Category: Mining industry

Information tools, Mining industry, Natural resources, Publications

Central Appalachian Mine Reforestation Assessment Report

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Download the document and view the web map.

The Central Appalachian Mine Reforestation Assessment tool uses satellite imagery and a new mathematical model to monitor and characterize the state of reclamation and the growth of trees and other vegetation on surface coal mines in Central Appalachia from 1984 to the present.

The data set and tool will help regulators, researchers and the general public understand the current level of mining and surface mine cleanup in the region. This tool was developed by Appalachian Voices, SkyTruth, 4E Analytics, Green Forests Work and Downstream Strategies.

Information tools, Mining industry

What’s the cost of illegal mining in Brazil’s Amazon? A new tool calculates it

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Read the full story at MongaBay.

The launch of a gold mining impacts calculator this week — a joint project of the Federal Public Ministry and the Conservation Strategy Fund — marks a big step forward in combating illegal mining in the Brazilian Amazon, experts and government agents say.

The new tool was able to estimate damages of $431 million caused by illegal mining in 2020 on the Yanomami Indigenous Reserve, where local leaders have reported several attacks in the past month by miners, following an influx of mining activities since 2019.

Since 2019, Brazil has exported $11 billion in gold, with Switzerland, Canada and the United Kingdom as the top importers; last year alone, these three countries imported $3.5 billion of the precious metal from Brazil.

Improving traceability is another important step to cracking down on the environmentally devastating illegal gold market, says Sérgio Leitão, an expert in the fight against illegal mining in Brazil.

Mining industry, Standards, Supply chain

Responsible Minerals Initiative unveils ESG Standard

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Read the full story at Mining Magazine.

The Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) today announced the release of its Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Standard to further improve conditions for workers, address environmental and community impacts, and manage governance risks in all mineral supply chains.

Climate change, Mining industry, Public policy, Publications

Supporting the Nation’s Coal Workers and Communities in a Changing Energy Landscape

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Download the document.

Analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) finds that, not only it is possible to support coal workers in the shift to a low-carbon economy, but these comprehensive policies are affordable.

UCS and UWUA estimated the number of coal miners and coal-fired power plant workers at risk of losing jobs before reaching age 65 as the coal industry declines, and identified the number of US counties at risk due to their direct link to coal.

Comprehensive support for these workers would include five years of wage replacement, health coverage, continued employer contributions to retirement funds or pension plans, and tuition and job placement assistance.

In total, the analysis finds these supports would cost roughly between $33 billion over 25 years and $83 billion over 15 years—a fraction of the trillions of dollars of needed investments in the energy system in coming decades as we shift to a low-carbon economy.

As the energy mix changes—rather than offer false hope for reinvigorated coal markets—we must plan thoughtfully and offer support to the workers and communities that have sacrificed so much to build this country.

Mining industry, Natural resources

Fish-friendly gold mines produce “salmon gold”

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Read the full story at Hakai Magazine.

With supporters like Apple and Tiffany, a new conservation financing effort has companies paying to help fund restoration of salmon habitat, one stream at a time.

Coal ash, Metals, Mining industry

Can Harvesting Rare Earth Elements Solve the Coal Ash Crisis?

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Read the full story in Sierra Magazine.

Instead of mining and incinerating coal to generate electricity, the coal economy of the future could take the form of cleaning up and mining the industry’s historic waste.

China, Environmental remediation, Mining industry

China Wrestles with the Toxic Aftermath of Rare Earth Mining

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Read the full story at e360.

China has been a major source of rare earth metals used in high-tech products, from smartphones to wind turbines. As cleanup of these mining sites begins, experts argue that global companies that have benefited from access to these metals should help foot the bill.

Illinois, Mining industry, Regulation, Water

Residents still concerned as IDNR decides whether to grant permit to allow mine waste in Big Muddy River

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Read the full story in the Southern Illinoisan.

The application is to build a pipeline to pump millions of gallons of mine wastewater into the Big Muddy. The water would be pumped out of mine shafts as it seeps in, and this is necessary to keep miners safe, according to the company’s proposal.

As previously reported in The Southern, the proposal from Williamson Energy was made to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and seeks permission to discharge between 2.5 million and 3.5 million gallons of high-chloride water per day into the river. A public comment period for the proposal ended in November. Residents are now waiting to learn whether the IDNR will grant the company’s request.

Mining industry

DNR declines to re-issue permit for controversial frac sand mine; case likely to be decided in court

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Read the full story in the Wisconsin State Journal.

After a nearly yearlong review, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has declined to reinstate a wetland permit for a controversial Monroe County frac sand operation.

In a decision signed Tuesday, DNR Secretary Preston Cole closed his department’s review without taking any action on a decision by Administrative Law Judge Eric Defort to revoke a permit allowing Meteor Timber to fill 16.25 acres of wetlands.

Information tools, Mining industry

Responsible Minerals Platform

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Sourcemap’s Responsible Minerals Platform lets you track any raw material – including the 3TGs, cobalt, copper, neodymium, palladium and platinum – down to the mine, enabling you to monitor continuously for conflict and risk. It relies on a unique automated technology for supply chain mapping, sub-supplier discovery, risk scoring and ongoing monitoring to verify that sourcing regions are conflict-free.

 

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