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

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…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