SUSTAINABLE MINERAL PRODUCTION


ing techniques may add adverse environmental consequences, such as the use of mercury to recover gold by amalgamation, particularly by artisanal or small mining operations. The fact that many metal mines are within pyrite-rich rocks whose oxidation produces acid mine drainage is another variety of potentially adverse environmental consequence of mining. Small amounts of mercury-, arsenic-, and other toxic element- bearing minerals may be part of the suite of minerals compris- ing a particular deposit. These and other factors contribute to the potentially adverse environmental consequences from mining that should be addressed.


The social impacts resulting from the construction and operation of a mine can also be significant. Roads, public utili- ties, sewer and water lines, schools, town-size expansions or creation of new towns are examples. Frequently, the people already living near the mine site desire training that allows them to work at the mine. The social impacts vary consider- ably from project to project and must be dealt with on a project by project basis. As Bilham and Di Capua (2020) point out:


Living sustainably, prosperously and equitably on


our crowded planet in the coming decades will depend on mining. However rapidly we increase recycling rates, improve resource efficiency and reduce demand for raw materials through new approaches to prod- uct design and use, we will continue to need to mine significant quantities of an ever-increasing range of elements. The mineral needs of the near future will be quite different from those of the recent past, given the urgent need to transition to low-carbon energy systems and to harness new, materially complex technologies to address a nexus of environmental, social and economic challenges, as articulated in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Meeting these needs will mean mining in new places and commu- nities—as well as in settings that bear the scars of unethical and unsustainable practices of the past— and will depend on the engagement and support of communities rightly seeking to assert their rights and defend their interests. It is therefore essential, from both a moral and practical standpoint, to mine responsibly, minimizing negative social and environ- mental impacts, maximizing benefits and legacies to


affected communities, and including them as partners in a shared societal enterprise.


Bilham and Di Capua’s observations are from the


Introduction to Jan Boon’s Relationships and the course of social events during mineral exploration: an applied sociology approach (2020). Boon discusses the various relationships between an exploration company and the various people and groups that are encountered in the course an exploration proj- ect. The nature of the relationships between the exploration company and these people and groups will determine whether and with what ease, or lack thereof, the exploration project’s technical aspects (geology, mine design, process testing, min- eral resource and reserve delineation, etc.) can proceed to the development of an operating mine.


“Ore” is that part of a mineral deposit from which one or


more valuable minerals can be legally extracted at a profit. That is, the revenues received from a mine’s operation must exceed the costs of mining and processing the contained min- erals for sale. On one hand, developing a long-term mineral supply would encourage maximum extraction of a deposit’s valuable constituents by keeping the costs of production low thus allowing for a lower cutoff grade. But minimizing costs for things like environmental mitigation and social impact mitigation can result in unacceptable adverse impacts for those living near the deposit. The costs for environmental and social impact mitigation increase the cut-off grade, the minimum grade that allows for profitable extraction. A higher cut-off grade results in reducing the maximum recovery percentage of the valuable mineral(s) in a deposit. Mining industry mineral resource and mineral reserve classification systems such as the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration’s SME Guide for Reporting Exploration Information, Mineral Resources, and Mineral Reserves (2017) or the Australasian JORC Code (2012) define critical terms and provide detailed guidance about the information required in order to determine that a mineral reserve (the economically extractable part of a mineral deposit) exists. This includes addressing the environmental and social licensing aspects of the deposit. Figure 2 presents the need to balance maximum resource recovery with minimizing the adverse social and environmental impacts of mining.


Who decides what the balance will be? The IAPG’s White Paper on Responsible Mining (Arvanitidis, et al., 2017) defines responsible mining: “Responsible min- ing demonstrably respects and protects the interests of all stakeholders, human health and the environment, and con- tributes discernibly and fairly to broad economic development of the producing country and to benefit local communi- ties, while embracing best international practices and upholding the rule of law.” Doyle’s (2019) blog, “Responsible investing in natural resources” exam- ines the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues for responsible mining investing. These papers imply the balancing summarized in Figure 2. The White Paper lists 15 best practices for responsible mining. These practices require identification of and dialog with relevant stakeholders including local and regional authorities,


Figure 2 - Balancing resource recovery with social and environmental impact mitigation.


www.aipg.org


members, employees, contractors, and non-government organizations. Dialog among the mining industry and these stakeholders is the key to finding the


Oct.Nov.Dec 2020 • TPG 23


community


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