Mining guide · 50 articles
Mining and the Environment
Mining changes the ground it works, and these articles look at how, and at what can be done about it. They start with the main environmental effects, from habitat loss and soil erosion to polluted streams and lost farmland, then go deeper into water: acid mine drainage, heavy metals, lowered water tables and what bodies such as IMWA, the EPA and the GAO have documented.
Operators, consultants and investors will also find practical material on mine water management, tailings reprocessing, site restoration, environmental regulation and Indigenous rights. Company and site examples include Ekapa Minerals in South Africa, Sibanye Stillwater, Carajás in Pará and underground mines in Russia. A short set covers the current environmental issues facing the Philippines.
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Main environmental effects of miningEffects of Mining on the Environment: 7 Key ImpactsSeven ways mining harms the environment, from habitat destruction to degraded farmland.Read article →Environmental issues in the PhilippinesCurrent Environmental Issues in the Philippines: Top 10 ChallengesTen environmental challenges facing the Philippines, from climate and mining to forestry.Read article →Mining and water: key findingsAcademic Article Mining Impacts on Watersheds 2020sRecent academic work on how mining alters watershed flow and loads streams with metals.Read article →
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Main environmental effects of mining
5 articles
Environmental Effect of Mining: 7 Powerful ImpactsHow lithium and strip mining affect water, soil and ecosystems, with ways to limit the damage.Read article →Effect Mining: Top 7 Environmental Effects of MiningWater pollution and deforestation lead a list of seven effects that also covers soil erosion.Read article →Cons About Mining: 7 Critical Environmental ImpactsThe downsides of mining for land, water, wildlife habitat and farmland, set out plainly.Read article →Environmental Issues in Mining: Key Sustainable SolutionsWater recycling and careful tailings management as answers to the industry’s biggest environmental problems.Read article →How Does Mining and Reclamation Impact Plant, Animal Populations & Water Cycle?What mining and later reclamation do to plants, animals, soil formation and the water cycle.Read article →
Mining and water: key findings
6 articles
Mining Impacts on Water Areas: Key Academic InsightsAcid drainage, heavy metals and heavy water use, and the treatment options researchers favour.Read article →Mining Impacts on Water Areas: 7 Critical FindingsCritical findings, seven in all, on acid drainage, metal pollution and falling water tables near mines.Read article →Mining Impacts on Water Areas: 7 Powerful InsightsContamination, heavy metal runoff and altered river flow summed up in seven points.Read article →Mining Impacts on Water Areas: 7 Critical InsightsWhy acid mine drainage is the most lasting form of damage to nearby water.Read article →Christian Wolkersdorfer: Mining Impacts on Water AreasChristian Wolkersdorfer’s mine water research and what it shows about acid drainage in rivers.Read article →Mining Impacts on Water Areas: Tracing the Real SourcesTracing the real association and sources behind a much-searched phrase on mining and water.Read article →
Water impact data and sources
10 articles
Mining Impacts on Water Areas: The IMWA ResearchSpill volumes and mine counts as documented by IMWA, the U.S. GAO, EPA and OSMRE.Read article →Mining Impacts on Water Areas: Data, Causes & FixesGAO, EPA and SRBC figures on abandoned mines, major spills and cleanup fixes.Read article →Mining Impacts on Water Areas: What IMWA Research ShowsIMWA conference proceedings alongside GAO and EPA data on cleanup costs in U.S. waters.Read article →Mining Impacts on Water Areas: Figures You Can VerifyFederal discharge limits, TRI tonnages and impaired stream miles, and how to check them.Read article →Mining Impacts on Water Areas: The Data Behind the DamageEPA contaminant limits, stream-mile counts and federal cleanup funding in one place.Read article →Mining Impacts on Water Areas: 500,000 Abandoned MinesContaminated stream miles and aquatic-life thresholds from EPA and GAO, with sources to verify.Read article →Mining Impacts on Water Areas: IMWA and the Real NumbersVerified figures on mining and water, and what the International Mine Water Association publishes.Read article →Mining Impacts on Water Areas: A Journal Review With DataJournal literature on mine water reviewed, with UK and US data compared.Read article →“Mining Impacts on Water Areas”: Find the Article & DataStep-by-step lookup for tracking down the author and title of a hard-to-find mine water article.Read article →How to Acknowledge the International Mine Water AssociationWording researchers use to acknowledge IMWA, plus its membership and dues.Read article →
Acid mine drainage
5 articles
Acid Mine Drainage Effects on Humans & EnvironmentHow acid drainage lowers river pH and releases metals that harm fish and people.Read article →Acid Mine Drainage Mitigation: 7 Key Strategies for Sustainable SolutionsMitigation strategies that protect water, soil and nearby farms from acid drainage, seven in all.Read article →Effects of Acid Mine Drainage: 7 Powerful ImpactsOrange, acidic streams, dead fish and metal-laden farmland: seven impacts that call for remediation.Read article →Acid Mine Drainage Human Health Effects in Brits, SAHealth risks to residents near platinum mines around Brits, South Africa.Read article →Modular Acid Mine Drainage Plant Design & Metal RecoveryModular treatment plant design and the metals, including rare earths, such plants can recover.Read article →
Water, tailings and site restoration
4 articles
Water Management in Mining Operations: 5 Key StrategiesFive strategies for balancing water across a mine site, including recycling process water.Read article →Mining Site Restoration: Top 5 Strategies for Effective RehabilitationReshaping land, rebuilding soil and replanting natives: five rehabilitation strategies for old mine sites.Read article →Tailings Management and Reprocessing: Leading Innovations for SustainabilityNew approaches to tailings management and reprocessing that lower environmental risk.Read article →AI Use Cases in Mining: Powerful Water Use OptimizationAI tools that help mines track and cut their water consumption.Read article →
Sustainable practice, companies and rules
15 articles
Sustainable Mining Practices: 7 Top Methods & ExamplesSeven sustainable mining methods with real examples of conservation and water care.Read article →Most Sustainable Mining Companies: Top Practices for Eco-Friendly OperationsWhat the most sustainable mining companies do differently on water, energy and land reclamation.Read article →Environmental Regulations Affecting Mining: Compliance and SustainabilityEnvironmental regulations that affect mining and what compliance looks like in practice.Read article →Indigenous Rights and Mining: Essential Steps for Sustainable PracticesSteps toward mining that respects Indigenous rights and shares benefits fairly.Read article →Benefits of Strip Mining: Best Practices for Sustainable ExtractionArguments for strip mining and the practices that make it less damaging.Read article →All In Sustaining Cost Mining: Key Trends for Sustainable OperationsAll-in sustaining cost explained, and how it ties operating costs to ESG targets.Read article →6 Mining Innovations Powering Sustainable PracticesSix innovations helping mines lower their environmental footprint while staying economic.Read article →Sustainable Innovations in Mining TransportationCleaner ways of moving ore and equipment around mine sites.Read article →Aster Mining: Powering Sustainable Mineral ExtractionASTER data and AI used to find minerals and keep watch over extraction.Read article →Ekapa Mine, Ekapa Minerals: 7 Sustainable PracticesEkapa Minerals and the seven sustainable practices behind its South African flagship mine.Read article →Sibanye Stillwater Mine: 7 Innovations in MiningSibanye Stillwater’s seven innovations and how they address environmental concerns.Read article →Carajás Mineração: Sustainable Mining in ParáVale’s Carajás iron ore complex in Pará, Brazil, and its approach to sustainability.Read article →Active Underground Mines in Russia: Backfilling and Sustainable PracticesBackfilling, shafts and safety upgrades at active underground mines in Russia.Read article →Mali Mines: Driving Sustainable Growth & ProsperityMali’s mines and their part in the country’s economic growth and development.Read article →PDO Oman: Driving Sustainable Energy and InnovationPDO Oman’s work on energy, technology and long-term economic development.Read article →
Environmental issues in the Philippines
2 articles
Top Environmental Issues in the Philippines: 7 Key ThreatsIllegal logging, flooding and biodiversity loss among seven threats to the Philippines.Read article →5 Current Environmental Issues in the Philippines TodayFive pressing issues affecting Philippine farming, forests, water and mining communities.Read article →
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