Reducing the impact of mining

Worldwatch Live Online Discussion

Payal Sampat: International Campaign Director - Mineral Policy Center

August 16, 2002 - 12:00pm EDT

We are very happy this week to talk with Worldwatch Research Associate Payal Sampat about the need for dramatic changes to reduce the environmental impact of mining. Mining is one of the planet's leading polluters, and is threatening some of the world's most ecologically fragile regions.

Dick Bell, Worldwatch Institute: Welcome to today's chat about reducing the environmental impacts of mining. We're very happy to have Worldwatch Research Associate Payal Sampat with us to talk about what we can do about mining problems.

Payal Sampat: Thank you. It's great to be here. I look forward to chatting with all of you out there about mining--and also about ways to get the materials we need with incurring far fewer costs.

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Mining is, as you say, a major polluter. However, in my view, as a geologist and economist, with one exception all mining-environmental problems can be solved by technical fixes; ie, using known technology and spending enough money. The one exception is entry: Whether mining should take place at all in any given region. Do you agree? If not, why not? (Supplementary: My emphasis is that the key mining "environmental" problem is socio-cultural, not bio-physical; ie, it involves communities.

Payal Sampat: I disagree that most problems can be solved fixed with technical fixes. Take energy use in minerals extraction and processing, for instance. There aren’t technical fixes out there to deal with the carbon emissions from all the coal and oil consumed by mining and metals production. Another example relates to the toxic chemicals used in mining and processing—cyanide and mercury for gold, for instance. In the United States alone, there are hundreds of old minesites (and many current ones) containing tons of waste contaminated with these chemicals. But you're right that the initial damage done to ecosystems and communities can be significant as well.

Kealakekua, Hawaii: could you give us some detail of how the mountain and lowland gorillas are being affected by mining and how close are they to extinction?

Payal Sampat: Mining for columbite-tantalite ore or "coltan" in the Okapi Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in a 80-90 percent decline in the population of lowland gorillas in the Reserve. Today there are just 3,000 gorillas left there. Incidentally, coltan is used to make capacitors for cell phones and other electronics, which is why this kind of mining has increased in the last 5 years or so.

sanibel florida: Is it possible to hold the companies responsible for contaminated water supply?

Payal Sampat: Well, there are many ways to answer that question, I'm sure, since rules about pollution are different in different parts of the world. In the United States, a lot of mining companies have walked away from polluted sites without any liability for clean-up, by declaring bankruptcy. There are many examples, including the Summitville mine in Colorado and Zortman-Landusky in Montana. On the other side of the world, in Papua New Guinea and some parts of Indonesia, mines dump gigantic amounts of waste into rivers which supply local people with water. The Ok Tedi mine in PNG dumps 200,000 tons of contaminated wastes into the Fly river each day--that's more than the amount of waste generated by all of Japan and Australia's cities put together. The good news is that in most parts of the world, companies are not allowed to dump wastes into rivers--but as we've seen in recent mine accidents, wastes end up in some of these waterways anyhow.

Hilo Hawaii: What are the major impacts associated with the mining and processing of aluminum? Where are the largest mines? Why is aluminum used as disposable containers, considering its high energy requirements?

Payal Sampat: Hope things are going well in Hilo and Kealakakua!

Most of the world's bauxite (which is the ore from which we get aluminum) comes from a few countries: Australia, which produces almost 40 percent; Brazil, Guinea (in Africa), and Jamaica also mine a lot of this ore. Aluminum is a popular metal because it's lightweight compared to say steel--has made cars and planes much lighter. Why it's used for beverage containers is a good question. I'm from India, where we still use glass bottles (reused) for all our sodas and beverages. In the U.S. and Europe, consumers like to drink out of an easily portable and lightweight container--also one that can be easily bought from vending machines.
One of the major environmental impacts of producing aluminum besides the effects on local ecosystems and people is that aluminum processing is highly energy intensive--uses a lot of electricity.
One thing to keep in mind is that aluminum is very recyclable, and uses 95 percent less energy than new metal-- so we need to do a much better job of putting used cans into recycling bins.

sacramento, california: I agree that the impacts from mining are often severe, however the consuming public is rarely aware of the impacts. Education is one of the keys to attataining sustainability and dematerialization. Awareness does often motivate the public to make different choices. Your organization and many others are offering the information but it is difficult to compete with all the other issues on peoples minds. How do we get the press and news media more involved to raise these issues?

Payal Sampat: You've raised a really good point. "Materials" is the kind of topic that makes people's eyes glaze over most of the time, so I think the media avoids getting into this topic. Yet recycling is an issue that draws many young people into environmental work. Materials use reduction is an area where individuals can make a difference, and have some control over their choices--and this is an angle that the press can pick up on. I would like to hear more ideas for how to "mainstream" this topic, so send them on!

Hilo Hawaii: I've read of some of environmental impacts associated with oil production in Nigeria and Siberia. How common are these problems in other areas? Are native peoples in other areas as oppressed by oil production as those of Nigeria, or is this unique to West Africa?

Payal Sampat: Indigenous peoples have been hard hit by mining and extractive projects around the world. It's estimated that 50 percent of all the gold produced in the next 20 years will come from indigenous lands in places as diverse as Nevada and Papua New Guinea. Other hotspots include Canada, where the Innu people are protesting a huge nickel mine in Labrador, Australia, where there is uranium mining on the traditional lands of the Mirrar people, coal mines on indigenous lands in India, the Pacific region, and many others. The Indigenous Mining Network has been active on these issues.

Berea, KY: Followup to the lowland gorilla question. Are you saying that mining alone accounts for the 80-90 percent decline?

Payal Sampat: Well, the influx of mining to the region has been the main culprit. The decline in gorilla population is related to direct hunting for bushmeat by immigrant miners in the area, as well as the destruction of gorilla habitat.

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Thank you for your earlier answer. Let me jump to the other end of the scale. What sorts of measures would you propose to deal with the environmental damage caused by artisanal mining, while still protecting the people and communities that live from this operation?

Payal Sampat: For people out there who don't know what this is, artisanal mining refers to the "pick-and-shovel" miners who dig for metals and gems either individually or in cooperatives. Although a lot of mining is done by large companies, small scale or artisanal miners produce gems like emeralds. and metals like tungsten and gold.

They work in conditions that pose risks to their health and safety, often using toxic chemicals such as mercury to seperate the metals from ore. The impacts on their own health and the environment can be quite severe. Artisanal gold miners in the Amazon region have elevated levels of mercury in their bodies, and have left behind this heavy metal in the water and soil in this fragile ecosystem. These miners often have few alternatives in terms of work, so one of the challenges in dealing with small scale mining is finding safe and meaningful employment opportunities for such miners.

Berea, Ky: Does any country regulate mining well? What are the industrial alternatives to coltan?

Payal Sampat: Earlier this year, the President of Costa Rica declared a complete moratorium on gold mining in his country. Costa Rica has figured out that intact forests are far more valuable than what lies underneath them--it gets a lot of its revenue from ecotourism. Cotacachi county in Ecuador recently banned all forms of mining. In Germany, Czech Republic, Turkey, and Montana, it's illegal to use cyanide in gold mining.

Dick Bell, Worldwatch Institute: Payal, Thanks so much for being with us today. Next week, Friday August 23 at this same time, drop in and chat with Lisa Mastny about her research on international environmental crime. According to one estimate, poachers steal some 38 million animals a year from Brazil's Amazon forests alone.

Payal Sampat: Thanks to everyone who joined us. If you're interested in learning more about this topic, check back in a few months for "State of the World 2003" in which I have a chapter on mining and materials use. And remember to recycle!