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At the Annual Conference of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) in February 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona/USA, the debate on the term “Social Licence to Operate” was a focus. The title of the keynote session of the annual conference was: “The Executive’s Role in Tailings Management: Preserving our Social Licence to Operate”.
In view of the recent accidents at mine tailings dams, the mining industry itself must revisit its “Social Licence to Operate” or, in other words, its responsibility as an operator and public acceptance of its business. A recent tailings dam breach occurred in January 2019 near the Brazilian city of Brumadinho. The massive tailings spill from the Córrego do Feijão iron ore open-cast mine claimed more than 270 victims, polluting the downstream environment with a sludge volume of almost 12 Mm3. Extensive examination of this disaster, along with many similar incidents in recent history, made clear that mining companies must urgently address the safe operation of tailings ponds at the top executive levels. Those responsible must recognize that “business as usual” is no longer an option. Simply relying on a government issued mining permit covers the technical aspects of mining and processing no longer suffices, as the mine operator must consider a wider range of stakeholder inputs and concerns to obtain social licence.
This paper examines how mines can operate sustainably in the broadest sense and which efforts are required to ensure public acceptance throughout the mine life cycle. Results show that socially responsible operation requires that mining processes must be fully disclosed, including the results of long-term geomonitoring.
The evolving hyperspectral sensors have become a big ally for a large range of applications in remote sensing for the monitoring of a variety of earth ecosystems and processes (natural and anthropogenic). The processes occurring within the mining life cycle are not an exception. Hyperspectral sensors have been widely used in a large number of applications ranging from exploration, operation and post-mining. In this work, the authors explore particularly the use of hyperspectral methods to contribute to the monitoring of one of the most important environmental phenomena that many mining operations might face: acid mine drainage (AMD). Failure of accurately monitoring and remediation of such complex, leads to long-term impacts on ecosystems and human health, in addition to significant financial consequences and reputational damage to operators. Hyperspectral imagery represents one solution to enhance the quality of classical geochemical analyses in post mining-related contaminated scenarios, which can increase the overall accuracy of the monitoring, allowing frequent and multi-temporal observations to detect risk areas and take fast corrective actions.
Nachhaltiges Grubenwassermanagement gehört zu den wichtigsten Aufgaben des Nachbergbaus. Der Bericht stellt die vielfältigen Erfahrungen zusammen, die mit dem langfristigen und umweltverträglichen Umgang mit Grubenwasser in ausgewählten europäischen Steinkohlenrevieren gesammelt wurden. Die hydrogeologischen, bergbaulichen und wasserwirtschaftlichen Aspekte werden systematisch ausgewertet und standortspezifische Besonderheiten herausgestellt. Die Erkenntnisse helfen, den Grubenwasseranstiegsprozess zu veranschaulichen und ein vertieftes Verständnis zu schaffen.
