workings and tunnels add to the complexity. Several seeps are located at the site, one of which is producing AMD. Recharge to the site was studied, and a 100-year flood plain map was produced.

Jan 1, 2000

By J. P. Jarrell

Environmental considerations are of increasing importance in determining the acceptability, schedule and cost of expansion ofCanada's uranium processing industry. Environmental considerations must be addressed in the early stages of facility planning. This results in a dilemma, as the process data needed to predict physical environmental impacts are not yet available from process design activities. Hence, a business risk is incurred if plant design is carried forward to meet these requirements prior to project (or site) approval. On the other hand, project scheduling normally mitigates against leaving process design engineering until such time as project approval is obtained. This paper examines the experience gained in Eldorado Nuclear's proposed expansion of refining capacity as viewed by an environmental engineering consultant. The history of the project and the relationship to process design functions in the two-year period prior to the Port Granby environmental hearings are reviewed. During the Port Granby public hearing, there was a consensus that normal operation of the proposed refinery could be successfully integrated with the site's natural environmental constraints. Moreover, the radiological impact from plant operations was demonstrated to be inconsequential. However, concerns were raised relating to plant upset and accident situations. These concerns are summarized. Process data requirements identified during the environmental hearings are discussed. Finally, the concerns for on-site burial of radioactive waste are reviewed. These concerns focussed on long-term stability of the waste in the presence ofgroundwater transport, erosion and glaciers. The AECB's position on waste management with regard to this project is reviewed in light ofthe implications for design.

Jan 1, 1979

By P M. Ashley, M Muller

Massive sulphide ZnPbCuAg deposits in the Halls Peak district of north-eastern NSW are of the submarine volcanogenic type. They occur as a number of small lenses enclosed in shale and epiclastic rocks, in association with felsic volcanics of early Permian age. The deposits crop out in steep terrain near the eastern edge of the New England plateau. Local relief of 700 m and slopes up to 50¦, coupled with an average annual rainfall of about 1000 mm has led to local severe land sliding in previously mined areas. Mining from the 1890s to the 1960s has also resulted in unconstrained drainage of heavy metal-bearing acid waters and physical dispersion of finer grained metalliferous sediments into the Chandler River. Waters emanating from the main landslide area, from underground workings and draining scattered unconfined stockpiles of massive sulphide ore have pH values of 3 to 4 and contain elevated contents of Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd and Fe. Chemical mobility of heavy metals into streams occurs under low pH conditions with Zn exhibiting the greatest dispersion. Increasing pH conditions downstream cause precipitation of Fe phases and coprecipitation of heavy metals. Physical dispersion of secondary metal-bearing minerals into the surrounding creeks results in wt% levels of Cu, Pb and Zn in the stream sediments thereby exceeding the regional background values by one to three orders of magnitude. Areas disturbed by mining are characterised by lack of vegetation, biomagnification of heavy metals into algae and lower plants, and partial recolonisation by metal-tolerant grass species (Snow Grass, Poa sieberana; Blady Grass, Lomandra longifolia). Rehabilitation measures will have to include landslide stabilisation, impervious sealing or removal of sulphidic materials, import of topsoil and revegetation by metal-tolerant, slow-growing native grass and shrub species.

Jan 1, 1995

South Africa?s now a member of this body, tailored on the World Bank, and headquartered in Abidjan-Cote d'Ivoire. As a funding agency for capital projects within 59 member countries of the ADB it is to be expected that there are guidelines to the requirements for funding application and for project management and control.

Jan 1, 1996

In all the industries that require blasting operations using explosives, there exists numerous unwanted side effects of the blast which may pose as environmental hazards. These hazards face prominence, especially in India, where there are very stringent rules and regulations governing the use of explosives. The environmental hazards associated with blasting operations as a whole can be tacked successfully to a certain extent depending upon the ultimate expectations of ,the post-blast effects and the limitations of the environmental obligations as specified by the authorities from time to time and from place to place. The main parameters which require attention to limit the post-blast results to the optimum level are ground vibrations, dust pollution, gas pollution, air blast effects, noise pollution & fly rocks etc.

Jan 1, 1995

By Raja V. Ramani

Discussion in this section of the Handbook is limited to the working environment of miners, the mine workers themselves, and the machines used in mining (Fig. 11.0.1). The contents emphasize personnel health and safety aspects and engineering design and control practices to ensure a productive health and safety environment. Reference is to the health and safety of the individual miners as well as to the safety of the working environment. This Handbook also contains references to health and safety regulations in Chapter 3.2 and environmental protection in Chapters 3.4 and 7.3.

Jan 1, 2008

By Longworth C. R

Competing requirements for land usage sometimes make the correct all- ocation difficult. The decision can be complicated by many factors such as local resident pressure, previous government decisions, economic pres- sures and the duration or permanency of the competing land usages. This problem often confronts the extractive industries with consequent delays in granting leases and some- times considerable local dissension. A proposal to extend the high grade silica sand quarry of the Wamberal Sand Company Pty. Limited is a microcosm of these competing requirements. The sand quarry is located on the New South Wales central coast. It is an open pit operation on a near beach deposit of silica sand suitable for flint glass manufacture.

Jan 1, 1976

By D. -P. Georgescu

A native sulfur mineralization associated with pyrite and iron oxides containing 20% iron was quarried in Calimani Mountains, Oriental Carpathians. The wastes resulted from this exploitation activity, with a volume of 33 millions m3, were stored in four dumps while the wastes resulted from ore processing using flotation and the subsequent treatment were disposed of in a settlement pond. The investigations carried out in the entire mining area focused on the following two aspects: - the impact of environmental factors mainly on the hydrographic network; - the characterization all pollution sources, namely dumps, leachates and the quarry and the assessment of acidic drainage generation. The total sulfur content of the excavated ore was 3.8% while in dumps it ranged between 0.54 and 1.06%. Analysis of samples collected along the hydrographic network, draining the mining area, resulted in pH values ranging between 1.7 and 2.83 as well as high concentration of iron (4525 mg/L to 1.6 mg/L), copper (1.87 mg/L to 0.04 mg/L) and zinc (13.13 mg/L to 0.3 mg/L). Samples from the quarry, the dumps and the tailings pond were analyzed in order to deter-mine: - the maximum potential acidity (MPA); - the acid neutralization capacity (ANC); - the net acid production potential (NAPP).

Jan 1, 2005

By Deshmukh A. M.

Existence of human beings and their relationship with the nature is symbiotic. The lack of perspective and negligence of nature disturbs the equilibrium of environment and causes unprecedented disasters. Geotechnical engineers are directly concerned with hazards of nature as elements of foundation and of nature are inter related. Rational design and construction of foundation can be accomplished only after properly assessing influence of environment This paper briefly delineates impacts of environment and human activities and presents salient features of management of impacts through the system of deep foundation. Limitation of negative effects and enhancement of positive developments necessitates eco-consistent planning of engineering projects based on the geotechnical aspects of environmental impact management.

Jan 1, 1996

By A. Lashagri

This paper presents research results on assessment of environmental impact of digging and loading equipment in surface coal mining. Environmental impact is accessed through the equipment exhaust and dust emissions, and sound level. Exhaust emission is related to carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Dust generation is expressed through the particulate matter PM10 and total suspended particulate matter (TSP), while sound is presented through the sound pressure level. Modeling of environmental impact of digging and loading equipment is conducted in Microsoft Visual Studio.NET software package. This research is a part of a boarder project on development of software system for the selection of productive, cost-efficient and eco-friendly mining systems, which is sponsored by the Appalachian Research Initiatives for Environmental Sciences (ARIES). The research work presented here may be used by mining professionals to aid in quantifying environmental impact of digging and loading equipment and determinate strategies for reducing its overall impact.

Feb 27, 2013

By Bishop D. J

The Imperial Smelting Process for the simultaneous production of zinc and lead is probably regarded by the ecologist as a necessary evil with the benefits of its products marginally outweighing the adverse effects of its operation. The purpose of the paper is to examine the environmental impact of the process and to provide information which will demonstrate that the process has considerable indirect environmental benefits and that success is being achieved in reducing direct pollution of the environment by the process. About 12 per cent of the world's zinc and seven per cent of its lead is produced by the process. This proportion will increase with the construction of a new smelter in China. After a brief description of the process the paper considers one of its principal advantages, its ability to treat bulk concentrates. The production of these at the mine can have a number of environmental benefits. Less comminution may be required to separate the metals from the gangue than is needed to separate them from each other; recoveries can be improved in flotation resulting in cleaner tailings dams, less power demand and reduced consumption of potentially hazardous reagents. Simplification of mining and above ground ore handling may also give significant benefits . The process is a considerable consumer of secondary materials such as galvanisers' ashes, copper smelter dusts and materials containing zinc and lead derived from steel plant dusts. The majority of these materials are fed to the blast furnace after hot briquetting. The consumption of secondary materials is a considerable environmental benefit since otherwise they would require to be dumped in secure land-fill sites. The operation of the process itself continues to be subjected to increasingly stringent environmental standards of which examples are provided. Details are provided of lead emissions at Avonmouth showing considerable success in reducing these while increasing production. The slag from the process continues to find many useful applications.

Jan 1, 1993

By Roberto Golchi

This article describes the method used to quantify the Environmental Impact for the mining, by drilling and blasting, of a borrow pit for a gravity-dam. The affected environment was broken down into a number of components, such as public health and safety, social relationship, air and water quality, flora and fauna. The effect of the various impacting factors from the mining activities, both directly and indirectly, was then calculated for each environmental component. To do this, each impacting factor was first given a magnitude, a number based solely on the range of scenarios possible for the impacting factor. A matrix of weighting factors was then derived to systematically quantify, and normalise, the effects of each impacting factor on each environmental component. The overall impact upon each individual environmental component was then calculated by summing the weighted magnitudes for all the impacting factors.

Jan 1, 2003

By Diane Jones, Jeremy Spearman, Tom Matthewson

Requirements for minerals are on the increase globally and the deep sea offers a potential source of essential materials. Extracting these minerals from what is considered an environmentally sensitive area, and one about which little is still known, is a challenging activity, which needs careful consideration and an appropriate environmental impact assessment to be carried out. Extraction of material from the deep sea beds can cause disturbance or damage to benthic communities; impact on mobile marine species such as fish, mammals and reptiles; cause increases in suspended sediment and sediment deposition onto potentially sensitive areas or potentially release contaminants which were previously bound to the sediment. This paper discusses the potential environmental issues surrounding extraction of deep-sea deposits using aggregate dredging techniques and how those issues can be appropriately assessed. In particular issues of suspended sediments, plume transport, water and sediment quality and underwater noise impacts on potentially sensitive species and habitats will be explored.

Sep 1, 2014

By William H. Langer

Nearly every community in the United States is dependent on aggregate (sand, gravel, and crushed stone) resources to build and maintain its infrastructure. Unfortunately, developing aggregate resources to meet societal needs causes environmental impacts. Most environmental impacts associated with aggregate mining are benign. Extracting aggregate seldom produces acid mine drainage or other toxic effects commonly associated with mining of metallic or energy resources. The most obvious environmental impact of aggregate mining is the conversion of land use, most likely from undeveloped or agricultural land use, to a hole in the ground. This major impact is accompanied by loss of habitat, noise, dust, blasting effects, erosion, sedimentation, and changes to the visual scene. Some of the impacts are short-lived, and most are easy to predict and easy to observe. Most impacts can be controlled, mitigated, or kept at tolerable levels and can be restricted to the immediate vicinity of the aggregate operation by employing responsible operating practices and available technology. The intensity of environmental impacts generated as a result of mining are determined in large part by the geologic characteristics of aggregate deposits (geomorphology, geometry, and physical and chemical properties). Mining deposits that are too thin, or contain too much unsuitable material, results in the generation of excessively large mined areas and large amounts of waste material. Mining aggregate can lead to serious environmental impacts in some situations. Some geologic environments such as active stream channels, slide-prone areas, and karst terrain are dynamic and respond rapidly to outside stimuli including aggregate mining. Some geomorphic areas and (or) ecosystems underlain with aggregate serve as habitat for rare or endangered species. Similarly, some geomorphic features are themselves rare examples of geologic phenomena or processes. Mining aggregate might be acceptable in some of these areas, but should be conducted only after careful consideration, and then only with extreme prudence. Failure to do so can lead to serious, long-lasting, and irreversible environmental consequences, either in the vicinity of the site or at locations distant from the site. Environmental impacts caused by irresponsible aggregate mining can compromise mining in an entire region.

Jan 1, 2001

By Willard A. Murray

Investigations of underground coal gasification (UCG) have been actively pursued by the U.S. Department of Energy since the early 1970s; the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) conducted its first field experiment in 1976. In conjunction with field and laboratory studies of the process of recovering energy in the form of combustible gases from the burning of coal deposits in situ, an extensive environmental program has been conducted at LLNL under the auspices of both the U.S Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This program has focused on groundwater contamination and ground surface subsidence caused by UCG. The material presented in this paper is a summary of results from the environmental studies of UCG activities conducted by LLNL as described by Mead, et al. (1981) and supplemented by the author's experience with this program in 1980 and 1981. The following sections describe specific groundwater contamination and surf ace subsidence problems encountered during field experiments in northeastern Wyoming, and will discuss implications of preliminary findings from geohydrological investigations of a site in southwestern Washington. Finally, possible environmental control technologies that are most likely to be effective in mitigating environmental impacts are discussed.

Jan 1, 1982

By R. E. Michelutti

"The Sudbury area environment became drastically altered commencing in 1871 with lumbering, repeated fires and early open roasting operations from 1887 to 1929. These combined factors had such a pronounced effect that approximately 24 square miles were totally denuded of any vegetation and 87 square miles were semi-barren to somewhat stressed.The two nickel producing companies in the area have reduced the sulphur dioxide emissions considerably over the years. Falconbridge Limited, alone, reduced sulphur dioxide emissions by 77% from 1971 to 1984.These reductions have resulted in improvements to the air, soil, lake and vegetation quality in the Sudbury area.INTRODUCTIONThe Sudbury area environment became drastically altered commencing in the 1870's with lumbering, repeated fires and early open roasting operations from 1888 to 1929. These combined factors had such a pronounced effect on the Sudbury environment that approximately 24 square miles (64 sq. km.) were totally denuded of any vegetation and 87 square miles (225 sq. km.) were semi-barren.Over the years, the Sudbury area environment has improved considerably. This has been due to emission cutbacks by both Inco Metals and Falconbridge Limited, coupled with industry, government and community reclamation programs. Before the improvements are discussed, a better understanding of the historical degradation is required."

Jan 1, 1986

By M Foster

The new environmental legislation of 1986 was left incomplete and to date remains so. The 'missing' process by which environmental consideration should be applied was never embodied in law and has predisposition to a wide interpretation. The Resource Statutes which govern land use and development place demands on the environmental process without that definition. The Resource Statutes are themselves under review by Government. There is a new Government Department of Conservation. It is still in its early days and facing a challenge to compose its role as a steward over large tracts of land holding significant marketable resources, animal, vegetable, mineral, and abstract. It has also taken over numerous consent and advocacy roles in legislation beyond its own empowering Act. Enter the mining company, anxious if not able to get an easy passage for consents to prospect and mine, then at least to have a clear path to tread to get there, within a fixed time period. Whichever options appear available to process environmental approvals, public participation is that being favoured most by the regulatory bodies. Where a public notification of consent applications is mandatory, public participation should lead to the fastest track available.

Jan 1, 1988

By Higgins RJ

Environmental investigations have been undertaken by Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) since 1981 when the Ok Tedi Environmental Study was commenced. Environmental monit- oring and management programmes were implemented in 1983. The programmes included water quality monitoring, river flow and sediment monitoring, surveillance of aquatic biological communities and a health and nutrition survey of the local people. These original programmes have continued, and additional programmes of work have been developed and revised to reflect changing operations and the need to focus investigations on specific areas and issues of concern. In April 1990, following the establishment by the Government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) of environmental management criteria for the Fly River system, compliance monitoring programs were introduced. Details of the compliance and additional monitoring programmes undertaken by OTML throughout the Ok Tedi and Fly catchments, including programmes of investigation in the Fly River estuary, Gulf of Papua and Torres Strait, are presented.

Jan 1, 1991

By S. S. Peng, C. T. Holland

Mountain Top Removal (MTR) mining started in West Virginia nearly thirty years ago. This surface mining method can extract multiple coal seams as thin as a few inches thick with total recovery and minimum rock dilution in very steep mountainous terrain. It is highly efficient even if coal seams are in close proximity and small in aerial extent. Consequently, MTR has been widely used in the Central Appalachian Coalfield (mainly Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia) for the past thirty years with great success. In that respect, there has been no demand for research and little scientific research has been performed to investigate its impacts on the surroundings in the history of MTR mining. However, in the past two years the debate over the MTR mining has grown quickly and in times become very intensely. This paper describes chronologically the issues raised by various parties, legal actions, its impacts on mining permit application and research projects developed to address the issues.

Jan 1, 2000