Mining: The Challenge Knocks on our Door
- 328 Downloads
- 2 Citations
Abstract
Mining will continue to be an important economic component due to the incessant demand for raw materials, but the industry needs to balance the extraction of mineral resources with its obligations to abide by all laws, benefit the local community, and contribute to regional development. Proper management of mine water through reuse, reduced consumption, and desalination is key to attaining a higher level of public acceptance, as is making sure that the public learns of the advantages that our industry brings.
Keywords
Challenges Economic Environmental Future mining Hydrological Social TechnicalDie Herausforderung steht vor der Tür
Zusammenfassung
Auch zukünftig wird der Bergbau aufgrund beständiger Rohstoffnachfrage ein wichtiger Wirtschaftsfaktor bleiben. Allerdings muss die Bergbauindustrie ein ausgewogenes Verhältnis schaffen um neben Rohstoffabbau die folgenden Verpflichtungen zu erfüllen: alle Gesetze einhalten, ein Nutzen für die örtliche Gemeinden sein und zur regionalen Entwicklung beitragen. Geeignetes Grubenwassermanagement durch Wasserrecycling, Reduzierung des Verbrauchs und Entsalzung sind der Schlüssel zu einer steigenden öffentlichen Akzeptanz des Bergbaus. Außerdem muss der Öffentlichkeit verdeutlicht werden, welche Vorteile unser Industriezweig für sie mit sich bringt.
Minería: el desafío llama a nuestra puerta
Resúmen
La minería continuará teniendo un importante componente económico debido a la incesante demanda de materias primas; pero la industria necesita balancear la extracción de recursos minerales con su obligación de cumplir con todas las legislaciones vigentes, beneficiar a lascomunidades locales y contribuir al desarrollo regional. El adecuado manejo del agua de mina a través del reuso, la reducción del consumo y la desalinización es clave para ganar un alto nivel de aceptación pública, asegurando que la comunidad conozca las ventajas que nuestra industria brida.
采矿工业: 挑战在即
摘要
由于社会对原材料需求持续增长, 采矿工业仍将是未来社会经济的重要组成。采矿工业应该能够较好地平衡矿产资源开采与履行法律义务、造福当地百姓、促进区域发展之间的关系。提高矿井水利用率、减小采矿水资源消耗、降低矿井水与海水淡化供水成本等合理技术与方法是采矿工业获得更大公众支持的关键, 同样, 也只有更多的利益回报才能增强公众对采矿工业的信心。.
Notes
Acknowledgments
I thank, with deepest gratitude, the 41 specialists from 14 countries who shared their thoughts on this topic with me: Marcelo Rubén Bellini, Fernando Flores Cano, Juan Antonio García, and Nora H. Paños of Argentina; Don Armstrong, Stephen Hancock and John Waterhouse from Australia; Javier Arce from Bolivia; Arthur Pinto Chaves, Guilherme de Rezende Tammerik, Paulo Santos Assis, Ademar Cavalcanti Silva Filho, Roberto Villas Bôas, and Vinicius Vieira Ribeiro from Brazil; Luis Alejandro Fonseca Páez, and Oscar Jaime Restrepo Baena from Colombia; Broder J. Merkel from Germany; Juan Carlos Baquero Úbeda, Ángel Cámara Rascón, Juan José Cerezuela Bonet, Juan Carlos Cerón García, Juan Manuel Fidalgo, Guillermo Koerting Wiese, David Lorca Fernández, Vicente de la Pedraja Cañas, Rafael Rodríguez Díez, José Luis Sastre Pascual, Avelino Suárez Álvarez, and Julio Verdejo Serrano from Spain; Elizabeth Araux Sánchez from Mexico; Guillermo Albareda, Mario Cedrón Lassús, Edison Hurtado Ángel and Henry John Luna Córdova from Peru; Simoes Cortez from Portugal; Mike Doyle and Paul Younger from the UK; Bob Kleinmann and Antonio Nieto from the USA; Mónica Mártiz Lizama from Venezuela, and Keith Kapui from Zambia. I also thank Prof. Thomas Rude for his invitation to prepare this text as the closing address of the 2011 International Mine Water Association Congress (Aachen, Germany), Mining Engineer Sergio Lorca for his contributions to the manuscript, and Bob Kleinmann, for his review and contributions to the English text.
Supplementary material
References
- Comisión Minera del Cobre (COCHILCO) (2008) Buenas prácticas y uso eficiente de agua en la industria minera. http://www.consejominero.cL/home/libros/libro_cochilco.pdf
- IFC (International Finance Corporation) (2006) Progress report on IFC’s policy and performance standards on social and environmental sustainability, and access to information policy. World Bank Group, http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/policyreview.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/Phase3_final_code+package/$file/Phase3_final_code+package.pdf
- ILO (International Labour Organization) (1989) c169 indigenous and tribal peoples convention. http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C169
- MMSD (2002) Breaking new ground. Mining, minerals, and sustainable development. Earthscan Publicaion, LondonGoogle Scholar
- Thomson I, Boutilier R (2001) The social license to operate. In: Darling P (ed) SME mining engineering handbook, chap. 17.2. Soc of Mining Metallurgy and Exploration, Littleton, CO, pp 1779–1796Google Scholar