Editing Mining (section)

==Environmental effects==
{{Excerpt|Environmental effects of mining}}

=== Environmental regulation ===
[[File:Iron hydroxide precipitate in stream.jpg|thumb|upright|Iron hydroxide precipitate stains a stream receiving acid drainage from surface coal mining.]]
Countries with strongly enforced mining regulations commonly require [[environmental impact assessment]], development of [[environmental management]] plans, and [[mine closure planning]] prior beginning mine operations. [[Environmental monitoring]] during operation and after closure may also be required. Government regulations may not be well enforced, especially in the developing world.<ref name="Geosciences LibreTexts-2017" />

For major mining companies and any company seeking international financing, there are a number of other mechanisms to enforce environmental standards. These generally relate to financing standards such as the [[Equator Principles]], [[International Finance Corporation|IFC]] environmental standards, and criteria for [[Socially responsible investing]]. Mining companies have used this oversight from the financial sector to argue for some level of [[industry self-regulation]].<ref name=RocksHardPlaces>Moody R. (2007). ''Rocks and Hard Places''. Zed Books.</ref> In 1992, a Draft Code of Conduct for Transnational Corporations was proposed at the [[Earth Summit (1992)|Rio Earth Summit]] by the UN Centre for Transnational Corporations (UNCTC), but the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) together with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) argued successfully for self-regulation instead.<ref>Abrahams D. (2005). [http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/276544/link_page_view Regulations for Corporations: A historical account of TNC regulation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001000506/http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/276544/link_page_view |date=2011-10-01 }}, p. 6. UNRISD.</ref>

This was followed by the Global Mining Initiative which was begun by nine of the largest metals and mining companies and which led to the formation of the [[International Council on Mining and Metals]], whose purpose was to "act as a catalyst" in an effort to improve social and environmental performance in the mining and metals industry internationally.<ref name=RocksHardPlaces/> The mining industry has provided funding to various conservation groups, some of which have been working with conservation agendas that are at odds with an emerging acceptance of the rights of indigenous people – particularly the right to make land-use decisions.<ref>{{cite journal |title=A Challenge to Conservationists: Can we protect natural habitats without abusing the people who live in them? |url=http://www.worldwatch.org/node/565 |first=Mac |last=Chapin |date=2004-10-15 |access-date=2010-02-18 |journal=World Watch Magazine |series=6 |volume=17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802101924/http://www.worldwatch.org/node/565 |archive-date=2010-08-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Certification of [[Mineral industry of Peru|mines with good practices]] occurs through the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO). For example, [[ISO 9000]] and [[ISO 14001]], which certify an "auditable environmental management system", involve short inspections, although they have been accused of lacking rigor.{{clarify|date=December 2013}}<!--Does everything in this sentence following "which" refer to BOTH ISO 9000 and ISO 14001? If not, the sentence needs fixing.--><ref name=RocksHardPlaces/>{{rp|183–84}} Certification is also available through [[Ceres (organization)|Ceres]]' [[Global Reporting Initiative]], but these reports are voluntary and unverified. Miscellaneous other certification programs exist for various projects, typically through nonprofit groups.<ref name=RocksHardPlaces/>{{rp|185–86}}

The purpose of a 2012 EPS PEAKS paper<ref>Bloom, M.J. & Denison, M. (2012) Environmental management for extractives, Professional Evidence and Applied Knowledge Services http://partnerplatform.org/?zl177g4a {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923085737/https://partnerplatform.org/unknown_code/zl177g4a/ |date=2020-09-23 }}</ref> was to provide evidence on policies managing [[Environmental economics|ecological costs]] and maximize [[Socioeconomics|socio-economic]] benefits of mining using host country regulatory initiatives. It found existing literature suggesting donors encourage developing countries to:
* Make the environment-poverty link and introduce cutting-edge wealth measures and [[natural capital]] accounts.
* Reform old taxes in line with more recent financial innovation, engage directly with the companies, enact land use and impact assessments, and incorporate specialized support and standards agencies.
* Set in play transparency and community participation initiatives using the wealth accrued.

===Waste===
{{Further|Tailings}}[[File:Teghut Mine - waste rock storage.jpg|thumb|right| Location of waste rock storage (center) at Teghut (village) Copper-Molybdenum Mine in [[Armenia]]'s northern Lori province]]
Ore mills generate large amounts of waste, called [[tailings]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zvereva |first1=V. P. |last2=Frolov |first2=K. R. |last3=Lysenko |first3=A. I. |date=2021-10-13 |title=Chemical reactions and conditions of mineral formation at tailings storage facilities of the Russian Far East |url=https://mst.misis.ru/jour/article/view/289 |journal=Gornye Nauki I Tekhnologii = Mining Science and Technology (Russia) |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=181–191 |doi=10.17073/2500-0632-2021-3-181-191 |s2cid=243263530 |issn=2500-0632 |doi-access=free |access-date=2022-11-03 |archive-date=2022-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708171644/https://mst.misis.ru/jour/article/view/289 |url-status=live }}</ref> For example, 99 tons of waste is generated per ton of [[copper]], with even higher ratios in [[gold mining]] – because only 5.3 g of gold is extracted per ton of ore, a ton of gold produces 200,000 tons of tailings.<ref>{{cite web|title = What is the Cost of Mining Gold?|url = http://www.visualcapitalist.com/what-is-the-cost-of-mining-gold/|website = Visual Capitalist|access-date = 2015-06-11|date = 2013-05-21|archive-date = 2015-06-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150612164752/http://www.visualcapitalist.com/what-is-the-cost-of-mining-gold/|url-status = live}}</ref> (As time goes on and richer deposits are exhausted – and technology improves – this number is going down to .5 g and less.) These tailings can be toxic. Tailings, which are usually produced as a [[slurry]], are most commonly dumped into ponds made from naturally existing valleys.<ref name=EPADesignDams>US EPA. (1994). [http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/special/mining/.../tailings.pdf Technical Report: Design and Evaluation of Tailings Dams]{{dead link|date=November 2016}}.</ref> These ponds are secured by impoundments ([[dam]]s or [[embankment dam]]s).<ref name=EPADesignDams/> In 2000 it was estimated that 3,500 tailings impoundments existed, and that every year, 2 to 5 major [[Tailings dam failure|failures]] and 35 minor failures occurred.<ref name="StewardDams" /> For example, in the [[Marcopper mining disaster]] at least 2 million tons of tailings were released into a local river.<ref name=StewardDams>TE Martin, MP Davies. (2000). [http://www.infomine.com/publications/docs/Martin2000.pdf Trends in the stewardship of tailings dams] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193659/http://www.infomine.com/publications/docs/Martin2000.pdf |date=2016-03-03 }}.</ref> In 2015, [[Barrick Gold]] Corporation spilled over 1 million liters of [[cyanide]] into a total of five rivers in Argentina near their [[Veladero mine]].<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-barrick-gold-mine-argentina-exclusive/exclusive-barrick-faces-sanctions-for-argentina-cyanide-spills-judge-says-idUSKBN1841BK|title = Exclusive: Barrick faces sanctions for Argentina cyanide spills|newspaper = Reuters|date = 2017-05-08|access-date = 2019-06-21|archive-date = 2021-10-09|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211009182319/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-barrick-gold-mine-argentina-exclusive/exclusive-barrick-faces-sanctions-for-argentina-cyanide-spills-judge-says-idUSKBN1841BK|url-status = live}}</ref> Since 2007 in central Finland, the Talvivaara Terrafame polymetal mine's waste effluent and leaks of saline mine water have resulted in ecological collapse of a nearby lake.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Leppänen|first1=Jaakko Johannes|last2=Weckström|first2=Jan|last3=Korhola|first3=Atte|date=2017-09-05|title=Multiple mining impacts induce widespread changes in ecosystem dynamics in a boreal lake|journal=Scientific Reports|volume=7|issue=1|page=10581|doi=10.1038/s41598-017-11421-8|pmid=28874843|pmc=5585241|issn=2045-2322|bibcode=2017NatSR...710581L}}</ref> Subaqueous tailings disposal is another option.<ref name=EPADesignDams/> The mining industry has argued that submarine tailings disposal (STD), which disposes of tailings in the sea, is ideal because it avoids the risks of tailings ponds. The practice is illegal in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], but it is used in the developing world.<ref>Coumans C. (2002). [http://www.bostgroup.com.au/images/mining/Submarine-Tailings-Disposal-Toolkit.pdf Mining's Problem with Waste] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706213221/https://www.bostgroup.com.au/images/mining/Submarine-Tailings-Disposal-Toolkit.pdf |date=2017-07-06 }}. MiningWatch Canada.</ref>

The waste is classified as either sterile or mineralized, with acid generating potential, and the movement and storage of this material form a major part of the mine planning process. When the mineralised package is determined by an economic cut-off, the near-grade mineralised waste is usually dumped separately with view to later treatment should market conditions change and it becomes economically viable. [[Civil engineering]] design parameters are used in the design of the waste dumps, and special conditions apply to high-rainfall areas and to seismically active areas. Waste dump designs must meet all regulatory requirements of the country in whose jurisdiction the mine is located. It is also common practice to rehabilitate dumps to an internationally acceptable standard, which in some cases means that higher standards than the local regulatory standard are applied.<ref name="StewardDams" />