Page 358 - Solid Waste Analysis and Minimization a Systems Approach

336 MINING APPLICATIONS

continents. Traditional mining countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia,
South Africa, and Chile dominate the global mining scene. These countries have become
the traditional leaders in mining and exploration methods and technology. Exploration
and development funding has changed over the past few years with emphasis shifting to
areas that have been poorly explored or have had poor access for reasons of politics,
infrastructure, or legislation. Gold, base metals, diamonds, and platinum group elements
are the more important commodities explored for and developed globally.
The mining sector distinguishes two basic activities: mine operation and mining
support activities. Mine operation includes establishments operating mines, quarries,
or oil and gas wells on their own account or for others on a contract or fee basis.
Mining support activities include establishments that perform exploration (except geo-
physical surveying) and/or other mining services on a contract or fee basis (except
mine site preparation and construction of oil/gas pipelines).
Establishments in the mining sector are grouped and classified according to the nat-
ural resource mined or to be mined. Industries include establishments that develop the
mine site, extract the natural resources, and/or those that beneficiate (i.e., prepare) the
mineral mined. Beneficiation is the process whereby the extracted material is reduced
to particles that can be separated into mineral and waste, the former suitable for further
processing or direct use. The operations that take place in beneficiation are primarily
mechanical, such as grinding, washing, magnetic separation, and centrifugal separa-
tion. In contrast, manufacturing operations primarily use chemical and electrochemical
processes, such as electrolysis and distillation. However, some treatments, such as heat
treatments, take place in both the beneficiation and the manufacturing (i.e.,
smelting/refining) stages. The range of preparation activities varies by mineral and the
purity of any given ore deposit. While some minerals, such as petroleum and natural
gas, require little or no preparation, others are washed and screened, while yet others,
such as gold and silver, can be transformed into bullion before leaving the mine site.
Mining, beneficiating, and manufacturing activities often occur at a single location.
Separate receipts will be collected for these activities whenever possible. When receipts
cannot be broken out between mining and manufacturing, establishments that mine or
quarry nonmetallic minerals, beneficiating the nonmetallic minerals into more finished
manufactured products is classified according to the primary activity of the establish-
ment. A mine that manufactures a small amount of finished products will be classified
in sector 21, mining. An establishment that mines and its primary output is a more fin-
ished manufactured product will be classified under sector 31 to 33, Manufacturing.

23.2 Waste Management Goals

and Opportunities

The majority of solid waste generated by this sector is stone and construction and
demolition debris. Table 23.1 displays the composition breakdown based on survey
results.