Bachelor Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 3.8/4.0, University of Bedfordshire (BUSINESS SCHOOL), course: BA (HONS) BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, language: English, abstract: This thesis examines patent documents as sources of eco-innovations that would improve the sector. In this thesis, European and United States patent offices have been used as data bases. It follows that a total of 51 patent documents were obtained from US patent office and 128 patent documents from European patent office. However 45 patent documents were suitable for cross-sectional analysis through content analysis. Researcher’s findings from 45 patents that were analyzed show that innovations in sustainability seem to be an area of interest amongst inventors. On the other hand, trends and patterns show that innovations in energy efficiency and sustainability have been issued more compared to waste management innovations. The researcher explains the logic that since energy efficient innovations and sustainability innovations aim to reduce pollution and wastes, hence little can be paid waste management innovations rather than to be ignored. Eco-innovations are being regarded as essential products or processes that not only help in fostering sustainable development but also help in creating and enhancing new business opportunities. Over the years, the public view of the mining sector has been negative due to the pollution it brings. Therefore the sector is challenged to show that it can contribute to the welfare by minimizing pollution through eco-innovations.

Sustainable practices within the mining and energy sectors are assuming greater significance due to uncertainty and change within the global economy and safety, security, and health concerns. This book examines sustainability issues facing the mining and energy sectors by addressing six major themes: Mining and Mineral Processing; Metallurgy and Recycling; Environment; Energy; Socioeconomic and Regulatory; and Sustainable Materials and Fleets. Emphasizing an integrated transdisciplinary approach, it deliberates on optimizing mining productivity and energy efficiency and discusses integrated waste management practices. It discusses risk management, cost cutting, and integration of sustainable practices for long-term business value. It gives a comprehensive outlook for sustainable mineral futures from academic and industry perspectives covering mine to mill optimization, waste, risk and water management, improved efficiencies in mining tools and equipment, and performance indicators for sustainable developments. It covers how innovation and research underpin management of natural resources including sustainable carbon management. •Focuses on mining and mineral processing, metallurgy and recycling, the environment, energy, socioeconomic and regulatory issues, and sustainable materials and fleets. •Describes metallurgy and recycling and uses economic, environmental and social parameter analyses to identify areas for improvement in iron, steel, aluminium, lead, zinc, copper, and gold production. •Discusses current research on mining, performance indicators for sustainable development, sustainability in mining equipment, risk and safety management, and renewable energy resources •Covers alternative and conventional energy sources for the mineral sector as well water treatment and remediation and energy sustainability in mining. •Provides an overview of sustainable carbon management. •Offers an interdisciplinary approach with international focus.

This is the first book of peer-reviewed, edited papers that examines the minerals industry in relation to sustainable development. The book takes a proactive, positivist, and solution-oriented approach, while not shying away from the fundamental problems.

Traditionally, the mining sector has been considered a slow innovator compared to other industries, like the manufacturing or pharmaceutical industries. However, we observe an upsurge in the innovation activity of the mining industry in the first half of the 2000s. During this period, mining innovation started to increase rapidly after periods of stagnation and downward trends. To conduct and in-depth investigation of the global trends and patterns behind this structural change in mining innovation, we formulated a general search strategy to identify patent activity in this sector. The strategy is repeatable over time and in multiple databases. It enabled us to produce a dataset of patents in mining and mining-related technologies. Using this newly-created database we identified at the basis of the structural change a switch away from refining technologies into exploration and environmental technologies probably explained by the took over of the so-called 4th Industrial Revolution. The types of actors active in the mining innovation also changed across time: there are now many more individuals, research centers and universities innovating in mining and relatively less companies. Finally, the country composition in the pool of mining innovation activity has radically changed with the appearance of China on the global scene starting from early 2000.

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.

This book broadly explains the requirement to focus on core components in a business and provides a case study of open-pit mining operations throughout the book to understand the management perspective of large organizations. With globalized approaches of large businesses and the rising requirement of understanding the needs of modern organizations, it is necessary to focus on key areas of businesses to ensure sustainability of operations. Organizations look into achieving a high return on investments and short-term measures in increasing sales or revenue is considered unsuitable. It is a necessity to look for sustainability and continuous methods of innovation to boost efficiency. This book provides a case study based on large organizations and uses qualitative methodologies where data was collected using in-depth interviews of respondents from various mining companies in the top and middle-level management from different parts of the world, detailing the state of the art of information systems currently used in large scale open-pit miming (LSOPM). This book provides a sound knowledge of cutting-edge factors to the reader for managing the business to attain operational excellence and long-term sustainability, and caters to a broad spectrum of management and technical readers.

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.

Offering the first in-depth global analysis of the innovation ecosystem in the mining industry, this book is aimed at policy-makers and academia alike. A wide range of international contributors assess this from different perspectives, using both a novel mining patent and innovation database and a wide set of analytical approaches.

Mining Can Be Environmentally and Socially Responsible—and Still Profitable Even in this regulated, environmentally aware world, running a mine can be done safely, with combined goals of maximizing both the return on investment from extraction and the positive environmental and social impact that a well-run, responsible mine can offer. Responsible Mining is your comprehensive guide to addressing social and environmental risks at mines in the developed world. This book gathers case studies of best practices across the full range of issues. With examples from four continents, you can learn from both your home territory and around the world. Seventy-two leading mine engineers, forestry scientists, conservationists, environmental consultants, sustainability professionals, and geologists from prominent universities, extraction businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and governments have come together within these pages to lead you safely and profitably toward socially, environmentally, and economically beneficial mining practices. Organized around ten sustainability principles required of International Council on Mining and Metals members (including some of the largest extraction businesses in the world), the book addresses nearly every environmental and social consequence of mining in developed countries, including: · Protecting biodiversity · Minimizing negative impacts on climate change · Interacting appropriately with indigenous peoples · Enhancing the local community and reducing poverty · Reusing and recycling materials · Recovering energy · Recapturing and reusing water · Managing proper storage, reclamation, and disposal of tailings · Restoring the land after ceasing mining operations You will want to make this book required reading for all members of your team who are responsible for environmental compliance, resource recovery, sustainability, energy management, and marketing/public relations to facilitate cross-departmental discussions about how to incorporate best practices into your business plans.

States in mineral-rich jurisdictions must promote mining as a development industry just as they must protect people and environment from the worst excesses of extractivism. State Governance of Mining, Development and Sustainability explores how the State’s role in facilitating a developmental and sustainable mining industry has been defined. In doing so, this astute book considers the impact of the policies and laws of mineral-rich States themselves, multilateral international governance institutions, industry associations, and environmental justice advocates in the areas of property relations, mineral taxation, environmental management and mine closure.