Minerals, Wealth and Progress - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 23

FIGURE 1.6
Schematic DPSIR Framework Applied
to Mining

RESPONSE

Economic Instruments,
Command and Control,
Co/Self Regulation

Taxes, Incentives
(Recycling, Reuse,
Substitute)

The (Drivers-Pressures- State of
Environment- Impact-Response)
framework illustrates that societies
can respond to mining and mining
induced changes in a variety of ways.
Environmental impact assessment is
one of them.

Environmental
Impact Assessment,
Environmental Risk
Assessment

DRIVERS

Demand for Mineral
Resources

Standards

IMPACTS

Natural Resources Depletion,
Environmental Degradation,
Social Changes, Resource
Use Conflict

Baseline Mapping,
Transboundary
Environmental
Management

PRESSURES

Mine Waste, Emissions from
Mineral Processing

ENVIRONMENT

Atmosphere, Lithosphere,
Hydrosphere, Biosphere,
Social Sphere and
Economic Sphere

Construction can take one to three years depending on the size and nature of the mine.
In addition, developing a mine usually requires hundreds of millions of dollars in capital
investment. Unlike manufacturing, a mine does not usually have the luxury of starting
small and, if things go well, expanding (Marshall 2001). To achieve the economies of scale
required to generate an adequate return on investment, a modern mine must start large
with associated large capital costs. There are almost always extensive upfront development
costs incurred before actual ore extraction commences, e.g. to remove overburden in the
case of an open Pit mine, or to provide access in the case of an underground mine. All this
occurs before the mining company sees any payback of external financing or return on its
investment ( Figure 1.7 ) . Finally, in recent history, the locations of demand and environ-
mental pressures have separated. The main demand resides in the industrial countries but
mining has largely moved to areas remote from the markets.

There are almost always
extensive upfront development
costs incurred before actual ore
extraction commences.

Pressures from Mineral Extraction

Pressures on the environment from mineral extraction, mine waste and related emissions
have increased because: (1) mining has generally moved from small underground to large
surface mining, and (2) the number of mines has increased. Increased amounts of extracted
minerals and waste rock, and the liberation of elements such as toxic metals and sulphur
have increased global pollutant flows and hence environmental pressures. In terms of
emissions, the mining industry is not unlike other industries, but as mining extracts non-
renewable resources, easily accessible mineral reserves diminish over time, consequently
mining projects often last only ten to twenty years, although occasionally longer. However, it