MINING SAFETY
“Working groups are established to not only exchange findings but also agree on next steps and, where possible, a common interdisciplinary standard.”
T
he mining industry must satisfy environmental requirements and the indiscriminate exploitation
of limited resources cannot be considered at the expense of future generations.
So what are seen as the main difficulties in encouraging a global approach to mine reclamation? Professor Sun Joon Kim says:
“Mine reclamation is focusing on mostly environmental protection and restoration. Each country has their own environmental regulations based on their policies, budget, awareness on environment, etc. “Some countries have very
strong regulations, but others do not. International standards will be made by the collaborative work of diverse countries, however those guidelines are still too strong for some countries and too weak for other countries to apply to their own countries. ISO standards are of voluntary application; as such, they are not enforceable and companies cannot be imposed penalties for
not implementing them (unless the standard has been somehow incorporated into the law). So what happens if companies refuse to comply to current or future standards? Reinartz says: “ISO standards are indeed usually not laws but serve as highly regarded recommendations or references possibly developing into regulations or even laws. In absence of applicable local regulations standards could serve as a benchmark either defining activities or at least assist with communication between stakeholders involved.” He adds: “I think that companies
not following standards will not be directly imposed by penalties but could lose business by not getting acceptance of their approaches and plans.” Reinartz also comments: “We are
aware of many past mining activities where no one accepts responsibilities for consequential damages anymore and it is left for the public to deal with the issue. Interestingly enough this happens in developed countries as well as in emerging ones. “Our aim in SC7 is to define a
mining reclamation management standard for new, current but also terminated and even abandoned mining projects in order to sustainably assist all stakeholders.” l
Best practices to adopt when a mine closes E
ven though mining reclamation management is
thoroughly done during operation, it is a general characteristic of mining reclamation that potential damages are observed for a long time after closing mines. And it is usual that a boosted regional economy due to the mining industry declines very rapidly after closing those mines and the region faces cavitations.
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According to experts: l Te mining reclamation
management must be supported by government and developers together and the opinions of local residents must be actively reflected
in the process; l Government and mine operators must prepare measures for the control and monitoring of the environment, the utilisation of closed mines, the activation of the
regional economy, and the budget for the project at the time of
closing the development; l Government and mine operators must prepare for the local residents, who could potentially be impacted by mine closings, an official communication channel to allow interaction between all stakeholders. For example, public hearings are a proven tool to ensure open communication. l
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