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MINING INDUSTRY, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE with emphasis on Africa
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MINING INDUSTRY, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
AND CLIMATE CHANGEwith emphasis on Africa
Fernando P. CarvalhoInstituto Superior Técnico/Campus Tecnológico Nuclear
Universidade de Lisboa. Portugal(e-mail: carvalho@itn.pt)
Topics
• MINING TODAY
• PRACTICES: past, present, future
• URGENT NEEDS
• THE WAY FORWARD: potentialproject themes
Mining industries by sectors
• Examples:
Oil and gas
Phosphate
Uranium
Shale gas
Artisanal mining
• Higlights of products, impacts and unresolved issues
Sector: oil and gas industry
Oil spills
• Oil drilling at sea grew
• Oil spills impact on fisheries, aquaculture, wildlife, turism
.• Crude is toxic to
biota• Hydrocarbons take
time to degrade• Ecosystems recover
very slowly
Pipe de-scaling and impacts
Cases investigated: North Sea, Norway Sea
226Ra concentration in scales: 40 Bq/g
Radiation risks:• Exposure of workers • Dispersal of radioactive
waste in environment
Phosphor and more…
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Sedimentary rockFosforite containsfluorapatiteCa5(PO4)3F
Phosphate, Phospor, Fluor, Calcium, butalso Cadmium, Arsenic, Uranium, Mercury, etc.
Sector: phosphate industry
World phosphate industry
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A sedimentary rock rich in essential elements (P) to plant growth
9
…and stock piles of phosphogypsumFluor into atmosphere
Environmental impacts
Many contaminants stay in phosphogypsum Some Phosphoric acid producers release PG in
the sea (Morocco) Impact on marine environment and fisheries
Sector: heavy mineral sands
(coastal sands mining )
Heavy mineral sands mining
Coastal sand deposits maycontain heavy minerals of high value, such as zircon, rutile, garnet, columbite
Coast of Mozambique
Impacts of heavy mineral sands mining
• Destruction of sand dunes barrier - protection of coastal plains and villages during storms
• Removal of consolidated barriers against sea level rise and coastal erosion
• Habitat destruction and impact on coastal fisheries
Sector: uranium mining and milling
New demands for uranium
New mines needed.
New countries want to be uraniumproducers.
Uranium production: the first step of fuel cycle
No reason to stop U production witharguments aboutnuclear proliferation!
World Total of NPP: 447
Fuel needs increases.
World market for uranium
(trade and shipping) increases.
Current nuclear power
Uranium resources Nuclear power plants
Uranium market
Uranium Mill TailingsSolid waste
• Fine sands, high specific activity of 226Ra, 230Th, 210Pb, 210Po,…
• Low concentrations of uranium
• May contain stable metals, eg., As, Y, Bi, Fe, Cu, etc
• and sludge (mud) from water treatment
Uranium industry impacts
Mines and Mills:
• Occupational exposure to radioactivity
• Environmental radioactive contamination (water, soils, air, food chain)
• Uranium milling waste with lasting radiological impact
• Populations rarely aware and tend to re-use mining and milling waste
Shale gas and ¨hydrofracking¨
Environmental impacts from shale gas extraction
• Use of large amounts of water• Large amounts of toxic
chemicals• Sands for injection in wells (from
Africa, beach shores)• Contamination of water
resources• Earthquakes• Release of large activity of
radium and radon
Sector: Artisanal mining
Sieving river sand for ilmenite (Mozambique)
Artisanal mining and rare metals
Panning for gold (Burkina Faso)
Grinding rock to extract Tantalite
Human dimension For survival of populations in
many African , South America , and South Asia countries
Impacts Exposure of large population
groups to hazardous chemicals• Thousands of people live on
artisanal mining• Family activity, children
exposed Serious environmental
contamination(Hg, As, Ra, …)
Mining impacts in populated areas
• Mine waste, contaminated water, and dust close to communities with obvious direct impact on population health
• Dirty landscape, natural resources compromised
• Last decades: development of guidelines, EIA, regulations, criteria – in some countries
• Development of concepts such as exposed population, critical group, social license, etc
Mining impacts in desert areas
Uranium mining in the Sahara desert, Niger
• Current mining. No legacy yet.
• Very remote area , no critical group or exposed population
• No environmental and no radiological impacts?
New population
Near 80 000(!) settled
around, attracted by the
mines
Metal scrappers: re-use
scrap from the mine to
manufacture goods
New productionsWater is a very limited
resource
Process water and
waste water from the
mine facilities are used in
irrigation (gardens)
New exposure pathwaysDespite the remote location it
is still needed to• Ensure radiological safety of
local population• Protect groundwater
resources• Avoid dispersion of
contaminated dust
Mining in coastal areas
• May compromise soil and water and alsoFisheries and Aquaculture and Turism
TIMELINE
The PastThe PresentThe Future
The past
• Legacy of abandoned mines and waste piles
• Persistent environmental impacts
• Contaminated water, soils, groundwater, crops, arable land, coastal seas,…
The unplanned costs of mining
• Occupational health: silicosis, lung cancer,riskof explosion, coal mining, …
• Environmental health: oil spills, fisheries, aquaculture and turism
• Environmental remediation of legacy:
– Germany 60 Billion Euros (reunified Germany)
– Portugal 120 Million Euros
• China: the cost of rapid industrialization
Environmental remediation Tailings cover
Aerial view of Urgeiriça (early 2008)
Multi layer cap
The present
• Enthusiasm with mining: uranium, heavy mineral sands, shale gas,…
• Mining boom in Africa: plenty of new projects• Need for good practices in mining projects• Lack of mining laws and regulations in place
(regulatory infrastructure for: licensing, inspection,labour safety, environmental impact, taxation, …)
• Lack of qualified human resources(economists, geologists, engineers, practitioners of occupational health, waste management, environmental protection, …)
The future
• What future do we want ?
Several answers.
• The future we need:
Sustainable development
Healthy environment, healthy cities, healthypeople
Preserve resources for future generations
We still need mining…
The pilars for ensuring any future
WATER
FOOD ENERGY
For ensuring the future, needed in place
Particularly in South hemisphere:
• Infrastructures, regulations, qualifiedpersonnel,…
• Good mining contracts
• Revenues for the countries supplying rawmaterials
• Good industrial practice, waste management
• Environmental protection
The way forward:
• Learn with the past
• Develop awareness
• Enforce new mining concepts, laws andregulations
• Educate and train human resources
Possible starting points• Regional workshops to enhance awareness• Specific training workshops on technical matters• Expert missions to assist local organizations in field assessment of
selected impacted areas and provide a report/advice Example assess impact of coastal sands mining on way of living of local communities and natural resources,
• Topical Lectures in the countries to complement local education programmes (in collaboration with local Universities, Ministries, Industrial associations, Foundations, etc.)
• Scholarships for training students abroad
• …in partnership with industries, Govs, local organizations !
Gaps and opportunities for NGOs
Areas often not addressed by Gov projects when dealing with mining industry:
Social impacts, disruption of way of living
Jeopardy of natural resources and cultural heritage
Artisanal mining, population income, hazards
Population awareness of public health issues
Preparation of the post-mine
Thank you for your kind attention
OSI
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