Abstract
In recent years, increased interest and actions have been taken to better understand, and mitigate, sustainability impacts of mining activities, by both industry and policy. The present work reports on a sustainability hotspots screening performed for the EU Horizon 2020 “Integrated Mineral Technologies for More Sustainable Raw Material Supply” (ITERAMS) project, which foresees a more efficient water recycling, tailings valorization, and minimization of environmental footprint. The focus of this paper is on social and environmental issues in mining. Different methodologies were explored, starting from a qualitative causal loop modelling. Afterwards, an environmental and social LCA screening was performed using well-accepted databases and methods, thus completing results with a literature research. The main findings related to the importance of the supply chain, the vulnerability of local communities, and the toxic emissions from tailings offer a starting point to reflect on the specific social, socio-economic, and environmental context which may influence these issues. A better understanding of the environmental and social pressures associated with mining is not only crucial to orient the sustainability assessment foreseen for the ITERAMS project, but also to contribute in terms of methodology to the challenges tackled by policy and research worldwide towards a more sustainable mining.
Highlights
“copper production, primary”, include a numberand of life cycle disposal. Stages, such as 11 copper of 21 the processes account for consumables and energy used during ore extraction and beneficiation, for mining in ground, blasting, grinding, flotation, concentration, and tailings disposal
Instance chemicals, electricity, and fuel.and energy used during ore extraction and beneficiation, for the processes account for consumables
The SLCA screening enabled, at first, the identification of those high and very high social risks directly linked to mining of metal ores in Finland and Portugal
Summary
The mining industry has acknowledged its potential and duty to monitor and assess the sustainability of the raw materials sector, which is referred to the “key enablers of many critical sectors of the economy” [4], including for instance metals, minerals, and biotic materials. A number of programs and initiatives have been undertaken by the industry to take action on those issues that the mining activities have contributed to create or exacerbate. These issues include health problems, water and air pollution, environmental degradation, and restricted access to material.
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