Earth Observation for Monitoring and Observing Environmental and Societal Impacts of Mineral Resources Exploration and Exploitation

Given the current status of political discussion in Europe about raw materials problems, the sustainable development of the extractive industry and the reduction of its environmental footprint is among the key topics in this discussion. In this context, the European Commission approved the EO-MINERS project (Earth Observation for Monitoring and Observing Environmental and Societal Impacts of Mineral Resources Exploration and Exploitation). One of the scientific and technical objectives of EO-MINERS is to assess policy requirements at macro (public) and micro (mining companies) levels and define environmental, socioeconomic, societal and sustainable development criteria and indicators to be possibly dealt using earth observation (EO) technologies. Further to that, the project will use existing EO knowledge and carry out new developments on three demonstration sites (Sokolov lignite mining area, Czech Republic, Witbank coal field, South Africa, Kumtor gold mine, Kyrgyzstan) to further demonstrate the capabilities of integrated EO-based methods and tools in monitoring, managing and contributing reducing the environmental and societal footprints of the extractive industry during all phases of a mining project, from the exploration to the exploitation and closure stages. Finally, it will contribute providing reliable and objective information about affected ecosystems, populations and societies, to serve as a basis for a sound “trialogue” between industrialists, governmental organisations and stakeholders. INTRODUCTION Mining and extractive industry have played a significant role in the development of many countries all over the world. The industry has been, and continues to be an important contributor to both national and regional economies and is critical to national defence. Mining, and the industries it supports, is among the basin building blocks of a modern society. The world today is facing and increasing mineral resource demand. This has been illustrated by the European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry policy, who said: “European industries need predictability in the flow of raw materials and stable prices to remain competitive. We are committed to improve the conditions of access to raw materials, be it within Europe or by creating a level playing field in accessing such materials from abroad”. In recent years, the EU’s total material requirement has remained at a constantly high level – roughly 50 tonnes a year per head of the population since the middle of the 1980s. But in this time the weight of imports and their environmental impacts have considerably increased (EEA 2003). The bulk of this increase is attributable to ores, mineral fuels, metalware and products such as glass, ceramics and precious stones. These four categories account for most of the ecological impact of imports. More than half of these originate in the developing countries, while fewer resources are extracted in Europe itself. Numerous mines have closed in Europe during the last few decades, either because of natural exhaustion or because they were not profitable. With the closure of mines environmental pressure has been reduced in Europe but risen in other regions. The environmental footprint of EU material consumption has shifted from Europe to other regions. At the same time, the ecological impacts of imports into the EU have increased. One tonne of imports leaves behind an average amount of 5 tonnes in mining waste, emissions and erosion in the exporting country (Schütz/Moll/Bringezu 2003). This ratio has more than doubled over the past twenty-five years, and in the case of ores has quadrupled from 1:4 to 1:16 tonnes. This suggests that the acquisition of raw materials is becoming more and more costly, that more energy has to be used, and that more waste is left behind by mining operations. The analysis of the ecological impacts of imports to the EU reveals that environmental burden are shifted with significant social and economic consequences in other parts of the world. The global dimension of this problem is being increasingly recognized. Access to raw materials was on the agenda of the G8 Summit on 6-8 June 2007. On that occasion a Declaration on “Responsibility for raw materials: transparency and sustainable growth” was adopted, which addresses the key priorities for a sustainable and transparent approach to this question. In addition, the Competitiveness Council meeting on 21 May 2007 has invited the Commission to develop a coherent political approach to the issues arising. As a result, the European Commission launched in autumn 2008 ”The Raw Materials Initiative – Meeting our Critical Needs for Growth and Jobs in Europe” (COM(2008)699). The exploitation of natural resources in many developing countries has been considered as a vital part of economic growth, employment and infrastructure development, but it has come at a cost to the environment. Early mining operations have left a historical legacy of negative environmental impacts that affect our perception of mining. With the emergence of the concept of sustainable development, it is now recognised that environmental protection is as fundamental to a healthy economy and society as it is development. The challenge is to simultaneously promote both economic growth and environmental protection. The responsible management of Earth’s environment is one of today’s most pressing concerns and a central motivation for the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). Sound environmental management of mining activities can avoid high remediation costs, which frequently might drain public funds. Surface and groundwater pollution, soil contamination, and terrain instability all cause damage that can affect urban and sub-urban areas. Understanding and monitoring pollution processes in mining areas is therefore of concern to a very wide user community, including central government bodies or agencies, local authorities, industry, environmental groups and individual citizens. Facing legal and social pressures, also the mining industry is interested to minimize the impacts on environment and society. Formerly due to often accumulating remediation costs, nowadays these activities play an important role at the stock market and an increasing environmental awareness is an essential aspect of modern mining management. But the technology platform to support such critical environmental monitoring is diverse, geographically inconsistent, site specific, lacks integration across technologies and is therefore far from complete. Understandably, it is currently a gap within GEO’s Global Earth Observing System of Systems, which concentrates on issues such as Disasters and Climate Change. The non-energy extractive industry (NEEI) of the EU-25 generated a direct turnover of about €40 billion, and provided employment to about 250,000 people in 16,629 enterprises in 2004 (SEC(2007)771). Estimated indirect employment provided by NEEI industry is up to 4 times greater than the directly employed, and is clearly a significant contributor to the economy of the EU. The use of these primary raw materials in the products of other branches of EU industry means they have a central role in guaranteeing industrial and economic sustainability. Nevertheless current demand exceeds production, and so the EU is heavily dependent on mineral and metal imports leading to an annual trade deficit of about €11 billion (SEC(2007)771). Metallic minerals accounted for 90% of this deficit (€10 billion), while there were also net trade deficits in construction minerals (€456 million) and industrial minerals (€798 million). Several national and international initiatives, both from the private or the institutional sectors, have been developed to address the sustainable development of the extractive industry and the reduction of the environmental footprint. One can cite:  Both the EU’s 2001 Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) (renewed in 2006) and the 2005 Thematic Strategy for the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources aim at a decoupling of economic activity from environmental impacts by considering the entire life cycle of resource use. This means that environmental impacts are considered at each stage of the life-cycle of the product and the raw materials – during extraction, transport, processing/refining, the use phase of the products made from it, and when a product or raw material becomes waste at the end of its useful life – thus avoiding negative impacts being shifted to other environmental media, to other stages of the life-cycle, or to other countries.  The ETP-SMR Strategic Research Agenda (SRA). The Implementation Plan (IP) focuses on ways and means to implement the most urgent activities outlined in the SRA. In particular the short Term Research Priority 8 mentions “Helping cities in mining regions secure their strategic land, water and biodiversity resources by the use of modelling and economic tools”.  ICMM (International Council on Mining and Metals) members have committed to the ICMM Sustainable Development Framework. The Sustainable Development Framework comprises three elements and a set of 10 Principles (including a set of supporting position statements), public reporting and independent assurance. The Framework has been developed systematically since the formation of ICMM in 2001, with its foundations in the Mining, Minerals, and Sustainable Development (MMSD) project.  The SDIMI, an international forum for the Sustainable Development indicators in the Mineral Industry, which objective is to assist the mining and minerals industries in their global transition to sustainable development. SDIMI states that “Meeting the development needs of the world’s growing population without depriving future generations of the means to meet their own needs, better known as Sustainable Development is the key challenge facing the minerals and mining industry.