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Life cycle impacts assessment of two gold extraction systems in Colombia: open-pit and alluvial mining

  • LCIA OF IMPACTS ON HUMAN HEALTH AND ECOSYSTEMS
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Abstract

Purpose

Gold mining has historically and significantly contributed to the Colombian economy. Gold extraction in Colombia is mainly done through two techniques: open-pit and alluvial mining. In this study, the environmental impacts of both these mining systems were analyzed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework, including identification of the system components that contribute most to impacts.

Methods

Inventory data were obtained for two medium-scale mines in Colombia, one representing the open-pit method and the other the alluvial method. Environmental impacts were classified and characterized by mid-point impact categories and further aggregated into end-point indicators through the ReCiPe (v. 1.11) methodology, which uses a hierarchist perspective.

Results

Results for end-point indicators show that the open-pit mining presents higher values in the human health damage category, influenced primarily by tailings and by the excavation process. For the alluvial mining, the overall impacts were an order of magnitude lower, with ecosystem quality as the most significant contributor due to the stripping of soil and vegetation. In the case of mid-point indicators, freshwater and marine ecotoxicity contribute the most to open-pit mining, while for alluvial mining, metal depletion and natural land transformation contribute the most. Climate change is also a significant impact category for alluvial and open-pit mining.

Conclusions

The is a substantial difference in environmental impacts between the two mining systems: the quantified total environmental impact was 1.0 × 1004 points for the open-pit mine and 2.4 × 1003 points for the alluvial mine. Since these mines represent specific Colombian operational conditions, this conclusion cannot be confidently extended to other operational contexts. For example, results in other cases may depend on the local geological features and natural environment conditions. Knowing the critical mining supply chain stages for environmental performance will allow the decision-makers to provide the tools for more sustainable extraction and production.

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Manuscript has not associated data.

Notes

  1. The Colombian mining classification lies on small, medium, and big scale based on the number of hectares granted in the mining concession: small (≤150 ha), medium (≥150 ha, ≤5000 ha), big (≥ 5000 ha, ≤10000) or according with the volume of the maximum annual mining production small (≤250000 m3/year), medium (≥250000 m3/year, ≤1300000 m3/year), big (1300000≥m3/year), and not on the number of workers (Código de Minas, Ley 685 DE 2001, 2001).

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Acknowledgements

This project was carried out as part of the Doctoral Program funded by the Department of Science and Technology of Colombia (COLCIENCIAS). The authors thank the mining companies (open-pit and alluvial mining technology) for the provided data and recommendations. This research was supported by the School of Mines at the National University of Colombia at Medellín.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grupo de Investigación en Fenómenos de Superficie-Michael Polanyi, Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia − Sede Medellín, Medellín, 050041, Colombia

    Natalia A. Cano-Londoño, Christian Hasenstab & Héctor I. Velásquez

  2. Natural Resources Institute, Federal University of Itajubá, Itajubá, Brazil

    Rafael Silva Capaz

  3. Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Neil McIntyre & Glen D. Corder

  4. Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629HZ, Delft, The Netherlands

    John A. Posada

  5. Research Group Sustainable Systems Engineering (STEN), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 90 0 0, Ghent, Belgium

    Natalia A. Cano-Londoño

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  1. Natalia A. Cano-Londoño
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  2. Rafael Silva Capaz
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Correspondence to Natalia A. Cano-Londoño.

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This research is focused on studying the sustainability of two different extraction-mining processes such as open-pit and alluvial mining technologies. Data provided by mining companies is confidential information used only to academic purposes.

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Communicated by Sonia Valdivia.

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Cano-Londoño, N.A., Capaz, R.S., Hasenstab, C. et al. Life cycle impacts assessment of two gold extraction systems in Colombia: open-pit and alluvial mining. Int J Life Cycle Assess 28, 380–397 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-023-02141-5

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