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Mining and the surface environment
Conference reports
P. Ramanujan, B. Dixon and A. Hughes Hallett, and T. Priovolos and T. Dunietz. Debt problems, which are closely linked with stabilization issues. were also discussed in the model presented by S. Murshed. The direct implications of national policies were modelled in the papers of several participants, including fiscality in the macroeconomic model presented by D. Meulders and tariffs in the model presented by R. Feenstra. Other macroeconomic models with policy implications were developed by several participants, such as M. Durand and S. Blondal who presented a linkage model between commodity prices and OECD prices, and F.G. Adams who also analysed linkages between commodity prices and exchange rates. At a different aggregation level. C. Dea, P. Lasserre and P. Ouelette presented the policy implications of Hotelling’s rule for a commodity producer, and their approach was applied to Canada’s asbestos production.
Commodity related debt repayment problems
Madigan, and J. Praat of Societe GCnCrale de Belgique (Brussels). Although the role of commodity exports in the debt repayment problems of developing countries was included, the debate focused on the more general issue of relieving developing country indebtedness. Problems encountered in debt repayment by developing countries were stressed in relation to debt relief and further investment by international banks and financial institutions.
Conclusions The conference provided a perspective on where commodity modelling developments rest in terms of the future needs of forecasting and of policy analysis in these markets. There was a general awareness of the limitations of such modelling efforts. However, considerable progress was made in showing how, among other things, basic microeconomic views of commodity markets and models have been extended to include financial, macroeconomic, technological and other important commodity influences.
The conference closed with a debate on commodity related debt repayment problems. The debaters included Y. Berthelot of UNCTAD, Chavez of the US Treasury, G. Erb of Erb and
Walter C. Labys West Virginia University Morgantown, WV, USA
Mining and the surface environment MINESCAPE
‘88, Harrogate,
UK, 7-9 December
1988
The task of public persuasion of new needs in the mining industry is a difficult one - often made more onerous by the location of a mineral deposit and the processing necessary to convert the raw material into a marketable commodity. For several decades, the predominantly expressed opinions have been those which sought to restrict or suppress mining activities on perceptions of environmental impact. Taking the view that there was a
need to place on record some of the technical and scientific progress made towards a more harmonious relationship between those who mine or use the extracted minerals and those who are affected by such operations, the Institution of Mining Engineers organized an international symposium and exhibition, Minescape ‘88. Within the field of reference attention was directed towards impact ameliorization and to new opportunities and
RESOURCES
1989
POLICY
September
benefits from waste products and disused sites. From more than 150 offered and solicited technical papers, 32 were selected for presentation at the symposium and published in the X0-page Volume I of the proceedings, with the discussions to be published in Volume II. Seven additional papers were separately reproduced in The Mining Engineer.
To provide a thumbnail sketch of such a large canvas is a daunting task. There was, however, an underlying theme of care and consideration in the developed countries through systematic research, demonstration and application of new techniques and new equipment, largely underpinned by computer and microprocessor aids. Well to the fore in practical applications was the huge input of resources devoted to the planning and design of them. By contrast, in the less well developed countries of the world, there is clearly cause for concern.
New and operating mines After the boundaries of the environmental jungle had been defined, sensible routes through it determined and the instruments with which to measure progress made known, the attention of the conference was focused on British Coal Corporation’s most recent planning applications - for mining in the Selby. North-east Leicestershire and South Warwickshire coalfields. Of particular importance was the subject of environmental impact assessment. On going activities of significance at home and abroad were then addressed, ranging from the measures for protection in the Channel Tunnel project, through the technical and social problems facing developers in the Western USA to the alarming scale of damage to the ecology of the Indian subcontinent as a result of indiscriminate mining in the Himalayas.
Waste disposal Waste products and their disposal. whether resulting from mining operations or tailoring the product to meet customers’ needs, are a bane to operators and environmentalists alike. De-
271
Conference reporls
legates examined the means, newly available, of restricting the mining of extraneous rock and the methods of ameliorating the effects of surface disposal of solid and liquid waste. Much interest was expressed in the chemical and biological processes involved in the treatment of acid mine waters in constructed wetlands in eastern areas of the USA. Concern over waste disposal is not limited to the coal producer’s end: there is equal disquiet attending the user’s byproducts of combustion. Reference was made to the legislation governing atmospheric pollution by coal burning and the means now available to effect improvements to the prescribed standards. The legacy of soil acidity through atmospheric pollution was noted and an encouraging report given on the feasibility tests undertaken to provide local replenishment of base elements through the liming of the catchment area of Loch Fleet. Over many years, the work done by engineers of the British Coal Corporation has provided reasonable accuracy of subsidence prediction, both at home and abroad. After an update on present UK thinking, case studies relating to work in South Africa provided evidence that a global subsidence prediction model did not exist. In mining practice, cases were cited where changes in techniques and layouts in the mining of an ore body in Turkey and of coal under a UK commercial waterway had resulted in reduced surface subsidence. Very old, shallow mine workings which are often unrecorded present unknown hazards to land developers. Location of such dangers by relatively new methods of geophysical prospecting were described. After debating the views and fears of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England the conference discussed the relationships between the opencast mine developer and planning law, noting the extent of consultation
272
and prior agreement between developer and site-interested parties. Note was also taken of the many areas of land which, prior to opencast mining, were derelict and unusable, but which, after mining, had been converted into localities of intrinsic beauty, attraction and economic worth at little or no cost to the public. An initiative taken to remove the quarrying of aggregates from public view was cited: the massive, remote, coastal superquarry at Glensanda in the Scottish Highlands.
Use of solid waste Solid mine waste is being put to an increasing number of uses, particularly in road construction, building foundations, embankments and landscaping works. In FRGermany, mines in the Ruhr supply material to create and supplement the defences of the low lying areas adjacent to the North Sea. Such uses were complemented in a UK paper which defined the technical considerations underlying the proper engineering use of mine waste - as opposed to mass fill - at costs much lower than conventional alternatives. The technical properties of materials used as mass fill were to the fore in the work of infilling limestone caverns in the West Midlands, at low cost, through the use of a pumped paste of small mine waste and water in order to permit future land development. From Eastern Europe, contributions targeted the cyclone coal recovery process from mine tips and the large scale utilization of the remnant products. Authors from the main UK coal user, the Central Electricity Generating Board, highlighted the large proportion of ash production directed to beneficial use in landfill and in the manufacture of building requisites. Many old tips on opencast sites have been restored for agricultural use: research has shown that without excessive treatment, the land can be farmed
to produce arable crops at, or above, national yield levels. With less need for a return to agriculture or afforestation, much consideration is being given to bulkage and settlement of fill in order to predict final landform and ground levels more accurately, thereby allowing immediate alternative redevelopment. Where tip reuse is not to be dedicated to agriculture, many attractive design options exist. An example of the possible, on a grand scale, is the reclamation and landfill undertaking at the Welbeck site in West Yorkshire. Emphasizing the predominance of integrated resource management, the project aims to beneficially rehabilitate a very large area of industrial dereliction after opencast mining, followed by the deposition of colliery spoil from deep mines, power station pulverized fly ash and household waste and with options available for sewage treatment and flue gas desulphurization residue containment.
Conclusion A lasting impression of the symposium is that those engaged in the extraction and utilization of minerals are much more compassionate in their handling of environmental issues than the media monopolizers would have the public believe. Anyone seeking to redress the bias of contrived apprehension should study the contents of Minescape ‘88, for its pages contain papers of very high quality of composition and technical value. It would indeed be difficult to find elsewhere a compendium of comparable standard which addressed the breadths of the relationships between mining and the environment.
P. I. Al/sop Consultant Mining Engineer Pontefract, West Yorkshire, UK
RESOURCES
POLICY
September
1989
P. Ramanujan, B. Dixon and A. Hughes Hallett, and T. Priovolos and T. Dunietz. Debt problems, which are closely linked with stabilization issues. were also discussed in the model presented by S. Murshed. The direct implications of national policies were modelled in the papers of several participants, including fiscality in the macroeconomic model presented by D. Meulders and tariffs in the model presented by R. Feenstra. Other macroeconomic models with policy implications were developed by several participants, such as M. Durand and S. Blondal who presented a linkage model between commodity prices and OECD prices, and F.G. Adams who also analysed linkages between commodity prices and exchange rates. At a different aggregation level. C. Dea, P. Lasserre and P. Ouelette presented the policy implications of Hotelling’s rule for a commodity producer, and their approach was applied to Canada’s asbestos production.
Commodity related debt repayment problems
Madigan, and J. Praat of Societe GCnCrale de Belgique (Brussels). Although the role of commodity exports in the debt repayment problems of developing countries was included, the debate focused on the more general issue of relieving developing country indebtedness. Problems encountered in debt repayment by developing countries were stressed in relation to debt relief and further investment by international banks and financial institutions.
Conclusions The conference provided a perspective on where commodity modelling developments rest in terms of the future needs of forecasting and of policy analysis in these markets. There was a general awareness of the limitations of such modelling efforts. However, considerable progress was made in showing how, among other things, basic microeconomic views of commodity markets and models have been extended to include financial, macroeconomic, technological and other important commodity influences.
The conference closed with a debate on commodity related debt repayment problems. The debaters included Y. Berthelot of UNCTAD, Chavez of the US Treasury, G. Erb of Erb and
Walter C. Labys West Virginia University Morgantown, WV, USA
Mining and the surface environment MINESCAPE
‘88, Harrogate,
UK, 7-9 December
1988
The task of public persuasion of new needs in the mining industry is a difficult one - often made more onerous by the location of a mineral deposit and the processing necessary to convert the raw material into a marketable commodity. For several decades, the predominantly expressed opinions have been those which sought to restrict or suppress mining activities on perceptions of environmental impact. Taking the view that there was a
need to place on record some of the technical and scientific progress made towards a more harmonious relationship between those who mine or use the extracted minerals and those who are affected by such operations, the Institution of Mining Engineers organized an international symposium and exhibition, Minescape ‘88. Within the field of reference attention was directed towards impact ameliorization and to new opportunities and
RESOURCES
1989
POLICY
September
benefits from waste products and disused sites. From more than 150 offered and solicited technical papers, 32 were selected for presentation at the symposium and published in the X0-page Volume I of the proceedings, with the discussions to be published in Volume II. Seven additional papers were separately reproduced in The Mining Engineer.
To provide a thumbnail sketch of such a large canvas is a daunting task. There was, however, an underlying theme of care and consideration in the developed countries through systematic research, demonstration and application of new techniques and new equipment, largely underpinned by computer and microprocessor aids. Well to the fore in practical applications was the huge input of resources devoted to the planning and design of them. By contrast, in the less well developed countries of the world, there is clearly cause for concern.
New and operating mines After the boundaries of the environmental jungle had been defined, sensible routes through it determined and the instruments with which to measure progress made known, the attention of the conference was focused on British Coal Corporation’s most recent planning applications - for mining in the Selby. North-east Leicestershire and South Warwickshire coalfields. Of particular importance was the subject of environmental impact assessment. On going activities of significance at home and abroad were then addressed, ranging from the measures for protection in the Channel Tunnel project, through the technical and social problems facing developers in the Western USA to the alarming scale of damage to the ecology of the Indian subcontinent as a result of indiscriminate mining in the Himalayas.
Waste disposal Waste products and their disposal. whether resulting from mining operations or tailoring the product to meet customers’ needs, are a bane to operators and environmentalists alike. De-
271
Conference reporls
legates examined the means, newly available, of restricting the mining of extraneous rock and the methods of ameliorating the effects of surface disposal of solid and liquid waste. Much interest was expressed in the chemical and biological processes involved in the treatment of acid mine waters in constructed wetlands in eastern areas of the USA. Concern over waste disposal is not limited to the coal producer’s end: there is equal disquiet attending the user’s byproducts of combustion. Reference was made to the legislation governing atmospheric pollution by coal burning and the means now available to effect improvements to the prescribed standards. The legacy of soil acidity through atmospheric pollution was noted and an encouraging report given on the feasibility tests undertaken to provide local replenishment of base elements through the liming of the catchment area of Loch Fleet. Over many years, the work done by engineers of the British Coal Corporation has provided reasonable accuracy of subsidence prediction, both at home and abroad. After an update on present UK thinking, case studies relating to work in South Africa provided evidence that a global subsidence prediction model did not exist. In mining practice, cases were cited where changes in techniques and layouts in the mining of an ore body in Turkey and of coal under a UK commercial waterway had resulted in reduced surface subsidence. Very old, shallow mine workings which are often unrecorded present unknown hazards to land developers. Location of such dangers by relatively new methods of geophysical prospecting were described. After debating the views and fears of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England the conference discussed the relationships between the opencast mine developer and planning law, noting the extent of consultation
272
and prior agreement between developer and site-interested parties. Note was also taken of the many areas of land which, prior to opencast mining, were derelict and unusable, but which, after mining, had been converted into localities of intrinsic beauty, attraction and economic worth at little or no cost to the public. An initiative taken to remove the quarrying of aggregates from public view was cited: the massive, remote, coastal superquarry at Glensanda in the Scottish Highlands.
Use of solid waste Solid mine waste is being put to an increasing number of uses, particularly in road construction, building foundations, embankments and landscaping works. In FRGermany, mines in the Ruhr supply material to create and supplement the defences of the low lying areas adjacent to the North Sea. Such uses were complemented in a UK paper which defined the technical considerations underlying the proper engineering use of mine waste - as opposed to mass fill - at costs much lower than conventional alternatives. The technical properties of materials used as mass fill were to the fore in the work of infilling limestone caverns in the West Midlands, at low cost, through the use of a pumped paste of small mine waste and water in order to permit future land development. From Eastern Europe, contributions targeted the cyclone coal recovery process from mine tips and the large scale utilization of the remnant products. Authors from the main UK coal user, the Central Electricity Generating Board, highlighted the large proportion of ash production directed to beneficial use in landfill and in the manufacture of building requisites. Many old tips on opencast sites have been restored for agricultural use: research has shown that without excessive treatment, the land can be farmed
to produce arable crops at, or above, national yield levels. With less need for a return to agriculture or afforestation, much consideration is being given to bulkage and settlement of fill in order to predict final landform and ground levels more accurately, thereby allowing immediate alternative redevelopment. Where tip reuse is not to be dedicated to agriculture, many attractive design options exist. An example of the possible, on a grand scale, is the reclamation and landfill undertaking at the Welbeck site in West Yorkshire. Emphasizing the predominance of integrated resource management, the project aims to beneficially rehabilitate a very large area of industrial dereliction after opencast mining, followed by the deposition of colliery spoil from deep mines, power station pulverized fly ash and household waste and with options available for sewage treatment and flue gas desulphurization residue containment.
Conclusion A lasting impression of the symposium is that those engaged in the extraction and utilization of minerals are much more compassionate in their handling of environmental issues than the media monopolizers would have the public believe. Anyone seeking to redress the bias of contrived apprehension should study the contents of Minescape ‘88, for its pages contain papers of very high quality of composition and technical value. It would indeed be difficult to find elsewhere a compendium of comparable standard which addressed the breadths of the relationships between mining and the environment.
P. I. Al/sop Consultant Mining Engineer Pontefract, West Yorkshire, UK
RESOURCES
POLICY
September
1989