You can download Environmental impact of mining ebook here.
- Title: Environmental impact of mining and mineral processing : management, monitoring, and auditing strategies
- Author: Jain, Ravi
- Publisher: Elsevier
- Pages: 309
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) (2010) described the importance of mining and mineral extraction by stating that the history of human civilization is often characterized by terms such as: Stone Age, Bronze Age, Industrial Revolution, and Information Age. As one can see, a common thread among all these epochs is the extraction of, processing, and utilization of materials from the Earth (NAE, 2010). In fact, almost every product and service in the modern world relies on the raw materials generated by mining and mineral processing.
Clearly, mining and mineral processing have significantly contributed to the advancement of human civilization and national economies. These activities also have the potential for serious environmental impacts. Through the development of best management practices with sustainable development in mind, environmental threats from mining and mineral processing can be minimized as described in this book.
The World Economic Forum (2014) has identified several driving forces toward sustainability and, in response to these drivers, the Forum has also identified major aspects of sustainable development that need to be focused on in relation to mining and mineral processing. To move toward sustainable development, NAE (2010) also noted scientific and technical challenges that need to be overcome. These challenges and issues are described in detail in this book.
Mining and mineral processing are important to the economy of many nations. A comprehensive, interesting, and useful analysis provides information about the importance of these activities for major mining and mineral processing countries. For major mining countries, this analysis provides information such as total mineral export contribution, total production value, and production value as a percentage of the nation’s GDP. For comparative analysis purposes, the mining contribution index (MCI) is provided that, in a way, shows the relative importance of these activities to
a given country.