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Mining Environmental, Water Shortage and Land Reclamation/Revegetation Issues

Unearthing Mining Water Technology Innovation – by Paul O’Callaghan (Water World – January 2015)

 http://www.waterworld.com/index.html

http://www.bluetechresearch.com/

Paul O’Callaghan is CEO of Bluetech Research. The article is based on the report: Wastewater Treatment in Mining Metals.

Water access challenges and new mining discharge regulations are creating opportunities for the application of new water technologies. Yet the size and complexity of operations and cost of treating mining wastewater has slowed innovation. Which technologies/companies are emerging as successful?

As with many industrial sectors, the treatment of wastewater in mining applications is a secondary consideration tied to environmental policy and regulation, rather than a core operating practice.

As a result, many operators focus on well understood processes that require significant civil work, such as lime softening, tailings storage and chemical precipitation to be used as the primary system applied for heavy metals removal. However, in some instances novel and innovative technologies have been adopted with beneficial results.

There are several drivers leading to adoption of more advanced treatment technology, including:

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Sudbury reaches halfway mark in reclamation efforts – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – January 14, 2015)

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

If you were a youth in Sudbury, chances are you, or someone you know, spent a summer or two lugging bags of dolomite limestone up the city’s barren hills, prepping the ground for reforestation.

The routine is so ubiquitous, it’s almost become a rite of passage, said Dr. Peter Beckett, a reclamation, restoration and wetland ecologist with Laurentian University who’s dedicated his life’s work to rejuvenating the city’s landscape.

“I’m beginning to think that, by the time we finish this program, everybody in Sudbury will have done this,” Beckett chuckled during his keynote address at a recent meeting of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. “It’s part of growing up in Sudbury, to put lime bags down on the hills.”

Over four decades, the city has spent $28 million planting 9.5 million trees, and life has returned to Sudbury, once pegged as a barren moonscape. Yet despite the decades-long investment, the work is only half done: 3,450 hectares have been reclaimed, but 7,000 altogether need to be done.

That’s still a fraction of the 81,000 hectares impacted by industrial activity, which began with logging in the late 1800s and intensified with the onset of mining when open roasting beds sent high levels of sulphur dioxide into the air, raining down metal particulate, which leached into the soil, impacting the ecosystem.

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Baffinland deflects Nunavut regulator’s recommendations (Nunatsiaq News – January 6, 2015)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

“Changes in the health of caribou because of project activities are unlikely”

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. has responded to recommendations from the Nunavut Impact Review Board, but the company doesn’t plan to follow many of them at its Mary River mine site.

The NIRB’s 2013-14 monitoring report -— designed to keep Mary River in compliance with its project certificate — did not raise any issues of significant concern, but made some recommendations following a September 2014 site visit.

Most had to do with different wildlife monitoring and waste management programs at the Baffin site, like the NIRB’s recommendation to analyse dust-fall or ash in caribou pellets.

Baffinland said it would continue to gather caribou fecal pellet samples for different kinds of monitoring, but that the program would be limited because there are so few caribou in the project area.

“Samples will be analyzed for ash content when a sufficient sample of fresh pellets are collected,” read Baffinland’s Dec. 12 response to the NIRB.

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Breakingviews: Water woes could open taps on corporate risk – by Antony Currie (Reuters U.S. – January 5, 2015)

 http://www.reuters.com/

NEW YORK – (Reuters Breakingviews) – Water is set to become a more serious risk for companies and investors. It’s already recognized. World Economic Forum attendees named H2O a top-three risk two years running. And two-thirds of the world’s largest companies worry about how constraints may affect their business, according to environmental research firm CDP. Few, though, are well prepared for problems. That is set to change.

A few high-profile droughts have helped shake off some complacency. Taps in Brazil’s Sao Paulo may run dry as early as March. California’s supply is low after three years of scarce precipitation. The likes of Illinois and Indiana are starting to use their relative abundance of water to lure companies to their states.

Some firms have taken action. SABMiller has a goal of reducing water used in its breweries by a quarter by 2015. Coca-Cola used 2.08 liters of water for every liter of its own drinks in 2013, down 23 percent since 2004, and wants to be water neutral by 2020. Lockheed Martin, Kimberly-Clarke, AstraZeneca, AT&T and others have implemented water-saving strategies.

That’s not always enough. Often, a company’s idea of water risk is very narrow, CDP points out in a 2014 survey of big companies. Only two-fifths include other local users in their assessments.

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Northwestern Ont. transmission line may threaten caribou habitat (CBC News Thunder Bay – December 16, 2014)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay

A new report says caribou in Ontario’s boreal forest are facing increasing man-made threats — and specifically points out a proposed transmission line running between Dryden, Ignace and Pickle Lake.

Anna Baggio of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s Wildlands League said the route would disturb prime caribou habitat.

“Let’s not place permanent infrastructure in these really hammered southern caribou ranges,” she said. “And if you have to build some of this infrastructure — if it’s an absolute imperative — then at least situate it along an existing highway.”

Baggio said the province needs to do a better job of living up to its commitment to protect woodland caribou. “If we can protect woodland caribou habitat, then we can protect the habitat of a whole other suite of species,” she said.

“If we don’t do a good job on Boreal caribou, it’s sort of like a canary in the coal mine for us … It shows us that our practices and our intentions in the Boreal forest are not where they need to be.”

Baggio said the notion of ploughing “a transmission line through some of the best remaining intact caribou habitat … is perplexing.

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Despite rulemaking ban, US DOI will continue sage grouse fight – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – December 18, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

New Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act gives U.S. miners some breathing room from ESA and “Waters of the U.S.” designations.

RENO (MINEWEB) – After President Obama signed a $1.1 trillion omnibus bill into law, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell Wednesday attacked the rider that prohibits the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from writing and issuing rules related to the sage grouse, which could stymie new mining development and expansion of current mining operations in 11 Western states.

The rider for the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015 imposes a one-year ban on new Endangered Species Act protection for the sage grouse. The rider was introduced by Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, and former president of the Nevada Mining Association, which includes a number of major U.S. gold mines within its membership.

Jewell declared, “It is disappointing that some members of Congress are more interested in political posturing than finding solutions to conserve the sagebrush landscape and the western way of life. Rather than helping the communities they profess to benefit, these members will only create uncertainty, encourage conflict and undermine the unprecedented progress that is happening through the West.”

“The consequence of this rider is that it prevents the Service from finalizing a rule that would provide certainty to landowners, giving them assurance that they can continue economic activities compatible with the conservation of the species, such as properly managed livestock and ranging activities,” said Jewell’s statement.

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Lima marchers, experts want climate deal to respect rights – by Megan Rowling (Reuters India – December 11, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

LIMA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Rights experts and civil society groups issued an open letter on Wednesday to ministers attending U.N. climate talks in Lima, urging governments to enshrine “human rights for all” in the new global climate deal due to be agreed at the end of 2015.

At the same time, thousands of Peruvians and indigenous people from the Andean and Amazon regions marched shoulder to shoulder with climate activists from around the world on the traffic-choked streets of Lima.

They called for urgent action to tackle climate change and the environmental problems affecting communities dependent on natural resources for their survival.

Danitza, whose Quechua name Pilpintu means butterfly, from Peru’s south-central Andean region of Ayacucho, said people must take care of the earth, not least for the benefit of their children. “For the next generations, we should look after our water, the earth, our food,” she said, carrying her baby dressed in traditional clothes.

Many at the march, around 15,000-strong according to organisers, shouted and waved banners demanding clean water, 100 percent renewable energy, and protection of their rights threatened by extractive mining and major development projects, such as hydro-electric dams.

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Superstack Removal Symbolic of Mining Industry’s Green Efforts – by Steve May (Sudbury Star – Novmeber 15, 2014)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

www.sudburysteve.ca

Last week in Sudbury, Kelly Strong, Vice President of Vale’s Ontario and U.K. Operations, announced that Vale was considering taking down the iconic Superstack – a symbol of both Sudbury’s mining prosperity and of environmental degradation.

Mining has a reputation of being one of the world’s least environmentally-friendly enterprises. Along with scars left imprinted on natural landscapes, toxic chemicals released from processing and refining poison our soils and water. Massive amounts of energy, often from fossil fuel sources, are used to power industrial mining processes.

Yet, the world has a voracious appetite for minerals and metals. According to the Ontario Mining Association, mining contributes approximately $10 billion annually to Ontario’s economy, and employs around 23,000 workers directly and in support activities. Although we could be doing a much better job at recycling existing mined materials, it is expected that demand for new resources will remain high.

The story of the mining industry’s impacts on the natural environment isn’t all that different from that of other industries, except perhaps for the scale. Throughout the 20th Century, the mining industry was prodded to clean up its processes coincident with the public’s demand for healthier communities. In the 1960’s, the publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” kicked off an environmental awakening culminating in the early 1970’s with new federal and provincial laws to protect the environment. With the public demanding real action from government and industry, INCO, Vale’s predecessor, was at work planning to reduce dangerous emissions.

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Mining companies, investors steer through rising tide of water risks – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – November 10, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

573 financial institutions with assets of US$60 trillion are concerned about water risks, including mining corporations.

RENO (MINEWEB) – More than 70% of the western U.S. has been hit by drought, while China has been suffering from a national shortage of water and energy resources, prompting plans to develop 172 major water projects by 2020, says Paul Simpson of the CDP research firm working for institutional investors.

A survey by CDP of the world’s largest listed companies finds an increasing number of corporate executives say water is or soon will become a restraint on their corporate growth. In the CDP Global Water Report 2014, more than two-thirds of the Global 500 companies reported substantive water risks, “therefore investing to conserve, manage or obtain water has become crucial for some sectors,” said Simpson.

For instance, BHP Billiton has invested nearly US$2 billion “in a desalination plant in Chile to ensure adequate water is available for its desert mining operation,”’ he noted.

“Competition for scarce water resources is leading to business disruption, brand damage and the loss of the license to operate. A lack of water, or insufficient water of the right quality, can cut or even halt production,” observed the survey. “This is of growing concern to institutional investors as evidenced by investors’ support for CDP’s water programs.”

573 financial institutions with assets of US$60 trillion were signatories to the CDP 2013 water questionnaire dated Feb. 1, 2014.

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Vale clear to tear down Sudbury’s Superstack – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 7, 2014)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Vale Ltd. won’t need approval from the Ministry of the Environment to tear down the Superstack if the company chooses to do so.

But it will require ministry approvals for any replacement smokestack it intends to build. Kelly Strong, vice-president of Vale’s Canada and UK operations, told a business group this week that the Brazil-based mining company is conducting an analysis to determine if it should replace the 1,250-foot chimney.

Company officials will likely decide by the end of the year what to do with the structure, which was built in 1972 at a cost of about $25 million.

Speaking to reporters after a presentation to the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, Strong said he realized any talk of disposing of the structure was going to stimulate conversation in the community.

Very little sulphur dioxide is travelling up the Superstack, said Strong, so it doesn’t make sense to use it any longer. Vale is completing the $1-billion Clean AER (Atmospheric Emission Reduction) Project that will cut current S02 emissions by 85%.

Kate Jordan, spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Environment, said Vale wouldn’t need ministry approval to remove the stack.

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Coal, Climate and Orangutans in Indonesia – by Daniel Stiles (The Epoche Times – October 24, 2014)

http://www.theepochtimes.com/

What do the climate and orangutans have in common? They are both threatened by coal – the first by burning it, and the second by mining it.

At the recent United Nations Climate Summit in New York, world leaders and multinational corporations pledged a variety of actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation to avert a looming disaster caused by global warming.

Indonesia, home to most of the world’s orangutans, is a major player in both emissions and deforestation, with the third largest tropical forest area in the world, after the Amazon and the Congo Basin. In 2012, Indonesia surpassed Brazil as the country with the highest annual rate of primary forest loss. The country is also ranked the fourth top emitter of greenhouse gases in the world (after China, the U.S., and the European Union) during some years, largely due to high deforestation rates and peatland fires.

The New York Declaration on Forests, announced at the UN Climate Summit, called on partners to work to at least halve the rate of natural forest loss globally by 2020 and strive to end natural forest loss by 2030. It also targeted achieving a reduction in deforestation-related emissions by 4.5-8.8 billion tons per year by 2030.

The now-former Indonesia president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, announced in 2009 a voluntary commitment to reduce the country’s carbon footprint by 26 percent.

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The problem with America’s abandoned mines – by Rachael Bale (Centre for Investigative Reporting – October 21, 2014)

http://cironline.org/

A mine plans its death before its birth. The leftover waste from mines is so hazardous that mining companies must figure out what to do with it decades in advance, even before they start digging.

That’s how it works today, at least. But in 1981, when the United States government began requiring mines to have rehabilitation plans, many operators simply up and left instead. The government has identified about 46,000 abandoned mines on public lands alone. Some of them are top-priority Superfund sites.

But most haven’t even been mapped. By some estimates, there are as many as half a million abandoned mines in the U.S. These sites have the potential to contaminate water, pollute soil, kill wildlife and sicken humans, to say nothing of the risks of falling down a hidden mine shaft. (This is a legitimate concern in some areas – in California, the state employs teams that scour the state looking for abandoned mines and plugging them up. There was even a “Dirty Jobs” episode about these folks.)

Last month, heavy rains from Hurricane Odile caused two abandoned mines in Arizona to leak orange and brown sludge, threatening a waterway that runs into Patagonia Lake State Park. With thousands of abandoned mines dotting the American landscape, particularly in the West and Southwest, just how worried should we be?

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Mining still thrives in bone dry, drought-stricken West – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – October 21, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

As the drought rages on in the U.S. West, mining operators and other water users may have to ride a Big Wave of regulatory change and higher water costs.

RENO (MINEWEB) – In speech to the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration national convention in Salt Lake City earlier this year, Hecla Mining External Relations Vice President, Luke Russell warned attendees that water quantity and quality issues are the fastest growing economic and social challenge the mining industry faces today.

Mining companies spent $12 billion globally in 2013 on water infrastructure, a 275% increase from 2009, Russell observed, yet mining production costs were only up 52% in the same period.

The Western Governor’s Drought Forum held in Arizona last week examined the challenges facing mining, manufacturing and industry during a 15-year long period of drought with more than 70% of the western United States in the grip of a water shortage that shows no signs of ending.

On Monday, the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institute and Stanford University Woods Institute for the Environment held a joint session in California to discuss the undeniable fact that the West is bone dry and the water crisis has become as much an economic issue as an environmental concern and demands focused national attention.

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Curlook helped modernize Inco in Sudbury – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – October 10, 2014)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

A mining innovator and community leader who helped Sudburians breathe easier died earlier this month in Toronto.

The Coniston-born Walter Curlook, who rose to positions of prominence with Inco and oversaw the sulphur reduction program of the 1980s and early 1990s, was 85. His funeral was held Monday.

Through his long and impressive career with the nickel giant (now part of Vale), Curlook spurred advancements in metallurgical processing and environmental protection, securing a dozen patents relating to ore refining and smelting.

“I was proud of him because he was a bit of a genius and did so many nice things,” said his sister Eugenia (“Jenny”) Maizuk. “For one thing, he cleared the air around here.”

Jenny and Walter, along with two other siblings, were raised by Ukrainian immigrant parents in Coniston. Their father worked in the mines and, while still in his teens, Walter also secured part-time and seasonal work with Inco. The air hung thickly with sulphur in those days.

“I remember when we had to rush and cover the gardens with sheets to prevent them from getting burnt by the gas,” recalled Jenny. “Walter used to argue with my dad at dinnertime, saying ‘what’s wrong with Inco?'”

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Sudbury bees enhancing biodiversity on [Vale] slag piles – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – October 3, 2014)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Vale Ltd. has spent $10 million since 2006, revegetating mountains of ugly black slag, the waste from its Copper Cliff smelting operations, turning them into verdant hills along Big Nickel Road. It’s now up to one of nature’s smallest creatures to keeps those rolling hills green and to help enhance biodiversity.

Vale’s environmental team has started a program using honey bees to pollinate wildflowers planted as part of the company’s slag revegetation efforts. About 350,000 of the insects are living in seven hives contained inside a repurposed surplus trailer to protect them from the winter elements and from predators such as bears.

During three seasons, the honey bees leave the hives to forage on nectar and pollen, helping to keep the flowers planted on the hillsides thriving.

Glen Watson, Vale’s superintendent of decommissioning and reclamation, said the idea to use bees to continue the work started by people came to his team when it saw hills of slag blooming with wildflowers planted from seed.

It didn’t happen overnight.
Revegetating the slag piles first involved breaking up hardened material that was molten when poured.

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