National Library of Medicine Thus, surface mining may have additional, substantial indirect social and environmental cost (e.g., spill-over effects, social discontent) in addition to the direct costs of mining that are widely acknowledged (e.g., farmland loss, pollution). Dudka S, Adriano DC. NRH drafted the manuscript. Impacts of Surface Gold Mining on Land Use Systems in Western Ghana Hilson G. An overview of land use conflicts in mining communities. Learning Objectives. Our goal is to make science relevant and fun for everyone. Polluting the streams by releasing potentially harmful toxins. Amongst the advantages are that it is cheaper, can recover more of the resource (usually up to 100% within the mining excavation), is safer and can use larger-scale mining equipment offering higher production rates. 2001. Current farming activities and land management patterns of each interviewee were assessed at the beginning of an interview. Pimatisiwin. 2001;15:16376. Open-pit mining utilizes blasting and mineral removing, digger deeper into the earth causing a crater-like result. TK gratefully acknowledges support by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. strip mining, removal of soil and rock (overburden) above a layer or seam (particularly coal), followed by the removal of the exposed mineral. Hybrid classification approaches combine advantages of unsupervised methods (i.e., little a priori knowledge needed) with the better discriminative power of supervised classifications (Kuemmerle et al. Third World Network. While Ghanas gold boom has resulted in substantial revenues at the national level, local people are clearly not profiting from this boom, instead experiencing eroded livelihood foundations, lost income opportunities, health problems, and social and cultural alienation. Accessed 06 June 2018. The absence of a consolidated knowledge base on the impacts of mining and the effectiveness of mitigation measures in Arctic and boreal regions is a significant knowledge gap in the face of the continued promotion of extractive industries. 42. www.rainforestinfo.org.au/projects/ghana.htm, http://www.foei.org/en/resources/link/101/e1011213.html, http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=264, Forest sites converted to surface gold mining pits : forest cover in 1986 mining pits 2002, Regions dominated by agricultural land use converted to surface gold mining pits: farmlands in 1986 mining pits in 2002, Areas where forests remained unchanged: land covered by forests 1986 and 2002, Land cover constantly mined over the observation period: mining pits already established before 1986 remaining by 2002, Constantly used by farmers, mostly in the form of shifting cultivation: farmland by 1986 and in 2002, Agricultural expansion into forest: forest in 1986 and farmland in 2002. The interviews we conducted indicated that there is a severe lack of knowledge regarding the consequences of surface mining among farmers. Mitchell CJ, ONeill K. The Sherriff Creek Wildlife Sanctuary: further evidence of mine-site repurposing and economic transition in northern Ontario. In Tebrebi and Twiyaa, experts from the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining were consulted to select a group of farmers affected by farmland loss and covering the range of smallholder farm sizes (0.44ha). Bennett JR, Shaw JD, Terauds A, Smol JP, Aerts R, Bergstrom DM, Blais JM, Cheung WW, Chown SL, Lea M-A. We thank the project Advisory Team for comments on the project and the draft: the team consisted of Dag Avango, Steven Cooke, Sif Johansson, Rebecca Lawrence, Pamela Lesser, Bjrn hlander, Kaisa Raito, Rebecca Rees, and Maria Teng. Swiss firm Tinamu's ground-breaking AI-powered drone system is redefining stockpile volume measurement in mining, According to PwC's report, two-thirds of mining CEOs believing that a tech skills shortage will negatively impact the industry over the next ten years, Mining company Newmont has announced an agreement to acquire Newcrest, to strengthen its position as a leader in safe & sustainable gold and copper mining. Lebbie, A.R. What follows are brief descriptions of the most common methods. The slope of the mining walls can be steep or even vertical, and the structural stability of access points is constantly changing as erosion occurs. These records will be added to the bibliographic database search results prior to duplicate removal. Walker R. Theorizing land-cover and land-use change: The case of tropical deforestation. Int J Surf Min Reclam Environ. Warhate S, Yenkie M, Chaudhari M, Pokale W. Impacts of mining activities on water and soil. Chapter Maconachie R, Binns T. Beyond the resource curse? Kuemmerle T, Radeloff VC, et al. Pros and Cons of Surface Miner One of the most important pros is replacing D+B, ripping, loading and primary crushing. Meta-data extraction and coding will be performed by multiple reviewers following consistency checking on an initial coding of subset of between 10 and 15 full texts, discussing all disagreements. Uranium fuel, nuclear reactors, generation, spent fuel. Advantages And Disadvantages Of Heat Insulators. Hirdes, W., G. Senger, et al. Not only are there accidents, but exposure to dust and toxins, along with stress from the working environment or managerial pressures, give rise to a range of diseases that affect miners. Moreover, there is increasing evidence that Ghana may face a resource curse dilemma: economic diversification is lacking and the countrys economic dependency on mineral resource export revenues grows (Adler and Berke 2006; Akabzaa and Darimani 2001; Aryee 2001). Refinements of the inclusion criteria will be made in liaison with the entire review team where necessary. During scoping and development of the search string, the bibliographic database search results will be checked to ascertain whether any of these studies were not found. The hilly topography is characterized by gentle slopes and wide valleys. Tools to customize searches, view specific data sets, study detailed documentation, and access time-series data. Eugene: Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide; 2010. To better understand the environmental, economic, and social implications of surface mining in Wassa West District, we conducted interviews and organized a participatory workshop (Kitula 2006). industrial contexts, heavily altered environments, etc.) Surface gold mining is an extreme source of such a conflict, but mining impacts on local livelihoods often remain unclear. Gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon: global prices, deforestation, and mercury imports. Remediation of the potential environmental impacts, for example through water treatment and ecological restoration, can have positive net effects on environmental systems [20]. Surface mining removes ore deposits that are close to the surface, and subsurface mining removes minerals that are deep underground. Background Mining can directly and indirectly affect social and environmental systems in a range of positive and negative ways, and may result in societal benefits, but may also cause conflicts, not least in relation to land use. Without vegetation to stabilize the surface, landslides and rockslides can occur without warning. Surface gold mining in Ghana, appears to displace farmers, thereby triggering increased deforestation, agricultural intensification, and land degradation. Gandy CJ, Davis JE, Orme PHA, Potter HAB, Jarvis AP. As a study region, we chose Ghana, because of the countrys recent gold boom and because Ghana exemplifies many developing nations in the global south (e.g., economic role of mineral exports, investment policies (Agbesinyale 2003)). Wassa West District belongs to the Eastern Guinean Forest ecoregion. Environmental effects of mining - Wikipedia Liu JG, Dietz T, et al. Both images were cloud-free and orthorectified with a positional accuracy of <30m (Tucker et al. Indeed, the measures may have unintentional adverse impacts on environments and societies. For example, participatory management and the establishment of community forest resources have proven successful in managing common-pool resources eslewhere (Gobeze et al. Because mining occurs at the surface, no space restrictions from narrow tunnels and shafts affect the rate at which ore can be extracted. Depending on where the seam (profitable bed of coal) is located, extracting this black gold can require a smorgasbord of options. To validate our land cover change map, a stratified random sample of 330 points was collected within the 25% of ground truth polygons not used for training. In surface mining, the ore is accessed directly from the Earths surface, and contact is maintained with the surface throughout the operation. Methodological rigour in assessing participatory development. Compared with underground mining, surface mining is much more efficient. Brighton. Information, education and communication on the environmental and socio-economic effects of surface mining. 2007. Unchanged forest accounted for 11.5% (2,225ha) of the mining concessions (Table2). Some of these include: Mitigation of negative environmental impacts in one system (e.g. Deforestation due to surface mining was widespread, resulting in a loss of about 3167.6ha (58% of all forests within concession areas). Proudly powered by WordPress | What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Surface Mining The problem is that ecosystem services are often difficult to value in economic terms and remain externalities. Disadvantages include hazards to human health and the environment. Here you can study each advantage and disadvantage of subsurface mining; one of the essential benefits of subsurface mining that it is safer and faster than other ways of mining. However, the Arctic is home to substantial mineral resources [31, 32] and has been in focus for mining activities for several 100years, with a marked increase in the early 20th century and intensifying interest in exploration and exploitation in recent years to meet a growing global demand for metals(Fig. Broadly speaking, there are two types of mines underground and surface. Apart from different types of mining concessions and forest areas which are mapped and equipped with certain land use right, no cadastral or planning base was mentioned by any of the interview partners. This systematic map aims to answer the question: What research evidence exists on the impacts of metal mining and its mitigation measures on social and environmental systems in Arctic and boreal regions? 1998. 2005;3:11639. Ghanas gold rush and regional developmentThe case of the Wassa West District, 357. Regardless of the arguments against strip mining, the energy crisis is sure to increase the pressure for more of itat least in the near future. Mining can yield a range of benefits to societies, but it may also cause conflict, not least in relation to above-ground and sub-surface land use. Thus, although foreign direct investments and economic growth are positive for Ghanas economy, this comes at a serious environmental and social cost, mostly for local livelihoods, that may bear potential for political destabilization in the long run. Our results showed that surface mining resulted in deforestation (58%), a substantial loss of farmland (45%) within mining concessions, and widespread spill-over effects as relocated farmers expand farmland into forests. Collaboration for Environmental Evidence. Ghana: Sicherheit in Bergbau. there is a lot of pollution that occurs with it making the environment to be contaminated hence not healthy for animals and plants. Overall, our study showed the weakening effects of gold surface mining on regional development. 2006;354:198211. To mitigate such conflicts, governments, mining companies, and rural stakeholders sometimes react with resettlement and alternative livelihood programs, and former farmers engage in small-scale artisanal mining (Banchirigah and Hilson 2010). This can lead to faster and more efficient mining operations, which can benefit both mining companies and the local economy. The broader 3MK project aims to develop a multiple evidence base methodology [37] combining systematic review approaches with documentation of Indigenous and local knowledge and to apply this approach in a study of the impacts of metal mining and impacts of mitigation measures. 2017;6:11. Agriculture provides income for 48% of the total working force and the average farm size is about 1ha (Wassa West District Assembly 2004). For example, analyses of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images quantified forest loss due to oil sand mining (Latifovic et al. The environmental and socio-economic impacts of mining on local livelihoods in Tanzania: A case study of Geita District. All meta-data and coding will be included in a detailed systematic map database, with each line representing one study-location (i.e. 2). Maps by energy source and topic, includes forecast maps. Disadvantages include its high visibility, the large-scale surface disturbance and the limited economic depth to which mining can take place. Examples of negative impacts include loss of jobs and local identities [21], while positive impact can include opportunities for new economic activities [22], e.g. . Another study analyzing employment benefits of small-scale gold and diamond mining in Ghana suggests that these benefits are achieved largely at the cost of environmental degradation (Amankwah and Anim-Sackey 2003). Arctic. We will search across 17 bibliographic databases as show in Table2. Power plants use flue gas desulfurization equipment, also known as scrubbers, to clean sulfur from the smoke before it leaves their smokestacks. Gold surface mining concessions are frequently granted for areas dominated by settlements and farmland, resulting in substantial conflicts between mining enterprises and local communities (Aidara 2008; National Coalition on Mining 2006). once coding and meta-data is completed). The largest surface mines in the United States are in Wyoming's Powder River Basin, where coal deposits are close to the surface and are up to 70 feet thick. What are the pros and cons for surface mining? - idswater.com Hirdes, W., and G. Loh. The first way in which proposed mining projects differ is the proposed method of moving or excavating the overburden. 2006). Pagot E, Pesaresi M, et al. Global consequences of land use. Before In Ghana, gold is mined in two fundamentally different ways. Wassa West district and major gold deposits and mining concessions considered in Western Ghana (adapted from Hirdes et al. What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Surface Mining? reserves, etc. Ghana: Revival of the mineral sector. This manuscript is part of a project (3MK: Mapping the impacts of Mining using Multiple Knowledges) funded by a Formas Open Call Grant (2017-00683). SNL Financial. Additional areas where land cover had changed due to mining were identified in the participatory mapping by the help of local residents (see below). Moreover, the interruption of natural drainage resulted in widespread water pools, that have in turn been linked to increased Malaria incidents (Akabzaa 2005; Tour 1989). Abandoned mine sites as a source of contamination by heavy metals: a case study in a semi-arid zone. Invitations to be included in this group were based on an initial stakeholder mapping process and soliciting expressions of interest (see Stakeholder Engagement Methodology Document, https://osf.io/cvh3u/). This type of mining occurs primarily on mountaintops, and . NASAs global orthorectified landsat data set. Interview partners at the Wassa West District office of the Ministry of Lands, Forestry, and Mines suggested that illegal logging was common in areas where surface mining expands (e.g. Environmental impacts of mining. A case study of farmers in the Wassa Mining Region, Ghana. In contrast to the other two mines, deforestation for mining expansion was widespread in Tarkwa and exceeded all other land cover changes (23.4% of the concessions area, equaling 2,667ha). Mining always affects the environment, whilst remediation and mitigation efforts may effectively ameliorate some negative environmental impacts. His research focuses on understanding drivers and patterns of land system change, and on exploring how land use and climate change affect biodiversity patterns. Several strategies exist to overcome such challenges, for example disaggregating socioeconomic data to the pixel level, comparing aggregated measures of land change and socioeconomic data, or linking people and land via participatory approaches (Castella and Verburg 2007; Lambin 2003). May help to increase the economic growth of a country. Trucks and shovels are used to remove excess fragments as a drill systematically bores into the mine, stripping it of coal, typically recovering a higher proportion of the coal deposits than underground mining. We define stakeholders here as all individuals or organisations that might be affected by the systematic map work or its findings [35, 36], and thus broadly includes researchers and the Working and Advisory Group for this project. The Clean Air Act and The Clean Water Act require industries to reduce pollutants released into the air and water. a mitigation designed to affect an environmental change may have knock on changes in a social system. Using performance indicators to evaluate an environmental education program in artisanal gold mining Communities in the Brazilian Amazon. The Tarkwa concession also still had sizable forests in 2002 (15.6% of the area on 1,775ha) (Table2). The industry has also found more effective ways of cleaning coal after it is mined, and some coal consumers use low sulfur coal. Environmental impact of mining and mineral processing: management, monitoring, and auditing strategies. The power plants use electrostatic precipitators or baghouses to remove particulates and heavy metals from the smoke. The sulfides form sulfuric acid, which dissolves nearby rock and releases dangerous metalloids into local streams and groundwater. Land use has already altered more than half of the planets terrestrial ecosystems, mainly for increasing the provision of a few ecosystem services, such as food production (Ellis and Ramankutty 2008; Foley and DeFries et al. 2007). Appleton J, Weeks J, Calvez J, Beinhoff C. Impacts of mercury contaminated mining waste on soil quality, crops, bivalves, and fish in the Naboc River area, Mindanao, Philippines. J Clean Prod. About 12% of all land in Ghana is currently under some form of concession for mineral exploration (Ghana Chamber of Mines 2006), with more than 250 companies being engaged in surface mining (E.A.G. Benchmark list of relevant articles for comprehensiveness checking of search strategy. Evidence of the impacts of metal mining and the effectiveness of mining PDF Surface Mining Methods and Equipment - EOLSS 2016;97:17985. Version 5.0 (AS Pullin, GK Frampton, B Livoreil & G Petrokofsky, Eds). If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Terms and Conditions, Liu JG, Daily GC, et al. Environmentally responsible miners are always looking at new ways to minimise the impacts of their operations on the environment. Come test out some of the products still in development and let us know what you think! While remote sensing can map the rates and spatial patterns of land change, relating these changes to a suite of environmental and socio-economic variables is necessary to understand the consequences of land use change for local livelihoods (Fox et al. Hammond DS, Gond V, et al. Forms EIA uses to collect energy data including descriptions, links to survey instructions, and additional information. Since we found substantial indirect effects of surface mining (via displacement of farming), the environmental and social costs of Ghanas gold boom may be much higher than the often acknowledged direct costs. Loayza N, Rigolini J. In underground mining, the threat of a cave-in or release of toxic gas is a constant concern. 2011;34:3761. Study location (country or broad region) versus mine type. In this form of coal extraction, the tops of mountains are removed using explosives. Aust Psychiatry. Amankwah RK, Anim-Sackey C. Strategies for sustainable development of the small-scale gold and diamond mining industry of Ghana. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. Advantages of Subsurface Mining. Water storage areas and associated recreational facilities; Creation of botanical gardens and adventure centres; Establishment of office parks and shopping complexes; Ensure that we support environmentally and socially responsible miners; Recognise our own responsibility for creating the demand for mined materials (the mines would not be there if we did not demand the minerals and products) and accordingly plan for our future developments and lifestyles to consume the minimum possible resources. Hilson G. Harvesting mineral riches: 1000years of gold mining in Ghana. This is because removing the terrain surface, or overburden, to access the mineral beneath is often more cost-effective than gouging tunnels and subterranean shafts to access minerals underground. In room-and-pillar, coal deposits are mined by cutting a network of "rooms" into the coal seam and leaving behind "pillars" of coal to support the roof of the mine. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. 2010;188:6175. Mine abandonment, decommissioning and repurposing can also have both positive and negative social impacts. Veldkamp A, Lambin EF. 2008). Assessing land cover change resulting from large surface mining development. He works as geographer in the field of land use change. I look at mining and health from various personal perspectives: that of the ordinary man . One method is carbon capture, which separates CO2 from emissions sources and recovers it in a concentrated stream. Environmentally responsible miners are always looking at new ways to minimise the impacts of their operations on the environment. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. 2002. p. 1526. Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Processes of land use change in mining regions. In the BogosoPrestea area, where many people depend on small-scale mining, violent conflicts between galamsey (i.e., small-scale miners) and security personnel of the mining enterprises occur frequently as we observed in 2006. 1). Tatort Bergbau IV: 4. Cite this article. In addition, the coal industry and the U.S. government have cooperated to develop technologies that can remove impurities from coal or that can make coal more energy efficient, which reduces the amount of coal that is burned per unit of useful energy produced. Rigina O. The impact of poor past mining practice and the lack of mine rehabilitation on closure is still being felt by the current generations. About 12.3% (730ha) of all land in the BogosoPrestea concession was converted from forest to farmland (Table2). Springer Nature. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the Despite their fundamental role in economic development, mining activities represent one of the main sources of human impact on the environment and ecosystem components, both during their life . Advantages and disadvantages of open pit mining - LORECENTRAL Boas, A. Navarro M, Prez-Sirvent C, Martnez-Snchez M, Vidal J, Tovar P, Bech J. Knobblock EA, Pettersson . An open pit mining operation virtually eliminates any biologic life at the surface. The literature on the environmental and social impacts of mining has grown in recent years, but despite its clear importance, there has been little synthesis of research knowledge pertaining to the social and environmental impacts of metal mining in Arctic and boreal regions. In total, 35 interviews with representatives of governmental institutions, private companies, and stakeholders in the agricultural sector were carried out (a list of interview partners can be obtained from the authors). Although the status of farmland was heterogeneous prior to compensation, the impact of farmland loss and compensation was unanimously perceived as negative and related to decreasing income and life standard. 2008;96:18393. Regional energy information including dashboards, maps, data, and analyses. -Water must be pumped out of the mine during the mining process. Haddaway NR, Kohl C, da Silva NR, Schiemann J, Spk A, Stewart R, Sweet JB, Wilhelm R. A framework for stakeholder engagement during systematic reviews and maps in environmental management. The politics of planning: assessing the impacts of mining on Sami lands. Wassa West District has a total population of about 254,100 (in 2002) and annual population growth is estimated at 2.9% (Wassa West District Assembly 2004). Open Pit Mining Pros & Cons | Sciencing On the other hand, large-scale surface- and underground mining enterprises operate with industrialized production chains and direct ties to international markets. For example, several people were shot while demonstrating against different mining enterprises in 2005 and 2006, because mining threatened a local hospital, contaminated surface waters, and destroyed a local well (National Coalition on Mining 2006). water or soil) can influence other systems such as wellbeing of local communities and biodiversity in a positive or negative manner [23]. Correspondence to CAS Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. There is thus an urgent need for approaches that can transparently and legitimately gather research evidence on the potential environmental and social impacts of mining and the impacts of associated mitigation measures in a rigorous manner. All ground truth data were categorized into the classes deforestation, farmland loss (both due to mining), permanent farmland, permanent forest, permanent mine and farmland expansion (Table1). In all the three mining concessions, villagers inside concessions had lost their water resources and now depended on (sometimes contaminated) boreholes or (often unreliable) water supplies by the mining enterprises. Article of the Environmental Action Group. Rodriguez, J.P., T.D. Mine Safety and Health Administration: Injury Trends in Mining, The Philippine Star: Commentary: Good Local Open Pit Mining Models to Emulate, The Chicago Tribune: U.S. coal Mining Deaths Surge in 2017 After Hitting Record Low. Everlast Value Proposition Analysis. Although both methods have their benefits and drawbacks, underground drilling may just be the cost worthy selection for you. Buixad Farr A, Stephenson SR, Chen L, Czub M, Dai Y, Demchev D, Efimov Y, Graczyk P, Grythe H, Keil K. Commercial Arctic shipping through the Northeast Passage: routes, resources, governance, technology, and infrastructure. Reliable energy source. Yet, to our knowledge, the environmental and social impacts of large-scale gold mining in Ghana, and all of West Africa for that matter, have only been addressed by two studies (Amankwah and Anim-Sackey 2003; Hilson 2002a, b). Mining activities, including prospecting, exploration, construction, operation, maintenance, expansion, abandonment, decommissioning and repurposing of a mine can impact social and environmental systems in a range of positive and negative, and direct and indirect ways. Mining licenses in the three concessions we studied are granted by the Ministry of Lands, Forestry, and Mines, yet companies negotiate compensation with land users affected by the mining operations. CIFOR Occasional Paper No. 2016;124:15562. Participatory forest management and its impacts on livelihoods and forest status: The case of Bonga forest in Ethiopia. Because miners are working on the surface, they have more room to maneuver and can use larger equipment to extract resources more quickly. Boolean format search string for database searches. The gold boom triggered rapid surface mining development in Wassa West District in the 1980s (Agbesinyale 2003) and today several large surface mining enterprises are extracting gold along the Ashanti belt (Fig. The coal industry has found several ways to reduce sulfur and other impurities from coal.
11855 Avenue Of Industry, San Diego, Ca 92128,
Old Corkscrew Promo Code,
Tennessee Federal Court Districts,
Can You Kill All The Soldiers In Fort Wallace,
Articles E