Improving environmental performance through innovation: Recent trends in the mining industry

Innovation in mineral processing technology can enable mining companies to combine gains in productivity with improvements in environmental management. Although the mining industry has a reputation for technological conservatism, this paper argues that the development, acquisition and assimilation of new technologies may be an increasingly important determinant of a companyʹs competitive position in the context of growing market and regulatory pressures. Specific examples of innovativeprocess and remediation technologies are reviewed, and their ability to improve competitiveness and sustain best-practice environmental management is linked to the capacity of the company to manage technological and organisational change.