Looking Ahead - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 857

The fundamental issue facing business including mining, in light of the global environ-
mental challenges in general, and climate change, in particular, is the growing requirement
for business to address and respond to challenges of the external world in which it operates.
Sustainability is a holistic concept embracing not only the environment, but the other dimen-
sions of the 'triple bottom line' that include economics and social elements, but also many
other domains including culture, governance and the interrelationships between all of these.
Mining often receives bad press in sustainability debates. The industry is often perceived
as an unsustainable activity; as underpinned by the view that after all, 'mining is engaged
in the exploitation of non-renewable resources'. As elaborated throughout this text this
view is neither fair nor valid. The mining industry has contributed signii cantly to leading
practice in the many technical areas in which it is involved, including, notably, the broader
societal concept and practice of 'sustainable development'.
All industries experience an industrial 'life-cycle' evolving from origins and establish-
ment, through to obsolescence and closure. Not only do all individual industrial plants
eventually close down, move on and become replaced by other activities; so do entire
industrial regions. This evolving life-cycle process is a common characteristic of indus-
trial manufacturing business systems. Mining is no different. Admittedly it can leave a
more pronounced regional footprint of disturbance through the mining voids that remain.
Nevertheless, if at the appropriate stage in the project, sufi cient thought and technology
is committed, many of these mining voids can be re-used, put to benei cial subsequent use,
or left in an environmentally benign state.
The sustainability imperative aligns mining activities with broader development chal-
lenges and opportunities. Mining ventures consume water and energy; create a carbon
footprint; build infrastructure including roads, rail and settlements; impact upon local
communities; create economic multipliers; modify the landscape; and manage the envi-
ronment. These soft and hard mining industry infrastructure issues mean that mining
ventures are critical in laying the development foundations of new regional economies,
particularly in remote locations. The various strategies applied have considerable implica-
tions for the very sustainability of these emergent and evolving regional economies. These
and many other aspects of mining ventures are areas where there is signii cant opportu-
nity for innovative approaches to improve multi-faceted sustainability performance. These
strategies range across the environmental, social and cultural, economic, technical, energy,
building transport aspects of mining, to mention just some.
The traditional mining engineer may not be equipped to deal with such issues. There
may be as increasing need for mining companies to equip themselves to undertake 'change
management' and training, to facilitate more sustainable development approaches to min-
ing ventures. At a macro-organizational level, corporate commitment to organizational
change contributes to corporate sustainability. At a micro-employee level, change manage-
ment and training can establish 'sustainability awareness' within the project workforce. A
strategic corporate approach towards sustainable development requires an organizational
transformation process where the issues of innovation and culture play key roles. This
change can only come about through a process that enables managers to understand how
the internal and external business drivers and opportunities inl uence an organization's
long-term sustainability. Only when an organization understands its sustainability impacts
and considers the drivers affecting it over the long term, can opportunities be sought for
innovative practices that mitigate negative impacts and enhance positive impacts.
In any mining project there are inevitably internal and external constraints (such as
timeliness and critical path delivery, or budgetary limitations) that affect the immediate
extent to which sustainability can be incorporated into project design, execution and com-
missioning. It is therefore often necessary to adopt a tiered approach to sustainability.

The industry is often perceived
as an unsustainable activity;
this view is neither fair nor valid.

In any mining project there are
inevitably internal and external
constraints. That affect the
immediate extent to which
sustainability can be incorporated
into project design, execution
and commissioning.