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Environmentally sustainable mining: The case of tailings storage facilities

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  • Schoenberger, Erica

Abstract

This paper addresses the question of whether mining can be done in a way that contains and remediates environmental impacts and thereby safeguards the livelihoods of local populations. It focuses on tailings storage facilities (TSF) as the source of most mining-related disasters. It compares outcomes at three mines – two which ended in disaster and one notable success – to try to get at what factors are critical in producing these outcomes. Although the design and construction of TSFs is technically challenging,the paper concludes that the basic causes of TSF failure are political, not technical. A second purpose of this paper is to suggest that a social scientific analysis of engineered projects needs to pay attention to the engineering.

Suggested Citation

  • Schoenberger, Erica, 2016. "Environmentally sustainable mining: The case of tailings storage facilities," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 119-128.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:49:y:2016:i:c:p:119-128
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2016.04.009
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    13. Karakaya, Emrah & Nuur, Cali, 2018. "Social sciences and the mining sector: Some insights into recent research trends," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 257-267.
    14. Rudolf Suppes & Soraya Heuss-Aßbichler, 2021. "How to Identify Potentials and Barriers of Raw Materials Recovery from Tailings? Part II: A Practical UNFC-Compliant Approach to Assess Project Sustainability with On-Site Exploration Data," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-48, October.
    15. Gustavo Lagos & David Peters & Marcos Lima & José Joaquín Jara, 2020. "Potential copper production through 2035 in Chile," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 33(1), pages 43-56, July.
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    18. Shuai Li & Qiusong Chen & Xinmin Wang, 2016. "Superiority of Filtered Tailings Storage Facility to Conventional Tailings Impoundment in Southern Rainy Regions of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-12, November.
    19. Carlos Cacciuttolo & Alex Marinovic, 2023. "Experiences of Underground Mine Backfilling Using Mine Tailings Developed in the Andean Region of Peru: A Green Mining Solution to Reduce Socio-Environmental Impacts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-27, August.
    20. Carlos Cacciuttolo & Edison Atencio, 2022. "Past, Present, and Future of Copper Mine Tailings Governance in Chile (1905–2022): A Review in One of the Leading Mining Countries in the World," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-41, October.

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