I am a millennial. I perceive technological progress as a
positive sign of human evolution. I live in a fast paced world with tools such
as smartphones and internet connection, ride in airplanes and vehicles to
transport me to great distances. One way or the other I owe this life I lead to
miners who extract minerals. Minerals that are necessary components of the
things I use every day.
As we travel on and discover everything we need to know
about responsible mining, we stumble upon recommended practices for improving
exploration activities.
The use of improved exploration technologies and practices
can significantly minimize habitat disturbance. In light of possible
environmental effects caused by exploration activities, the goal of an
environmentally sound exploration project should be to disturb only those areas
with a high probability of containing economic ore bodies. What allows mining
companies to find prioritized targets and the reduction of building roads and
disturbing the ground is the development of improved technologies in satellite
imaging and remote sensing, it has the capacity to dramatically reduce the need
for speculative drilling to find potential ore bodies.
To minimize an invasive physical verification of thick
vegetation masking the underlying geology of tropical areas mining companies
can use geophysical techniques. These techniques can remotely determine the
magnetic and electric properties of the rocks. Portable satellite trackers
allow geologists to determine the longitude, latitude and elevation of deposit.
The use of these remote techniques should be maximized to avoid unnecessary
disturbance of multiple land plots during exploration.
The removal of vegetation and soil should be minimized,
especially in tropical forests where topsoil is thin and fragile. Where topsoil
must be removed, it should be stored in low mounds with plant litter and reused
within six months to maintain seed viability and microbial activity within the
soil.
For geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys,
gridlines can be marked with wooden pegs or biodegradable flagging tape instead
of bulldozing the area. If the cutting of vegetation is required, when feasible
mining companies should be careful not to cut any trees larger than five
centimetres in diameter or taller than three meters.
So, the steps toward minimizing land-clearing would be to:
1.
Use new technologies, such as satellite imaging
and remote sensing, to increase the accuracy of exploration operations and
decrease the need for extensive land clearing.
2.
Conduct a baseline environmental study of the
area to identify the natural or biological features that might be affected by
the operation.
3.
Store removed topsoil for use in future
reclamation activities.
Exploration planning should include a baseline environmental
study to identify natural, biological or cultural features likely to be
affected by the exploration process or proposed mining operations. This
information can be used to determine the timing and location of exploration
activities, in order to limit the impact of exploration on fragile ecological
aspects of the region such as bird migration routes and breeding times or
farming activities.
There goes another phase of how we can face the world with
the aid of mining. Please be patient with me and follow this blog to be
enlightened on responsible mining.
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