Pollution prevention and cleaner production in the mining industry: an analysis of current issues

This paper examines the major pollution prevention and Cleaner production (CP) issues in the mining industry. Past problems with pollution has made waste minimization an issue of enormous importance for many mining companies. Since the advent of the first major environmental legislation circa-1970, there has been substantial improvement in environmental performance at the mine sites of these firms, including a reduction in noxious air emissions, a decrease in levels of toxic contaminants in effluent discharges, and a major upgrading in land management. All of these improvements are directly attributed to a corporate abandonment of conventional, end-of-pipe apparatuses, and subsequent integration of cleaner technologies and strategies, including highly efficient environmental equipment, heavily retrofitted control systems, and comprehensive environmental management plans. Although hundreds of mining districts have already benefited from installing systems that foster pollution prevention and CP, in select instances, these have not proven to be realistic waste management remedies. Major barriers, particularly economic, technologic, and legislative ones, have both individually and collectively impeded the implementation of pollution prevention and CP strategies in such cases. Many of these barriers appear insurmountable but improved planning, employee education, and increased government intervention would spell continued success in an industry that has already made enormous strides in the arena of environmental management.