Environmental impact of mining and mineral processing : management, monitoring, and auditing strategies

309 Pages·2016·2.636 MB·English

by  Jain, Ravi

Environmental Impact of
MINING AND
MINERAL
PROCESSING
Management, Monitoring, and Auditing
Strategies
RAVI K. JAIN, Ph.D., P.E.
Dean Emeritus, School of Engineering and Computer
Science, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA
ZENGDI “CINDY” CUI, Ph.D.
Professor, School of Resources and Earth Science, China
University of Mining and Technology, P.R. China
Researcher and Marketing Manager,
School of Engineering and Computer Science,
University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA
JEREMY K. DOMEN, M.S.
Research Associate, School of Engineering and
Computer Science, University of the Pacific,
Stockton, CA
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ravi K. Jain, Ph.D., P.E., DEE, Dean Emeritus, was Professor and Dean
School of Engineering and Computer Science, University of the Pacific,
Stockton, California from 2000 to 2013. Prior to this appointment, he has
held research, faculty, and administrative positions at the University of
Illinois(Urbana-Champaign),MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT),
and the University of Cincinnati. He has appointment as distinguished
professor at several universities internationally.
Dr. Jain has served as Chair, Environmental Engineering Research
Council, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and is an elected
Diplomate of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers (DEE),
fellow ASCE and fellow American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS). Dr. Jain was the founding Director of the Army Envi-
ronmental Policy Institute; he has directed major research programs for the
U.S. Army and has worked in industry and for the California State Depart-
ment of Water Resources. He has been a Littauer Fellow at Harvard
UniversityandelectedaFellowofChurchillCollege,CambridgeUniversity.
Hehaspublished19booksandmorethan180journalpapers,technicalreports
andbookchapters.
He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from
California State University, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Texas
Tech University. He studied Public Administration and Public Policy at
Harvard University earning an M.P.A. degree. He did additional graduate
studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Zengdi “Cindy” Cui, Ph.D., is a Professor at the School of Resources
and Earth Science, China University of Mining and Technology, China,
andalsoaResearcherandMarketingManagerattheSchoolofEngineering
andComputerScience,UniversityofthePacific,Stockton,California.She
has held research, technology transfer, teaching, and administrative posi-
tions at these universities. She has appointments as distinguished professor
at several universities internationally.
Dr. Cui is a member of the China Coal Association, the International
Rock Mechanics Association, and the Urban Geoenvironment & Sus-
tainable Development Center of Ministry of Education, China. She played
akeyroleintheestablishmentofthePacificResourcesResearchCenterat
vii
viii AbouttheAuthors
the University of the Pacific. She has published several peer reviewed
journal articles, book chapters, technical reports and business plans.
Dr.CuireceivedaB.S.degreefromtheSchoolofResourcesandEarth
Science, China University of Mining and Technology, a B.S. degree from
the School of Computer Science, Windsor University, a M.S. degree
from the School of Computer Science, Wayne State University, a Ph.D.
from the School of Resources and Environment, Shandong University of
Science and Technology. She also received her MBA from the School of
Business, Shandong University of Science and Technology.
Jeremy K. Domen, M.S., has a broad range of experience in research
related to water quality, hydraulic fracturing, environmental impact
analysis, and engineering innovation. He has published multiple peer-
reviewed papers and technical reports and has presented research work at
various technical conferences. Mr. Domen has held research appointments
atLawrenceBerkeleyNationalLaboratoryinBerkeley,Californiaaswellas
at the School of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of
the Pacific, Stockton, California. He participated in a highly selective in-
ternational engineering internship program, learned the Japanese language
and culture and worked in Japan for six months. Mr. Domen received his
B.S. degree in Bioengineering and M.S. degree in Engineering Science
from the University of the Pacific, School of Engineering and Computer
Science.
PREFACE
TheNationalAcademyofEngineering(NAE)(2010)describedtheimpor-
tanceofmining and mineralextraction bystating thatthe historyofhuman
civilization is often characterized by terms such as: Stone Age, Bronze Age,
Industrial Revolution, and Information Age. As one can see, a common
threadamongalltheseepochsistheextractionof,processing,andutilizationof
materials from the Earth (NAE, 2010). In fact, almost every product and
serviceinthemodernworldreliesontherawmaterialsgeneratedbymining
andmineralprocessing.Clearly,miningandmineralextractionhavesignifi-
cantly contributed to the advancement of human civilization and national
economies.Theseactivitiesalsohavethepotentialforseriousenvironmental
impacts. Through the development of best management practices with sus-
tainable development in mind, environmental threats from mining and
mineralprocessingcanbeminimizedasdescribedinthisbook.
TheWorldEconomicForum(2014)hasidentifiedseveraldrivingforces
toward sustainability and, in response to these drivers, the Forum has also
identifiedmajoraspectsofsustainabledevelopmentthatneedtobefocused
on in relation to mining and mineral processing. To move toward sus-
tainable development, NAE (2010) also noted scientific and technical
challenges that need to be overcome. These challenges and issues are
described in detail in this book.
Mining and mineral processing are important to the economy of many
nations. A comprehensive, interesting, and useful analysis provides infor-
mation about the importance of these activities for major mining and
mineral processing countries. For major mining countries, this analysis
provides information such as total mineral export contribution, total pro-
duction value, and production value as a percentage of the nation’s GDP.
For comparative analysis purposes, the mining contribution index (MCI) is
provided that, in a way, shows the relative importance of these activities to
a given country.
Ravi K. Jain
Stockton, California, U.S.A.
Zengdi (Cindy) Cui
Xuzhou, China
Jeremy K. Domen
Stockton, California, U.S.A.
ix
x Preface
REFERENCES
National Academy of Engineering (NAE), 2010. Grand Challenges for Earth Resources
Engineering. National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved from: https://www.nae.
edu/File.aspx?id¼106323.
WorldEconomicForumMining&MetalsIndustryPartnership,Accenture,2014.Scoping
Paper:MiningandMetalsinaSustainableWorld.WorldEconomicForum.Retrieved
from: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_MM_MiningMetalSustainableWorld_
ScopingPaper_2014.pdf.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors want to express their deep gratitude for the support in pre-
paring the book manuscript that was provided by Mr. Xuejun Zhang,
Chairman, JingAn Century Investment, Inc. Mr. Zhang is a visionary
industry leader who is keenly interested in environmental, human health,
and effective management of mining activities. Support for related projects
provided by Shanghai EcoGeological Engineering Inc. is also gratefully
acknowledged.
Professor William T. Stringfellow (University of the Pacific and
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) reviewed the book manuscript
and made numerous comments to further improve the book content and
quality.NatalieMuradian,researchassociate,contributedtotheearlydrafts
of the book manuscript. We are grateful to Professor Stringfellow and
Ms. Muradian for their contributions.
Many individuals at Elsevier were most helpful with finalizing the
manuscript and producing the text. Considerable assistance and support
provided by Kenneth P. McCombs, Senior Acquisitions Editor, made the
crucial difference in effectively completing this text on a timely basis.
xi
ACRONYM LIST
AMD Acid metalliferous drainage/Acid mine drainage
ASGM Artisanal and small-scale gold mining
BACI Before-After-Control-Impact
BOD Biological oxygene demand
BP Best practices
BTEX Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene
CEMS Continuous emissions monitoring system
COD Chemical oxygen demand
CT Communication and tracking
CMM Coal mine methane
CWA Clean Water Act
DInSAR Differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar
EA Environmental assessment
EIA Environmental impact assessment
EIS Environmental impact statement
EMS Environmental management systems
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
FONSI Finding of no significant impact
GDP Gross domestic product
GIS Geographic information system
ICMM International Council on Mining & Metals
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
ISO International Organization for Standardization
MCI Mining Contribution Index
MINER Act Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act
MSHA Mine Safety and Health Administration
NAE National Academy of Engineering
NGO Non-governmental organization
NIOSH National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
NPDES National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
OAIMA Ohio Aggregates and Industrial Minerals Association
OEM Original equipment manufacturer
ORP Oxidation reduction potential
PAH Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
PM10 Particulate matter with diameter <10 microns
PM2.5 Particulate matter with diameter <2.5 microns
xiii
xiv AcronymList
PM Particulate matter
PPE Personal protective equipment
QA/QC Quality assurance/quality control
R&D Research and development
RFID Radio-frequency identification
TDS Total dissolved solids
TSS Total suspended solids
TSF Tailings storage facility
UHF Ultra high frequency
VHF Very high frequency
VOC Volatile organic compound
WEPP Water Erosion Prediction Project
WEPS Wind Erosion Prediction System
WEQ Wind Erosion Equation
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
1.1 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MINING AND
MINERAL PROCESSING
The importance of mining and mineral extraction is best characterized by
the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) (2010), where it was stated
that the history of human civilization is often characterized byperiods such
astheStoneAge,BronzeAge,IndustrialRevolution,andInformationAge.
As can be seen, a common thread among all these epochs is the extraction
of, processing, andutilization of materialsfrom the earth (NAE, 2010).For
example, materials such as iron and coal fueled the industrial revolution,
hydrocarbons and fertilizers fueled recent economic and population
growth, and rare earth elements have been critical to the development of
modern electronics (NAE, 2010). While mining and mineral extraction
have significantly contributed to the advancement of human civilization
and national economies, they also have the potential for serious environ-
mental degradation. Through the development of best management
practices with sustainable development in mind, environmental threats
from mining and mineral processing can be minimized.
The United Nations World Commission on Environment and
Development (1987) defines sustainable development as “meet[ing] the
needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the
future generation to meet their needs.” Sustainable development can also
be viewed as a process that “involves the economic, social, cultural and
environmental dimensions of human existence” (United Nations, 2002).
AnotherrelatedconceptdevelopedbyJohnElkingtonin1994suggestsan
appropriate balance is needed between economic prosperity, environ-
mental quality, and social justice.
As the world moves toward more sustainable practices, the mining and
mineral processing industry will be profoundly impacted. Mining provides
the raw materials found in virtually every product and service throughout
the world. However, the long project life cycles for mining operations
means companies are accustomed to long-term plans and operations are
generally static (World Economic Forum Mining & Metals Industry
EnvironmentalImpactofMiningandMineralProcessing
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