Integrating waste management, environmental sustainability, and economic development is a prime milestone in the circular economy. Critical metals recovery from mining tailings and secondary resources has significant potential, with widespread applications in high-tech industries that are critical to modern society and sustainable development. This book discusses technological advances for managing industrial and mining waste through circular economy approaches and successful critical metal recovery from secondary resources. It highlights how reprocessing of mine waste and tailings results in development of critical raw materials that significantly reduce the mining burden and ensure the lucrative use of waste materials. Features: Describes advances in remediation and valorization technologies for mining wastes Details biotechnological methods, cutting edge research, and applications Covers use of waste mining resources for economic growth and novel opportunities Discusses IR4.0 and machine learning methods Includes reports and case studies on mining waste in value-added products and recovery of strategically important critical minerals This book will be of value to researchers and advanced students working in the mining, chemical and environmental engineering, and renewable energy sectors.

This open access book presents papers displayed in the 2nd International Conference on Energy and Sustainable Futures (ICESF 2020), co-organised by the University of Hertfordshire and the University Alliance DTA in Energy. The research included in this book covers a wide range of topics in the areas of energy and sustainability including: • ICT and control of energy;• conventional energy sources;• energy governance;• materials in energy research;• renewable energy; and• energy storage. The book offers a holistic view of topics related to energy and sustainability, making it of interest to experts in the field, from industry and academia.

The need for efficient and sustainable management methods of mine waste is continuously growing all around the world. These waste products often present serious management problems due to their more or less significant amounts and possible environmental threats. This Special Issue highlights the recent and new trends in sustainable mine waste management techniques. Currently, it is essential to sustainably manage mine waste, considering social, economic, environmental and technical aspects. In this Special Issue, insights related to the following issues are highlighted: the problems around mine waste, the fine characterization of mine waste, the latest available technical and environmental solutions to efficiently manage mine waste, including treatment and processing before disposal and high value element recovery, with the view of moving towards defining effective, low-cost and ecofriendly methods, the recycling of mine waste products as alternative resources in different sectors, and finally laboratory, pilot and/or industrial-scale studies related to these topics of research. Scientists and industry and governance stakeholders have to face these new challenges to find the best management practices for the future.

A perfect introduction to sustainable mining for those new to the subject or those who require some revision, this book provides a basic overview of international sustainable mining practices since 1992, with particular emphasis upon practices in the Americas, Asia and Europe. The text begins by addressing issues such as the volume of waste generated by mining, mine closure planning and the environmental impacts, and then goes into specific detail in the following areas: cleaner production practices in Australia; blasting impacts and their control in the US; minimizing surface water impacts; minimizing groundwater impacts; use of environmental indicators in mining; and emerging mining technologies that minimize environmental impacts. The text contains relevant examples and case histories for ease of revision, and also includes a chapter on Best Mining Practices for Sustainable Mining and sub-chapters on small-scale mining, tailings pond management and hazardous waste management.

Today's best practice in environmental mine-waste management requires a thorough understanding of the wastes produced. The knowledge of mine wastes represents a new interdisciplinary science and this book provides an introductory, descriptive and analytic overview of the wastes produced in the mineral industry. It describes the characterization, prediction, monitoring, disposal and treatment as well as environmental impacts. Intended for undergraduate courses, it systematically builds the reader’s understanding and knowledge of the wastes produced, their physical and chemical characteristics, and how to deal responsibly with them on a short and long-term basis. The text employs 22 case studies spanning the world’s mineral industry that elucidate best practice and specific challenges in mine-waste management and site rehabilitation.

This book explores sustainable mining knowledge, assessing researchers on the impacts of waste and new approaches to negotiating these impacts. Mining has always been a profitable venture; however, it comes with several boons and banes. The significant advantages of mining include employment generation, the establishment of townships and trade centers, and socio-economic growth. However, the mining activity is a significant cause of environmental degradation, including soils, atmosphere, water, solid wastes, changed topography, and health hazards. This book emphasizes value-added products from mining wastes and innovations for balancing environment, ecology, and economy. This book is designed for miners, policymakers, professionals, researchers, scientists, industrialists, and environmental agencies.

The history of mining is replete with controversy of which much is related to environmental damage and consequent community outrage. Over recent decades, this has led to increased pressure to improve the environmental and social performance of mining operations, particularly in developing countries. The industry has responded by embracing the ideals of sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Mining and the Environment identifies and discusses the wide range of social and environmental issues pertaining to mining, with particular reference to mining in developing countries, from where many of the project examples and case studies have been selected. Following an introductory overview of pressing issues, the book illustrates how environmental and social impact assessment, such as defined in "The Equator Principles", integrates with the mining lifecycle and how environmental and social management aims to eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive mining impacts. Practical approaches are provided for managing issues ranging from land acquisition and resettlement of Indigenous peoples, to the technical aspects of acid rock drainage and mine waste management. Moreover, thorough analyses of ways and means of sharing non-transitory mining benefits with host communities are presented to allow mining to provide sustainable benefits for the affected communities. This second edition of Mining and the Environment includes new chapters on Health Impact Assessment, Biodiversity and Gender Issues, all of which have become more important since the first edition appeared a decade ago. The wide coverage of issues and the many real-life case studies make this practice-oriented book a reference and key reading. It is intended for environmental consultants, engineers, regulators and operators in the field and for students to use as a course textbook. As much of the matter applies to the extractive industries as a whole, it will also serve environmental professionals in the oil and gas industries. Karlheinz Spitz and John Trudinger both have multiple years of experience in the assessment of mining projects around the world. The combination of their expertise and knowledge about social, economic, and environmental performance of mining and mine waste management has resulted in this in-depth coverage of the requirements for responsible and sustainable mining.

This book presents a comprehensive approach to address the need to improve the design of tailings dams, their management and the regulation of tailings management facilities to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the risk of such facilities failing. The scope of the challenge is well documented in the report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and GRID Arendal entitled “Mine Tailings Storage: Safety Is No Accident,” which was released in October 2017. The report recommends that “Regulators, industry and communities should adopt a shared, zero-failure objective to tailings storage facilities...” and identifies several areas where further improvements are required. In this context, the application of cutting-edge risk-assessment methodologies and risk-management practices can contribute to a significant reduction and eventual elimination of dam failures through Risk Informed Decision Making. As such, the book focuses on identifying and describing the risk-assessment approaches and risk-management practices that need to be implemented in order to develop a way forward to achieve socially acceptable levels of tailings dam risk.

The research papers presented in these proceedings volumes cover the latest developments and findings in the fields of mine health, safety, energy, waste management,reclamation and rehabilitation, mine closure and environmental protection. Authors from over 20 countries with backgrounds in chemistry, engineering, technology and management, and hailing from the government, industry and academia, have contributed to this book. The contents of this book will be of interest to scientists, engineers, consultants and government personnel who are responsible for the development and implementation of innovative approaches, techniques and technologies in the minerals industries. It will also benefit academic researchers, as it addresses the latest advances in fundamental research.

Mining and the Environment: Case studies from the Americas