Sustainable Mining: Trends and Opportunities

inantly production and consumption) is a growSustainable development integrates economic, environmental and social considerations in order to improve the lives of the current generation and ensure that future generations will have adequate resources and opportunities. Sustainable mining is not a new approach or concept in resource consumption. It is a holistic approach for dealing with a complex, interlinked set of factors that determine the net societal worth of a project. A holistic approach to phosphate beneficiation gives us opportunities for the improvement of economic results through reactant and waste minimization. It also gives direction for continued research thrusts to solve the problems associated with the clay ponds and the reduction of potentially hazardous wastes. ing concern among businesses, customers, governments, international bodies and nongovernmental organizations. These concerns are often linked to energy efficiency, reduction of environmentally harmful emissions, ecosystem preservation and other "save the Earth" efforts (Hemanowicz, 2004). They are becoming a part of the "triple bottom line" for business accounting: financial, social and environmental (EBF, 2002). Despite its increasing importance, current definitions of "sustainability" are somewhat vacuous. The most commonly accepted description was provided by the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) in the "Brundtland Report." According to this report, the goal of sustainability is to "meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT own needs." Sustainable development is a growing concern SUSTAINABLE MINING expressed by many businesses, organizations and Obviously, mining is part of the more individuals. Yet, no worlzable quantifiable definigeneral notion of sustainable development. But tion of sustainability is available for evaluation what is it? The definitions and the perceived of specific projects or operations. The lack of concepts associated with the term, "sustainable Such a definition inherently gives engineers diffimining" are as diverse and numerous as the speculty Sustainability of human activities (piedomcial interest glnups use the terminology *University of Nebraslta-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska. Waste TreatmenVUtilization and the Environment How do we recognize sustainable development and mining? When the concepts of sustainable development are applied to mineral resources, there is little agreement on what is to be sustained, and by what means. Without such agreement, sustainable development will remain little more than a slogan of little practical value to public-policy makers. Part of what is missing from most discussions is an understanding of the nature of mineral resources and the dynamics of their development (National Academy of Sciences, 1996). Without this understanding, the use of the sustainable development and mining sustainability becomes phrases that often confuse sustainability with environmental protection and other lofty goals that, strictly speaking, are not required for sustainable operations. In the search for an answer to the question of what is sustainable mining we will review two groups' perspectives of sustainable mining and development. The two largest United States public landholders, the US Bureau of Land Management and the USDA Forest Service, have produced a joint proclamation setting forth their applications and implementation. Contained in the bulletin, Sustainable Development and Its Influence on Mining Operations Federal Lands-A Conversation in Plain Language (Clarke and Bosworth, 2003), Kathleen Clarke, director of the Bureau of Land Management, and Dale Bosworth, chief of the USDA Forest Service, proclaim, "Mining, minerals and metals are important to the economic and social development of many countries. Minerals are essential for modern living. Enhancing the contribution of mining, minerals and metals to sustainable development includes actions at all levels to: (a) Support efforts to address the environmental, economic, health, and social impacts and benefits of mining, minerals and metals throughout their life cycle, including workers' health and safety, and use a range of partnerships, furthering existing activities at the national and international levels among interested Governments, intergovernmental organizations, mining companies and workers and other stakeholders to promote transparency and accountability for sustainable mining and minerals development; (b) Enhance the participation of stakeholders, including local and indigenous communities and women, to play an active role in minerals, metals and mining development throughout the life cycles of mining operations, including after closure for rehabilitation purposes, in accordance with national regulations and taking into account significant transboundary impacts; (c) Foster sustainable mining practices through the provision of financial, technical and capacity-building support to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, for the mining and processing of minerals, including small-scale mining, and, where possible and appropriate, improve value-added processing, upgrade scientific and technological information and reclaim and rehabilitate degraded sites." The corporate leaders of the minerals industry have responded to the call for sustainable development. The best source of their response is found in the report of the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development Project (MMSD, 2002). In the report they state, "One of the greatest challenges facing the world today is integrating economic activity with environmental integrity, social concerns, and effective governance systems. The goal of that integration can be seen as 'sustainable development.' In the context of the minerals sector, the goal should be to maximize the contribution to the well-being of the current generation in a way that ensures an equitable distribution of its costs and benefits, without reducing the potential for future generations to meet their own needs." Sustainable development and mining sustainability are supported by four pillars: economic sphere, social sphere, environmental sphere and governance sphere. Each sphere has a set of guiding principles as indicated in Table 1. The minerals industry stakeholders and leaders have described nine key challenges facing Sustainable Mining: Trends and Opportunities 53 Table 1 Sustainable development principles (from MMSD, 2002) I I * Ensm e eificlent use of all I & o ~ u ce:: 115. ~ n a x ~ l i u z i n ~ rents I Social Sl~lle1-e r * hIaintniii imcl elillallre tlie conclitions for a-iable elitelprise Enewe a fail distribution of tlie casts ant1 beliefits of dex-elopnient for 811 time a h e today Reslject aliil 1-einfiz1-ce the fiu~rlanieatal r i~ l l t s of hrin~711 beings, includiny c i ~ i l a t~d political lihe~ties, cultrral a~~touonly, social sic-l econon~ic fi-eedonls, niid y ersoaal security See to sustain inq.wcv;..enlents cvxr time: elis1n.e tlint dep1etir:tu of nat~u-a1 resources \$-ill 1iot cleyri7.-e iiit1u.e generations tlxuugh l~eplaceiilent wit11 other fi>r.nis o f capital * I'somote resl~onsible s t e ~ ~ ~ a l ' d s l l i ~ of iiatl~~.al 1.~'~outrees i~llcl tlie enr-i~.onnient, including renietliation o f past tlnlliage * hfiili~iiize xvaste anrl eiir-it.t?mlientd rlanizl$e nloilg tlie euipyly clinili Operate witllin ecolngical lirilits and protect a;itical t la t~~ral capital Snl~post r,ept~sentntix.:e crlenlocr;lc\;, inriutling yai-ticil?ata~y clecisioii-