Page 20 - Advances In Productive, Safe, and Responsible Coal Mining

Profitable coal mining means being productive, safe, and environmentally responsible 7

both safety and environmental performance, but legislation concerning the efficiency
of mining has yet to take hold. Obviously, safety and environmental regulations differ
from country to country, but generally speaking, they are universal throughout min-
ing, as would be expected for an industry that is unavoidably hazardous and inevitably
causes some environmental damage.
The mining industry has learned to tolerate environmental regulations; however, for
environmental responsibility to become mainstream, these government mandates need
to incorporate economic efficiencies that promote profitability. Mining companies are
always pushing for incremental efficiency gains, but those will not do the job by them-
selves. There has to be a huge push toward improving the efficiency of both the mining
process and environmental performance as well. Regulations that promote mining effi-
ciency and environmental stewardship will not only protect the environment but also
improve the life expectancy of individual mines and the industry as a whole.
Even without regulations promoting mining efficiency, mining companies need to
be proactive in pursuing “green” methods of extraction and reclamation. Unconven-
tional (at least from a mining standpoint) practices like recycling have provided sig-
nificant benefits in terms of their positive effect on both mine economics and
environmental impacts for many metal-nonmetal operations [11]. Unlike metals, coal
is consumed after mining and processing; however, research needs to explore if there
are ways to recycle some of the energy and materials that go into those processes.
The main objective in the reclamation process is to return land that has been dis-
turbed by mining and surrounding areas back to usable conditions. This requires
ensuring that any landforms and structures are stable, that watercourses have regained
quality levels that meet their intended purposes, and that flora and fauna are growing
at healthy rates. Proven methods for removing or properly disposing all waste mate-
rial, replenishing native soils and vegetation, and establishing ecosystems that are
sustainable for years beyond when a mine is no longer operating already exist; how-
ever, further research is needed to advance these methods beyond what is currently
acceptable. This is because society’s commitment to sustainability is ever changing,
and reclamation efforts must be constantly pushing the envelope of what is doable. By
thinking ahead, mining operations can improve their own efficiencies and do so in a
climate where they are better understood and accepted, not only by locally surround-
ing communities but also by society at large.
Thus, on the environmental side of mining, the focus has to be on integrating
proven environmentally sound techniques and methods into the actual mining process
itself. Aligning the economic side of mining (i.e., productivity and resource recovery)
with the environmental side of mining (i.e., protection and reclamation) is the only
sustainable path forward.

1.4 Achieving profitability

Coal’s staying power at the forefront of the world’s energy mix for more than a century is
the result of low-cost price stability; however, that position is under attack from several
sides. Critical issues affecting coal mining include maintaining low-cost productivity,
addressing health and safety hazards, and being responsible stewards of the environment.