Environmental risk assessment and international mineral development

Abstract

ABSTRACT The concept of risk incorporates two predictive aspects: how frequently might an event be expected to occur and what might be the attendant consequences if it should? Developed and refined over the past decade in North America, Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) is also gaining increasing acceptance in Latin and South America as a systematic method for addressing these questions, as regards matters environmental. It has evolved in response to several compelling issues. Among them are the need to respond to the stringent regulatory framework governing project development and to distill, from the multitude of concerns associated with mine development, the key environmental risks requiring particular consideration. It is the latter function of ERA that is viewed as especially beneficial by both international mining companies and government regulators alike. By identifying the elements of project design that pose key risks, recommendations can be made to manage and reduce them as the project is developed, operated and, ultimately, abandoned.