This report is intended as a checklist and guidebook on best practices related to mining. It aims to present a basis for action within South Eastern Europe and the Tisza River Basin towards the development of regulatory frameworks and governance guidelines suitable for the support of a modern mining industry in the region. In particular, the report seeks to present a number of options and ideas that can be applied to address the funding and execution of mine closure and mine rehabilitation while still achieving social and economic conditions suitable for new and ongoing mining activities.
The current discourse on mine closure is informed predominantly by industry and corporate perspectives and predicated by experiences of mainly mining companies that are based in developed countries where necessary planning frameworks and regulatory requirements are well-established. Mine closure planning, well promoted and accepted as good business practice in the global minerals industry, has been primarily technical and precautionary both in approach and focus. Planning, modelling and monitoring strategies incorporate comprehensive and detailed elements such as properties inherent in landforms, climate, geology, flora and fauna, among others. However, locality-based concerns that revolve around resource access and tenure, rights and entitlements tied to locality and indigeneity, labour recruitment, and other non-bio-physical elements are hardly examined. Any mine closure program that omits these elements is deficient and therefore ineffective. Social Terrains of Mine Closure in the Philippines, based on ethnographic research and archival materials, presents the varying experiences of three mines to demonstrate that the mine closure process is an intense locus for competition and compromises among various social actors. This book offers key messages for understanding the complex socio-cultural, economic, political, and business realities that make up the social terrains of mine closure, and will be of great interest to students and researchers in development studies, community development, business studies, anthropology, and sociology. It will also appeal to those working in the global minerals sectors and NGOs that engage in development work and advocacy for responsible mining.
No one personified the age of industry more than the miners. The Shadow of the Mine tells the story of King Coal in its heyday – and what happened to mining communities after the last pits closed. The Shadow of the Mine tells the story of King Coal in its heyday, the heroics and betrayals of the Miners’ Strike, and what happened to mining communities after the last pits closed. No one personified the age of industry more than the miners. Coal was central to the British economy, powering its factories and railways. It carried political weight, too. In the eighties the miners risked everything in a year-long strike against Thatcher’s shutdowns. Their defeat doomed a way of life. The lingering sense of abandonment in former mining communities would be difficult to overstate. Yet recent electoral politics has revolved around the coalfield constituencies in Labour’s Red Wall. Huw Beynon and Ray Hudson draw on decades of research to chronicle these momentous changes through the words of the people who lived through them. This edition includes a new postscript on why Thatcher’s war on the miners wasn’t good for green politics. ‘Excellent’ NEW STATESMAN ‘Brilliant’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT ‘Enlightening’ GUARDIAN
The history of mining is replete with controversy of which much is related to environmental damage and consequent community outrage. Over recent decades, this has led to increased pressure to improve the environmental and social performance of mining operations, particularly in developing countries. The industry has responded by embracing the ideals of sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Mining and the Environment identifies and discusses the wide range of social and environmental issues pertaining to mining, with particular reference to mining in developing countries, from where many of the project examples and case studies have been selected. Following an introductory overview of pressing issues, the book illustrates how environmental and social impact assessment, such as defined in "The Equator Principles", integrates with the mining lifecycle and how environmental and social management aims to eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive mining impacts. Practical approaches are provided for managing issues ranging from land acquisition and resettlement of Indigenous peoples, to the technical aspects of acid rock drainage and mine waste management. Moreover, thorough analyses of ways and means of sharing non-transitory mining benefits with host communities are presented to allow mining to provide sustainable benefits for the affected communities. This second edition of Mining and the Environment includes new chapters on Health Impact Assessment, Biodiversity and Gender Issues, all of which have become more important since the first edition appeared a decade ago. The wide coverage of issues and the many real-life case studies make this practice-oriented book a reference and key reading. It is intended for environmental consultants, engineers, regulators and operators in the field and for students to use as a course textbook. As much of the matter applies to the extractive industries as a whole, it will also serve environmental professionals in the oil and gas industries. Karlheinz Spitz and John Trudinger both have multiple years of experience in the assessment of mining projects around the world. The combination of their expertise and knowledge about social, economic, and environmental performance of mining and mine waste management has resulted in this in-depth coverage of the requirements for responsible and sustainable mining.
This book addresses the processes related to mine abandonment from a hydrogeological perspective and provides a comprehensive presentation of water management and innovative tracer techniques for flooded mines. After an introduction to the relevant hydrogeochemical processes the book gives detailed information about mine closure procedures. The book also includes case studies and hints, and some new methodologies for conducting tracer tests in flooded mines.
Unsurpassed in the scope of its coverage, this book explores like no other the roles of policy entrepreneurs and the causes of policy change across diverse political systems ranging from the developing world to the largest western democracies. The studies show how entrepreneurs work with outside donors, take advantage of windows of political opportunity, create those windows, and push the policy process in the direction they hope. They also show the limits to these strategies, and strategies that tend to fail. The book dramatically advances our understanding not only of change and stability in water policy, but of the policy process more generally. Frank R. Baumgartner, University of North Carolina, US This book is a theoretically and empirically grounded analysis of one of the world s most pressing problems: the management of water resources. The editors have assembled a remarkable collection of authors with a truly global outlook and an excellent grasp of contemporary water issues as well as modern theories of public policy and decision-making. The volume also demonstrates excellent applications of policy theory to current and pressing matters. It is a must-read for students and practitioners in water resources and will be influential to water policy and in environmental resource management and policy for years to come. Thomas A. Birkland, North Carolina State University, US This volume is a major achievement. It advances our knowledge of stability and change in water policy through case studies from around the world. Its focus on transitions instances of really major shifts in policy is particularly welcome at a time when challenges such as climate change force water policy makers to reconsider the very foundations of their regulatory frameworks and infrastructural policies. The volume goes beyond water policy, however. It makes a major contribution to the study of policy dynamics in general by offering an empirically grounded comparative analysis of policy entrepreneurs as change agents in policy networks. There has been much loose talk about policy entrepreneurs in the fields of public administration and public policy, but a dearth of empirical work underpinning the various claims made. This volume goes a long way towards filling that gap. Highly recommended for water experts and policy scientists alike. Paul t Hart, Australian National University, Australia and Utrecht University, the Netherlands This major volume focuses on the role of policy entrepreneurs in revolutionizing water management worldwide. Adopting an international comparative perspective, the authors explore the changes taking place in water policy across fifteen countries, at both the global level and within the European Union. Their analysis highlights the importance of groups and individuals in stimulating progress and reveals the crucial part played by policy entrepreneurs. Successful entrepreneurs use various strategies to initiate and implement change, including the framing and reframing of issues, the assembly of coalitions, venue shopping and the exploitation of windows of opportunity. In showcasing the role of entrepreneurs in achieving transitions and explaining their approach, this groundbreaking book presents an optimistic message for those who desire improvements in the way water is managed. This book will not only make a unique contribution to the current literature on transition management, but will also prove an invaluable tool for those keen to influence water policy management at the regional, national and international level. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of water resources and environmental management and governance, as well as practitioners in the fields of water and climate policy.
Ecological Management of Mining: Achieving Environmental Compliance is a study and comparison - global in scope - of current practices used by mining firms striving for ecological management. The author takes an integrated and interdisciplinary approach in addressing, analyzing and working towards solutions regarding the complex challenges posed by managing the environmental impacts of mining. The issues addressed range from the ecotoxicological effects of metal residues to the land use effects of mining and from socioeconomic impacts to environmental regulation. The goal of this book is to assist mining companies throughout the world to achieve environmental compliance and improve competitiveness in the context of growing environmental regulation and technological innovation. It is an essential book for the wide variety of professionals working on issues in mining. Like the book and the research itself, the audience is integrated and interdisciplinary including engineers, planners, ecologists, policy makers and economists. Features
Guidelines for Mine Waste Dump and Stockpile Design is a comprehensive, practical guide to the investigation, design, operation and monitoring of mine waste dumps, dragline spoils and major stockpiles associated with large open pit mines. These facilities are some of the largest man-made structures on Earth, and while most have performed very well, there are cases where instabilities have occurred with severe consequences, including loss of life and extensive environmental and economic damage. Developed and written by industry experts with extensive knowledge and experience, this book is an initiative of the Large Open Pit (LOP) Project. It comprises 16 chapters that follow the life cycle of a mine waste dump, dragline spoil or stockpile from site selection to closure and reclamation. It describes the investigation and design process, introduces a comprehensive stability rating and hazard classification system, provides guidance on acceptability criteria, and sets out the key elements of stability and runout analysis. Chapters on site and material characterisation, surface water and groundwater characterisation and management, risk assessment, operations and monitoring, management of ARD, emerging technologies and closure are included. A chapter is also dedicated to the analysis and design of dragline spoils. Guidelines for Mine Waste Dump and Stockpile Design summarises the current state of practice and provides insight and guidance to mine operators, geotechnical engineers, mining engineers, hydrogeologists, geologists and other individuals that are responsible at the mine site level for ensuring the stability and performance of these structures. Readership includes mining engineers, geotechnical engineers, civil engineers, engineering geologists, hydrogeologists, environmental scientists, and other professionals involved in the site selection, investigation, design, permitting, construction, operation, monitoring, closure and reclamation of mine waste dumps and stockpiles.
Winner of the 2007 E.B. Burwell, Jr. Award of the Geological Society of America Mining activity has left a legacy of hazards to the environment, such as waste, unstable ground and contamination, which can be problematic when redeveloping land. This book highlights the effects of past mining and provides information on the types of problems it may cause in both urban and rural areas. By way of example, the book also demonstrates how such problems may be anticipated, investigated, predicted, prevented and controlled. Furthermore, it shows how sites already affected by mining problems and hazards can be remediated and rehabilitated. Covering subsidence, surface mining, disposal of waste, problems resulting from mine closure and mineral processing, Mining and its Impact on the Environment is an excellent reference for practising mining and geotechnical engineers, as well as students in this field.
States in mineral-rich jurisdictions must promote mining as a development industry just as they must protect people and environment from the worst excesses of extractivism. State Governance of Mining, Development and Sustainability explores how the State’s role in facilitating a developmental and sustainable mining industry has been defined. In doing so, this astute book considers the impact of the policies and laws of mineral-rich States themselves, multilateral international governance institutions, industry associations, and environmental justice advocates in the areas of property relations, mineral taxation, environmental management and mine closure.
