Impakter
  • News
    • Culture
      • Art
      • Cinema
      • Entertainment
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Photography
    • Style
      • Architecture
      • Design
      • Fashion
      • Foodscape
      • Lifestyle
    • Society
      • Business
      • Foreign Affairs & Politics
      • Health
      • Tech
      • Science
      • Start-up
    • Impact
      • Environment
      • Eco Life
      • Circular Economy
      • COP26
      • CityLife
        • Copenhagen
        • San Francisco
        • Seattle
        • Sydney
      • Sustainability Series
        • SDGs Series
        • Shape Your Future
        • 2030: Dream or Reality
      • Philanthropy
        • United Nations
        • NGO & Charities
        • Essays
  • Business Hub
  • Sustainability Index
  • Partners
  • About
    • Team
    • Contributors
    • Global Leaders
    • Write for Impakter
      • Republishing Content
      • Permissions and Copyright
      • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Culture
      • Art
      • Cinema
      • Entertainment
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Photography
    • Style
      • Architecture
      • Design
      • Fashion
      • Foodscape
      • Lifestyle
    • Society
      • Business
      • Foreign Affairs & Politics
      • Health
      • Tech
      • Science
      • Start-up
    • Impact
      • Environment
      • Eco Life
      • Circular Economy
      • COP26
      • CityLife
        • Copenhagen
        • San Francisco
        • Seattle
        • Sydney
      • Sustainability Series
        • SDGs Series
        • Shape Your Future
        • 2030: Dream or Reality
      • Philanthropy
        • United Nations
        • NGO & Charities
        • Essays
  • Business Hub
  • Sustainability Index
  • Partners
  • About
    • Team
    • Contributors
    • Global Leaders
    • Write for Impakter
      • Republishing Content
      • Permissions and Copyright
      • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Impakter
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment

Shrinking the environmental footprint of mining

byRobert Pell
February 11, 2019
in Environment, Society
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Almost every element in the periodic table has a use in modern society, and we are consuming them in larger volumes because of growing economies and technological innovations. Exotic elements from the periodic table like Neodymium, one of the rare earth elements, are used in super strong permanent magnets, and so essential in most electric motors that make electric cars so efficient. Other technology metals such as Lithium and Cobalt are needed in greater quantities that before, as do the elements that we have consumed for centuries, such as Iron, Copper and Lead. All these elements have one thing in common; to satisfy demand we will need to extract significant quantities from the earth through mining, and this process has a legacy of environmental impacts.

The mining process involves extracting the metal containing rocks out of the ground and using various processes to separate the metals away from the waste material. The crushing of the rocks alone uses 3% of the world’s generated electric power usage. The environmental impacts of mining are well documented around the world, having caused significant ecosystem damage, pollute waterways, and release emissions to the atmosphere. Most recently and most publicly with the incredible human tragedy caused from the Brumadinho dam failure in Brazil.

In the picture: Mines. Tagebau Garzweiler, Jüchen, Germany. Photo by Tobias Jussen on Unsplash

However, mining projects can also contributes to GDP growth for many low- and middle-income economies. Mining is a large-scale and far-reaching industry that has the potential to support the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, the one-time removal of these non-renewable resources has often failed to bring economic development and for environments, mining brings lasting disruptive consequences.

Recycling has an important role to play in reducing our raw material consumption and driving the circular economy, however the current stocks of materials being used won’t fill the demand gap predicted by economic growth. Therefore mining will remain the most important source of many metals for the near future. This means that we should focus on developing methods to reduce the negative impacts of mining.

In the picture: Authors of the paper Environmental optimisation of mine scheduling through life cycle assessment integration. Photo Credit: Robert Pell

In order to tackle the environmental issues with mining, we need to understand the impacts. A method to evaluate the environmental performance of a mining project is through the use of a life cycle assessment. This process considers all stages of the mining project as well as all the direct and indirect impacts attributed to it. For example it would consider the impact directly from the mining, but also the environmental cost associated with the production and use of the electricity, water etc. This holistic approach to assess the environmental performance ensures that environmental burdens, such as emissions, are not just shifted from one location to another.

Recent research at University of Exeter, Camborne School of Mines by the SoSRare Research (https://www.bgs.ac.uk/SoSRARE/ ) team has developed a novel method to include this environmental assessment method into the earliest stages of planning for mining projects. The paper title ‘Environmental optimisation of mine scheduling through life cycle assessment integration’ allows for limits to be placed on carbon emissions per year of a mining project and adjusts the mine plan accordingly. This is particularly useful for regions that have carbon pricing. The results from the study showed that significant reductions in global warming impact could be achieved at a small economic cost. For example using we presented how using an environmental constraint allowed a mine plan to achieve 91.9% of the global warming impact whilst achieving 95.9% of the net present value (economic value) compared to the standard approach. This approach enables environmental considerations to be included in strategic mine planning. This is important because mining will continue to form an important part of our society for the foreseeable future. Integrating environmental considerations into the earliest stages of mine planning can assist in driving environmentally responsible raw material extraction.

In the picture: 3d interactive model can be found here. Photo Credit: Robert Pell

Editors Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com – Featured Photo Credit: Dominik Vanyi on Unsplash

 

Tags: EconomyenviromentGlobal warmingmetalsMining
Previous Post

2019: The Time for a Vital Food Choice Lesson

Next Post

5 Mindfulness-Oriented B Corps to Support a Healthy Lifestyle

Robert Pell

Robert Pell

Related Posts

Indigenous Languages and Ecocide: The Legacy of Western Colonialism Re-examined
Environment

Indigenous Languages and Ecocide: The Legacy of Western Colonialism Re-examined

March 21, 2023
An image of green space in a 15-minute city, the urban planning idea around which a conspiracy has grown
Architecture

The 15-Minute City: How Did a Convenient Concept Become So Controversial?

March 21, 2023
Ukraine reconstruction women
Equal Rights

Including Women in Sustainable Reconstruction in Ukraine

March 21, 2023
Next Post
5 Mindfulness-Oriented B Corps to Support a Healthy Lifestyle

5 Mindfulness-Oriented B Corps to Support a Healthy Lifestyle

Recent News

Indigenous Languages and Ecocide: The Legacy of Western Colonialism Re-examined

Indigenous Languages and Ecocide: The Legacy of Western Colonialism Re-examined

March 21, 2023
An image of green space in a 15-minute city, the urban planning idea around which a conspiracy has grown

The 15-Minute City: How Did a Convenient Concept Become So Controversial?

March 21, 2023
Ukraine reconstruction women

Including Women in Sustainable Reconstruction in Ukraine

March 21, 2023
impakter-logo-light

Impakter informs you through the eco news site and empowers your sustainable lifestyle with its eco products marketplace.

Visit here IMPAKTER ECO for your eco products needs.

Registered Office Address

32 Lots Road, London
SW10 0QJ, United Kingdom


IMPAKTER Limited

Company number: 10806931

Impakter is a publication that is identified by the following International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is the following 2515-9569 (Printed) and 2515-9577 (online – Website).


Office Hours - Monday to Friday

9.30am - 5.00pm CEST


Email

stories [at] impakter.com

About Us

  • Team
  • Contributors
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Partners

By Audience

  • Lifestyle
  • Green Finance
  • Culture
  • Society
  • Style
  • Impact

Impakter Platforms

  • Media
  • Index

© 2023 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Culture
    • Style
    • Society
    • Impact
  • Business Hub
  • Sustainability Index
  • About
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

© 2023 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

Impakter.com uses cookies to enhance your experience when visiting the website and to serve you with advertisements that might interest you. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.