Sustainability in Mining

Sustainability is often defined as: the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely. However, considering the nature of mining operations, this cannot be meant with the phrase “Sustainability in Mining”. Sustainability in the mining industry should be understood in the same way as sustainability in environmental science: meeting the resources and services needs of current and future generations without compromising the health of the ecosystems that provide them. A number of aspects of this are addressed in this chapter: use of energy, use of water, land disruption, reducing waste (involving solid waste, liquid waste, and gaseous waste), acid rock drainage when dealing with sulfide minerals, and restoring environmental functions at mine sites after mining has been completed. To do everything in an environmentally sound way is costly, but in the end necessary. Regarding this, it is concluded that governmental regulations concerning emission of waste, storage of waste and re-use of the land after mining are essential to provide a sustainable form of mining and mineral processing.