Journal of Cleaner Production 8 (2000) 119126 www.elsevier.

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Pollution prevention and cleaner production in the mining industry: an analysis of current issues
Gavin Hilson
Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks Street, Suite 1016, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3E8 Received 24 August 1999; accepted 25 November 1999

Abstract This paper examines the major pollution prevention and Cleaner production (CP) issues in the mining industry. Past problems with pollution has made waste minimization an issue of enormous importance for many mining companies. Since the advent of the rst major environmental legislation circa-1970, there has been substantial improvement in environmental performance at the mine sites of these rms, including a reduction in noxious air emissions, a decrease in levels of toxic contaminants in efuent discharges, and a major upgrading in land management. All of these improvements are directly attributed to a corporate abandonment of conventional, end-of-pipe apparatuses, and subsequent integration of cleaner technologies and strategies, including highly efcient environmental equipment, heavily retrotted control systems, and comprehensive environmental management plans. Although hundreds of mining districts have already beneted from installing systems that foster pollution prevention and CP, in select instances, these have not proven to be realistic waste management remedies. Major barriers, particularly economic, technologic, and legislative ones, have both individually and collectively impeded the implementation of pollution prevention and CP strategies in such cases. Many of these barriers appear insurmountable but improved planning, employee education, and increased government intervention would spell continued success in an industry that has already made enormous strides in the arena of environmental management. 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Mining; Pollution prevention; Cleaner production (CP); Cleaner technologies and strategies

1. Introduction Mining and smelting processes have the potential to cause widespread environmental damage on numerous fronts. Beginning with the exploration of prospective sites, through to the rening and purication of minerals, a large number of contaminating wastes are generated both directly and indirectly. Traditionally, conventional end-of-pipe technologies equipment that aims to remediate problems with waste after it has been released rather than before it is discharged had been used to combat the pollution problems in the industry. However, the advent of strict environmental legislation in recent years, combined with the ineffectiveness of several of these end-of-pipe systems, has, in many instances, made it necessary to implement more effective cleaner technologies and strategies dened here as state-of-the-art

E-mail address: gavin.hilson@utoronto.ca (G. Hilson).

environmental management practices. In doing so, the mining industry has dramatically improved its environmental performance, shifting from a position of reactionary pollution control to a position of proactive pollution prevention and Cleaner production (CP). At present, cleaner technologies and strategies, including highly efcient environmental equipment, heavily retrotted end-of-pipe designs, and comprehensive environmental management plans, are being used at many mine sites throughout the world. Each system works to minimize pollution to air, water, and land, rather than treating it once it has manifested into an environmental crisis. A major problem faced by other mining rms, however, is that many obstacles which, in select situations, appear insurmountable must be overcome in order to implement cleaner technologies and strategies. In view of these difculties, in order to prolong the current pattern of environmental improvement through pollution prevention and CP, a number of changes are needed. Specically, by expanding govern-

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ment-industry partnerships, increasing environmental training and education for employees, and redesigning sites so that they operate in a more environmentally benign fashion, mines could signicantly improve their environmental performance, and further contribute to an industry that has already made enormous strides in the arena of environmental management. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of pollution prevention and Cleaner production (CP) in the mining industry. First, the importance of pollution prevention and CP in industry is briey reviewed, followed by a summary of their importance in the mining industry. Second, some examples of the cleaner technologies and strategies available to mining operations are presented, and a case study of the North American mining industry is used to illustrate the impact these have had on improving environmental performance. Finally, the major barriers preventing the global diffusion of pollution prevention and CP in the mining industry are discussed, followed by a presentation of a methodology that would accelerate its current pattern of environmental improvement, and put it in a better position to implement cleaner technologies and strategies.

part, been achieved from integrating cleaner technologies and strategies into several polluting areas of operation. Since the continual functioning of a mine can yield immeasurable environmental stress, it is imperative that mining operations be assessed regularly to determine appropriate ts and opportunities for cleaner technologies and strategies.

3. Examples of cleaner technologies and strategies in the mining industry The importance of minimizing and managing pollutants in the industry has led to the emergence of a number of cleaner technologies and strategies, each of which is highly efcient at reducing and detoxifying wastes released from point sources. These systems, some of which have wide-ranging purposes, and others, specic roles, all share the characteristics of CP systems that Christie et al. [2] have identied: Each system takes thermodynamics seriously, focusing not on linear throughput of materials but on continuous reduction in energy, materials and wastes The use of each system results in a series of waste reduction measures: minimization, reuse, recovery and disposal Each system calls for an integrated approach to design, manufacture, and use of a product, where, in addition to inputs and waste residuals, how products are produced, disposed of, as well as how they are made are accounted for Each system, over the long-term, is cheaper than conventional end-of-pipe clean-up technology Collectively, these technologies have enabled companies to operate in compliance with the stringent requirements expressed in environmental law, satisfy stakeholder demands, and reduce the costs associated with environmental cleanup and operations auditing. 3.1. High-tech ue gas desulphurization (acid gas scrubbers) Most ferrous and nonferrous metals occur as sulphides, and when smelted, emit signicant quantities of sulphur dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere. A major problem associated with mass outputs of SO2 is that it is the principal component of acid rain, which, in sufcient amounts, is deleterious to natural ecosystems and manmade structures. Although the past two decades has witnessed a complete makeover in SO2 emission legislation, the burdens and costs of having to remediate soils, water, and ecosystems, have been important reasons why several mining companies have adopted technical ue gas desulphurization (wet scrubber) systems at their sites.

2. The need for pollution prevention and cleaner production (CP) and their signicance in the mining industry In industry, the traditional end-of-pipe technologies used to treat wastes have been average at best. These work to remediate pollution problems after they have occurred, rather than tackling them before they develop. The result has often been widespread environmental and ecological damages, the cleanup costs for which rms have nanced. A more effective approach to waste management is pollution prevention and Cleaner production (CP), which aims at reducing levels of pollutants in waste streams prior to their release. The adoption of preventative and CP strategies have proven integral in reducing environmental stresses, and have saved rms enormous amounts of money [1] that would have otherwise been spent on environmental cleanup. ` In the case of mining operations, vis-a-vis those of other industries, pollution prevention and CP are of utmost importance since virtually every biotic and abiotic entity can be impacted from activities. Internationally, the environmental effects of mining were fully realized circa-1970, when strict environmental legislation was passed for the rst time, particularly in North America and Europe. The overall environmental performance of the mining industry has since improved substantially. Levels of toxic pollutants in air emissions and efuent discharges have dropped dramatically, and the methods used to monitor and control waste streams have been upgraded signicantly. This has, for the most

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Howes et al. [3] and the OECD [4] cite desulphurization equipment as being conventional end-of-pipe remedies. However, a wet scrubber is presently the only effective method available to cleanse ue gas, but more importantly, the thought behind their design, which is to minimize SO2, conforms to the ideas behind CP. Further, the overall effectiveness of scrubbing equipment makes them more of a preventative strategy rather than a reactionary, ineffective end-of-pipe measure. Setups use lime slurries that routinely remove 90 percent of SO2 from ue gases, and up to 99 percent removal can be achieved by using magnesium-enhanced lime and operating at appropriate pH and liquid-to-gas ratios [5]. In a typical scrubbing process, high temperature combustion gases rise upwards through a smelting tower, and enter the scrubber, which quenches the ue with streams of limerich solution. The gas then proceeds upwards through a series of spray healers that introduce a uniform liquid ux of droplets [6]. These alkaline slurries, in effect, chemically neutralize the acid gas before it is released into the atmosphere. 3.2. Wastewater treatment technologies As Huisingh and Baas [1] note, CP is the most effective approach to achieving improved water quality. The proven inadequacies associated with conventional endof-pipe water pollution control require rms to use more preventative approaches in their quests for achieving legislative compliance and waste minimization. The most prevalent water pollution issue in the mining industry is acid mine drainage (AMD). Since coal and most metals occur as sulphides, separating their deposits from uneconomic gangue creates vast quantities of waste rock and tailings, which, if ushed with rainwater or snowmelt, creates AMD [7]. If left untreated, the AMD, when discharged into recipient waterbodies, creates conditions too toxic for sh and benthic invertebrates. An almost equally serious water pollution problem confronting mining operations is contamination from heavy metals, particularly copper, lead cadmium and arsenic. Although trace quantities of these heavy metals occur naturally in the environment, mining and smelting processes increase their loadings to toxic levels. When water comes into contact with exposed, excavated rock, these metals are leached and carried to lakes, rivers, and streams, where they poison organisms directly. The passive approaches (e.g. naturally occurring geochemical and biological processes) that have been traditionally used by the mining industry to tackle these problems have been unable to effectively prevent environmental damages, and consequently, have created enormous cleanup costs for rms. A number of advanced wastewater treatment technologies, however, have emerged in recent years that more effectively mitigate these water pollution problems. These include:

Electrochemical methods Plasmotechnologies Membrane ltration Evaporation/Crystallization Biodegradation processes Chemical precipitators A major drawback with conventional end-of-pipe water pollution remedies is their inability to minimize ecological costs, since each works to treat pollution problems after they have occurred, rather than targeting to prevent them before hand. The resulting ecological problems are often unrepairable, therefore creating huge burdens for the rm. Adopting preventative water pollution strategies, such as those listed above, minimizes toxic efuents, and helps put a rm in a better position to avoid the costs of ecological shock created by mining wastes dispensed into water bodies. 3.3. Chemical detoxication Different chemicals are used in the benefaction (dressing), leaching and rening processes of minerals at mine sites. Many, however, are toxic to a wide range of plant and animal species, making it imperative that methods be in place that ensure these chemicals do not leak into soils and groundwater, or nd their way into lakes and rivers. For example, in the case of silver and gold mining, cyanide has been the leach reagent of choice for over a century. Applied to a pile of rock in a low energy-intensive process called heap leaching, cyanide chemically dissolves gold and silver particles, is recovered, and recirculated until it is no longer economic to continue leaching the residual metals from the ore. However, after gold is removed, toxic transition metal cyanides and free cyanides remain in the pile [8], which, if leached, is lethal to a wide range of species if exposed. In addition, the cyanide, like other chemicals used in mineral processing, such as mercury and surfactants, can cause widespread ecological damage if accidentally released. The traditional methods used to treat cyanide particularly natural degradation and detoxication using harmful chemical processes such as alkaline chlorination have failed to prevent environmental disasters in the past. Many substitute strategies and technologies have emerged, which, if widely adopted, would result in widespread CP in the industry. These include: Treatment using hydrogen peroxide SO2/Air detoxication processes Biological oxidation Advanced chemical recycling Catalysis, bio-oxidation and photolysis detoxication These cleaner strategies put a mine in a better position

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to avoid a potentially costly chemical-induced ecological disaster.

4. A case study of North American mining operations 4.1. Investment in pollution prevention and environmental improvement There has been an ever-intensifying pattern of investment in cleaner technologies and strategies in North American mining operations. Canadian mines alone invested CAN$116.6 million in waste treatment facilities in 1996, a signicant increase from the CAN$6 million spent in 1992 [9]. Surveys and studies further conrm this recent shift to increased pollution prevention and CP. For example, in a study conducted by Statistics Canada, Environmental Protection Expenditures in the Business Sector, 1995, it was discovered that of all the Canadian industries, the mining sector spends the largest amount on environmental protection and pollution prevention projects (16% of total costs), a sum of approximately CAN$390 million each year [10]. In addition to nancing numerous projects, the Canadian mining industry has developed a number of practical pollution prevention guides, the most popular being the Guide to the Management of Tailings Facilities. Developed by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC), the national organization of the Canadian mining industry, the document helps companies integrate environmental and safety considerations in a consistent manner, with continuous improvements in the operation of tailings facilities [11]. A similar investment pattern has occurred at US mines. Since 1973, pollution abatement measures in the US mining industry have more than tripled, increasing from US$965.4 million to US$2569 million [12,13]. Further, the US Environmental Protection Agencys Ofce of Pollution Prevention and Toxics is continually funding a number of pollution prevention projects that include mining operations. Many technical documents that detail methods to promote pollution prevention at mines have also been produced by the industry with assistance from government. These have been published individually, or have been included in sector reports such as Mining: Metallic Ores and Minerals and Prole of the Metal Mining Industry [14,15]. Pollution from mining has decreased continent-wide as a result of this increased investment in cleaner technologies and strategies, and environmental protection. For example, the group of mines representing MAC had collectively reduced air emission levels by 17 percent between 1996 and 1997. The group has also signicantly reduced releases of heavy metals as a result of implementing improved environmental management

practices. Between 1993 and 1997 alone, annual discharges dropped by nearly 50 percent, from 4753 t to 2585 t [11]. Similar improvements have occurred in the US. For example, the implementation of cleaner technologies and strategies has enabled nonferrous smelting operations to reduce their emissions of SO2. In 1970, releases of SO2 from nonferrous operations totaled 4060 t. By 1997, this amount had decreased to 378 t, and it continues to decline with continuing research. Ferrous smelting operations have enjoyed similar environmental success, decreasing SO2 releases from 715 t in 1970 to 156 t in 1997 [16]. In sum, both Canadian and US mining districts have reduced waste streams as a result of implementing cleaner technologies and strategies. 4.2. Environmental improvements in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada: a North American mining district An excellent example of a North American mining district that has beneted from implementing cleaner technologies and strategies is Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. For over a century, Sudbury copper and nickel mines had operated with minimum environmental safeguards. By the 1970s, the city was essentially an ecological wasteland, heavily victimized by decades of acidic deposition created by SO2 fumes from metal smelters. Nearly every biological entity within a 500 km radius had been touched, and amid severely contaminated surface soils and water were 20,000 ha of completely barren land and 80,000 ha of semi-barren land [17]. In the past 2530 years, however, there has been a complete environmental turnaround in Sudbury, due in a large part to the adoption of improved desulphurization apparatuses by the Falconbridge and INCO companies. Notable examples include Falconbridges furnace developments in its nickelcopper smelters [18], and INCOs Outokumpto ash smelter [19], which have both worked to reduce sulphur in concentrate. Improvements like these have led to reduced levels of emissions of SO2 in Sudbury. For Falconbridge, in 1993, emissions of SO2 were less than one fth (55 kt) of the 1970 output (320 kt), in spite of a tripling in nickel production over that time period. INCO has experienced similar success, achieving an 87 percent reduction in SO2 emissions from 1972 to 1994 [20].

5. Barriers to implementing pollution prevention and CP strategies in the mining industry Not every mining district is like Sudbury and can freely implement cleaner technologies and strategies. Why has pollution prevention and CP not been infectious throughout the industry? In certain cases, many barriers exist that prevent the adoption of cleaner technologies

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and strategies. Both individually and collectively, these have worked to detract corporate attention and investment in highly efcient waste minimization technologies. The most signicant barriers are economic, technologic, and legislative. 5.1. Economic barriers

environmental budget restricts spending on highly efcient, expensive pollution prevention and CP technologies. For smaller sites particularly those of the Junior Companies the implementation of such leadingedge environmental technology is completely unfathomable. 5.2. Technologic problems

Many [3,21,22] have proposed that conventional endof-pipe pollution abatement, in many instances, requires less capital investment, less development and less disruption than cleaner technologies and strategies. These technologies are therefore more attractive for a rm with a strict budget and limited funds, which, from the perspective of environmental performance, is aiming only to invest what is necessary to meet legislative compliance, since no revenues can realistically be allocated towards purchasing cleaner technologies. This general pattern has occurred at many mining sites throughout the world, especially those of the Junior Companies small operations with limited resources and no regular sources of income that nance operations through the issuance of treasury shares [23]. Since the industry cannot control the value of the commodity, severe downturns in price affect how each mine is managed. For example, in the case of gold mining, many operations have suffered (environmentally) from the recent economic stock market crash of the mineral. In one personal communication with an environmental manager at a Canadian site, it was revealed that severe cash ow problems forced the operation to shift to a mode of regulatory compliance since no funds were available to invest in proactive technologies. In another communication with a manager from an American site, the same viewpoint was expressed. Citing cyanide management as an example, recent economic pressures forced the company to abandon bio-detoxication methods on heap leach closure, deemed as being the cleanest method, and adopt less expensive chemical detoxication methods instead, which are more prone to environmental degradation. A second note on economic barriers is that although there are highly efcient waste minimization technologies available on the market, a lack of available funds prevents widespread adoption of these in the mining industry. For example, Noranda Inc., a multinational forestry and mining company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has in place at its mine sites throughout the world the most highly advanced pollution prevention apparatuses. For example, at its Brenda Mine in British Columbia, Canada, a CAN$1.1 million wastewater treatment facility was installed in 1998, the cost of which to operate is an estimated CAN$1.5 million per year [24]. Very few other companies can speak of equivalent environmental technology. While large mining companies have pollution control systems in place, a limited

In many instances, structural barriers exist that prevent the adoption of cleaner technologies and strategies. Some of the pollution control systems at sites represent billion dollar investments, and the people employed have skills and knowledge specic to the system [4]. Changes to conventional technologies could make workers and managers obsolete, and would require investment by companies in training programs, an added difculty for a rm with a limited budget. Further, as Gombault and Versteege [25] note, often in a small or medium sized operation in this case a mine managers and staff personnel have limited time to make the inventory of waste streams required by law, let alone identify possibilities for reduction. Compounding the problem is a frequent shortage of manpower. This inhibits the chances of formulating a methodology that would help these operations structurally improve their environmental performance. In many parts of the world, another major technological barrier preventing the adoption of cleaner technology in mining operations is the lack of available systems. A signicant portion of global mineral production originates from grassroots operations, which lack the appropriate technologies to avoid environmental problems. For example, in many small-scale gold and silver rening processes, primitive panhandlers in countries like Brazil and China continue to use mercury in spite of its documented environmental impacts. With virtually no environmental safeguards in place, mercury is applied to collected sediments, and wets and adheres to metallic gold and silver, forming a pasty amalgam [26]. Waste mercury is often disposed untreated into nearby streams, or sediments are roasted which releases both noxious SO2 and gaseous mercury. Limited intervention by governments is the main reason why these operations continue to exist without any environmental safeguards but ultimately, a lack of available technologies inhibits CP in instances like these. 5.3. Legislative barriers The primary problem with environmental legislation is that it is cosmopolitan throughout the world. The governments of many countries, particularly those of the Developed World, have well-established environmental mandates in place. Here, regulations are strict, and the enormous penalties for noncompliance are incentives

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alone for rms to pursue paths of pollution prevention and CP. However, environmental legislation is amended so often in the Developed World that systems that are recognized as being effective pollution prevention apparatuses one year could very well be obsolete in the years to follow. For example, here in Canada the federal Metal Mining Liquid Efuent Regulations (MMLER) were passed in February, 1977, under the Fisheries Act. The regulations set authorized concentration limits for deleterious substances arsenic, copper, lead, nickel, zinc, total suspended matter and radium-226 contained in efuents discharged to water frequented by sh [27]. Initially, mines struggled to comply with the standards and it has only been recently that they have nally adjusted, achieving a 98 percent compliance rate industry-wide by the end of 1994 [28]. Many sites, at the time, had in place environmental safeguards to minimize AMD, heavy metals loading, and air emissions that put them beyond regulatory compliance levels. However, the MMLER standards are in the process of being reworked, which, in the end, could make these current cleaner technologies mere environmental compliance machines. On the ip side, in the Developing World, there is a proliferation of loose environmental legislation because of technological and information gaps. While some of the newly industrializing countries particularly those in Southeast Asia are rapidly catching up to the pollution prevention practices of industrialized countries, many other underdeveloped nations continue to struggle to compete with richer economies, and in the process, greatly overlook environmental issues. For example, it was in only 1988 that Mexico passed its General Law for the Ecological Balance and Protection of the Environment [29], compared to the environmental legislative polices that have been in effect in European countries, Canada and the US for decades. In another example, Argentina, the environmental framework under Law 24,585 was passed during the 1990s [30]. Although activities from exploration through to rening are covered, this legislation overall is not very comprehensive. In countries like these, the problem is not with the multinationals, which generally operate at the same environmental level throughout the world but with the small, local operations that are competing with these companies. Although loose environmental legislation, for companies, is not perceived as being a problem, it is a major obstacle for the government and local environmental groups, as well as independent agencies seeking to improve industrial environmental performance. 6. Methods to improve environmental management, and promote pollution prevention and CP in the mining industry For the leading-edge environmental practitioners of the industry, environmental planning has become an

integral component of corporate agendas but for other companies, improved environmental management has been a struggle. In such cases, obstacles preventing the adoption of cleaner technologies and strategies have been too difcult to overcome. To improve environmentally at their sites, a number of changes are needed. These, if made, would enable even the smallest mining operations to more effectively implement plans for pollution prevention and CP. 6.1. Governmental intervention Small-scale enterprises often require nancial support and appropriate technology to improve their production processes. For mines, particularly those of smaller companies, limited funds, combined with a shortage of manpower make a shift from conventional end-of pipe pollution control to pollution prevention and CP virtually impossible. Given these difculties, for mines to effectively implement cleaner technologies and strategies, governments must take greater responsibility in promoting pollution prevention and CP. Unless governments clearly indicate that an industrial movement towards CP is of national interest, and are major goals of both federal economic and environmental policy, there may be very little incentive for mining rms to investigate and install cleaner technologies. Yakowitz [31] has identied many of the priorities for governments, including: Obtaining and disseminating the appropriate information concerning cleaner technologies and strategies, and outlining their economic aims Engendering strong public support for economic development based on cleaner technologies by providing information and educational materials Providing documented results of successful cases Arranging demonstration projects Ensuring that banks, insurance companies and other lending institutions favour cleaner technologies in their investment decisions Developing and implementing a cleaner technology certication system for products, processes and services Providing technical assistance to rms Working with universities and the private sector to develop managerial accounting systems for CP In sum, governments must assume a leadership role and promote the basic changes in awareness concerning the environment, pollution prevention and CP. To promote CP measures that are costly, governments and donor agencies must develop schemes for nancial assistance that are procedurally simple and easily accessible [32] by small-scale mining operations. Further, implementing a number of nancial and technical incentives would work to steer mining operations in an

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environmentally benign direction. Benets such as levies, tax breaks, subsidies, and partnerships with educational facilities could play important roles in facilitating a movement towards CP. 6.2. Education and training An obvious internal change required at mines is an increased level of awareness of both environmental issues, and the potential roles of cleaner technologies and strategies in the industry. In many situations, awareness of pollution and health risks is low. Education at every level is the key to increasing employee knowledge of environmental issues, and ensuring that pollution prevention and CP move to the forefront of corporate agendas. Education can be fundamental in serving to promote understanding of the full impacts of mining processes and methodologies. Further, it can serve to promote business appreciation of how cleaner technologies and strategies can reduce environmental impacts throughout operations [4]. Awareness training must begin with the managerial staff and engineers of sites. Although these people are acquainted with environmental problems such as AMD, chemical usage, and emissions, often, ecological effects are not fully understood. Awareness will motivate these individuals to work toward minimizing environmental impacts and extending knowledge of pollution issues to other employees, since a clean environment is to the benet of employee health. To aid in the training process, mines may require assistance from consultants, or may even need to hire people with the appropriate knowledge and skills. 6.3. Improved planning A nal note is that improved planning would put a mine in a better position to implement cleaner technologies and strategies, and enable it to avoid unnecessary environmental cleanup, hence, scrutiny from government and lobbying groups. Environmental issues must be accounted for in the original blueprints. An inventoried listing of environmental technologies, treatment processes, and toxic chemicals used, should be made up front. Further, in the design of the mine, ecological situations should be heavily accounted for when determining where to implement specic environmental technologies. For example, it makes more sense to situate an AMD treatment and discharge site in close proximity to a waterbody with a large number of bicarbonate material and a high buffering capacity, rather than constructing it near a waterbody containing sensitive ecological ora and fauna. This also applies when determining the location of setups involving the use of toxic chemicals such as cyanide, mercury and surfactants. These should be situated in less-sensitive ecological areas, and the

types of environmental safeguards to be used should be stated up front. For mines already established, two major changes can be made that would put operations in an excellent position to implement cleaner technologies and strategies. First, the installation of an environmental management system (EMS) a set of organizational procedures, responsibilities, processes, and necessary means to implement environmental policies [33] would enable an operation to more effectively control and reduce its environmental impacts, and better anticipate changing environmental conditions [34]. A highly evolved EMS contains basic components like implementation strategies, measurement and evaluation criteria, efciency measures, and goals for improvement, and can often adhere to recognized international standards most notably, those of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) of Geneva, Switzerland: ISO 14001 [35]. Often, the incompatibility with international standards like ISO has detracted many mines from implementing an EMS. For example, a requirement of ISO 14001 certication under Legal and other Requirements is to comply to relevant environmental legislation [36]. This makes practical sense for mines operating in countries that have environmental legislation in place but for those based in countries lacking environmental laws and enforcement, ISO 14001 certication would be a wasted expense. However, an EMS does not have to conform to international standards in order to be effective, just as long as key environmental management issues are clearly identied. In fact, a welldesigned EMS can go well beyond the traditional process-driven views of ISO and other international standards by taking into account other activities such as landscaping, commuting, and life-cycle analysis [37]. Second, through conducting baseline environmental audits, rms are able to more readily identify environmental problems, and areas where improvements can be made. Auditing involves a thorough investigation of every industrial system and process. These must be conducted at regular intervals since technologies are constantly improving, and environmental demands are quickly changing. To summarize, there are a number of barriers preventing the adoption of cleaner technologies and strategies at many mine sites throughout the world. Overcoming these obstacles requires several changes to be made in the industry, which, if pursued actively, could be instrumental in steering many mining operations toward CP. Specically, a combination of government efforts, increased education and improved planning at sites are the keys to improving environmental performance in the mining industry.

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7. Conclusion This paper has provided an overview of pollution prevention and Cleaner production (CP) in the mining industry. Since mining operations can cause widespread environmental degradation on numerous fronts, it makes it imperative that environmental technologies be in place at sites that work to minimize wastes prior to their discharge. Although a number of highly efcient cleaner technologies and strategies are available, and have already been implemented at many sites, major obstacles economic, technologic, and legislative have prevented their implementation at other sites. These barriers appear difcult to overcome but expanded governmental roles, employee training and education, and select internal changes to operations, would enable the mining industry, as a unit, to fully pursue a path of pollution prevention and CP. Acknowledgements The author is grateful for valuable contributions from Dr Gordon Hopper, Dr Leo Baas, Professor Barbara Murck, Professor Sonia Labatt, Professor Virginia Maclaren, and Mr Paul Rochon (Environment Canada). The author would also like to thank Dr Michael Overcash and three anonymous reviewers for comments on an early version of this paper. References
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